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When you’re young and in love, the world seems like an entirely different place. The sun shines brighter; the birds sing louder; everything is beautiful and perfect. But for the teen in Everything, Everything, it’s young love that inspires her to see the world for the first time.
Everything, Everything is the story of Maddy Whittier (Amandla Stenberg), a young woman who’s been trapped in her own home for nearly her entire life. Maddy suffers from a serious immune deficiency that can make the slightest virus deadly, so her doctor mother (Anika Noni Rose) has carefully guarded her against any and every danger. But then Olly (Nick Robinson) moves in next door. Olly doesn’t care about her illness; he just finds her funny and smart and beautiful. And as they fight to be together, their relationship makes Maddy long for the outside world.
Everything, Everything is exactly the kind of movie that teenage girls will watch over and over again at slumber parties. It’s the story of a sheltered girl—the girl who always dresses in crisp, pure, angelic white—who’s spent most of her life buried in a book, imagining the adventures that she knows she’ll never be able to have. And it’s the story of the troubled boy next door—the scruffy boy dressed all in black—who falls madly, deeply in love with her despite her one tragic flaw. Their against-all-odds romance is the epitome of teen infatuation—the kind of breezy love story that will make hopeless romantics swoon.
Really, though, it’s hard to resist this adorable young cast. Stenberg’s Maddy is lovable and shy and surprisingly upbeat for a girl who’s trapped inside her own home. She’s the typical teenage girl: insecure and uncertain, yet feeling like she’s boxed in by her mother’s expectations. And Robinson’s Olly is the perfect guy. Cute and just a little bit edgy, he treats her not as the typically aloof bad boy might, but as if she were the center of his universe. He’s basically every girl’s dream (at least, that is, until she finds that guy and realizes that he might very well be a stalker). And their sweet but unlikely romance makes for a fluffy but charming chick flick.
Whether you’re a teenager dreaming of young love or a little older with fond memories of young love, Everything, Everything may not be the perfect, heart-swelling story, but it’s an enjoyable summer romance—a worthwhile pick for a night out with the girls.
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