REVIEW: The Sun Is Also a Star misses the stars

By Jenna Dyer,

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

In the new romantic comedy “The Sun Is Also a Star,” two star-crossed lovers meet by chance and continue to reconnect until they are inevitably torn apart. It’s a love story we can all adore, but haven’t we seen it before?

The movie is based on a young adult novel by Nicola Yoon. The two lovebirds, Natasha and Daniel, are played by actress Yara Shahidi and actor Charles Melton.

Natasha is a science-obsessed, non believer in love whose cynical outlook on the world makes it hard for her to see Daniel’s affection towards her.  

Daniel, on the other hand, is an aspiring poet whose parents want him to become a doctor. He longs for the affection of Natasha, even though it takes her some time to open up to him.

They meet on the streets of New York City, where Daniel asks Natasha for a day to make her fall in love with him. And yes, the scene was as cheesy as it sounds.

Even as Natasha agrees, there is something on her mind stopping her from opening up to Daniel. She cannot afford to form new relationships in America because her and her undocumented family will be deported to Jamaica the next day.

The two are forced to separate at the airport and soon grow apart as they grow older. They don’t meet again until Natasha boards an airplane and recognizes Daniel at the very end of the movie.

While the film should have been full of emotion and passion, it missed the stars, to say the least. With such high stakes at hand, the film should have pulled at the heartstrings a bit more.

Neither leads were particularly strong actors, leaving a lack of depth in their characters’ personalities.

“The Sun Is Also a Star” also felt eerily similar to many other movies, like “The Kissing Booth” or even “The Notebook.” In all three, two young lovers fall for each other, are torn apart and then eventually reunited.

The romantic comedy was not a failure, but it did not evoke strong emotion, which is a necessity for any great love story.