By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
Around this time of year, you can almost always count on a tearjerker, romantic, teen comedy to land in theaters.
The latest one is
?Five Feet Apart? from director Justin Baldoni (TV?s ?Jane the Virgin?).
Haley Lu Richardson, who was outstanding in ?The Edge of Seventeen? and the creepy, M. Night Shyamalan thriller, ?Split,? delivers a touching performance in ?Five Feet Apart.?
Richardson stars as Stella, a teenager whose once vibrant life has drastically changed since being diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that attacks the lungs.
We immediately know that Stella was one of the cool and popular kids at school because she has so many friends visiting her in the hospital where she spends most of her time.
She also has a close friend there named Poe (a terrific Moises Aries, ?The Kings of Summer? and ?Pitch Perfect 3?) who also has CF. They share laughs and stories and uplift each other as best they can.
But when Stella meets Will, (Cole Sprouse, TV?s ?Riverdale?), another CF patient who is part of a test study group for an antibiotic resistant infection, it?s not love at first sight for Will or Stella.
Will is a good-looking kid with a chip on his shoulder. Stella is still a looker even in her current state. You can tell she?s never needed to pursue a guy unless she really wants to.
But is it Will?s bad boy persona, or the perfectly styled hair that over time wins Stella's heart? And Stella?s confidence and charm makes Will melt and long for her.
There?s nothing quite like young and new love, except when you can?t have it or when there?s the possibility of a death sentence attached to it.
Will and Stella are on a strict schedule of pills and therapy and yet despite their growing attraction, they can?t get close to each other which in part has to do with the film?s title. It refers to the "Six Foot Rule.? That?s the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation guideline which states that cystic fibrosis patients should be kept at least six feet apart to lower the increased risk of rapid cross-infection.
Yet, Will and Stella?s love for each other is so strong that they steal back one foot to proclaim their love, but also attempt to show they?re taking control of the disease.
They have their cute, clandestine moments together, much to the dismay of a by-the-book nurse named Barb, (Kimberly Hebert Gregory, TV?s ?The Chi?), who despite her mean streak, really does have their best interests at heart. She sees to it that they stay apart. Or tries.
Normally, I become a big marshmallow during movies like these. ?The Fault in Our Stars? still chokes me up just thinking about it. But, ?Five Feet Apart? is so depressing and grew darker and less enjoyable to watch as Will and Stella became weaker.
I get that dying is very much a part of life, but I wish more of these teen movies would also lighten up a bit. I miss the teen dramas with the narrative of boy meets girl and they must deal with overbearing parents or that one of them comes from a rich family and the other a poor one, yet they overcome these obstacles and still make a go of it all healthy and happy.
Many of these dramas like ?Five Feet Apart? have become so cliched and predictable. I wanted to have my heart-strings tugged and get a lump in my throat, but that didn?t happen this time around because ?Five Feet Apart? just felt so familiar and just came up short for me.
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Check Out This Trailer For
"FIVE FEET APART"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of The Broadcast Film Critics? Association (BFCA), The Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC), The Alliance Of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
