Respond to these rapid questions in our Midnight Sun quiz and we will tell you which Midnight Sun character you are. Play it now.
“Midnight Sun” does what it says it will do for the people who it says it will do it for, and that may be enough for some people.
The 12-year-old girls who are the film’s intended audience are unlikely to realize that it is a mash-up of several different films, including a little bit of John Hughes and a lot of “Love Story.” It also has more than a passing resemblance to the Young Adult drama “Everything, Everything,” which was released last summer and revolved around a rare disease that was supposed to spell the end of a blossoming teen romance. (The film, directed by Scott Speer, is based on a Japanese film of the same name that was released in 2006.)
Even though Xeroderma pigmentosum is a rare skin condition that makes exposure to the sun’s rays potentially deadly, it doesn’t sound like the most exciting starting point for a life-changing relationship. “Midnight Sun,” on the other hand, has the advantage of photogenic, charismatic co-stars in Bella Thorne and Patrick Schwarzenegger, who have enough likability and chemistry to make this high school weepy more tolerable than it should be—at least for a while, until it goes off the rails and becomes unbearably schmaltzy in the third act.
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Although both actors are absolutely stunning, which adds to the romantic fantasy aspect of the film, there’s also a naturalism to their performances that works well.
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When it comes to the role of Katie Price, Thorne brings her well-honed Disney Channel comic timing to the role. Katie Price is a bright and talented young woman whose condition—referred to as XP for short—has kept her confined during the daytime for the vast majority of her 17 years. (The script written by Eric Kirsten enables Katie to explain her situation quickly and efficiently in narration without having to go into detail.) Katie’s widower father (Rob Riggle, who delivers a strong performance in a rare dramatic role) has taken every precaution to keep her safe from the sun, including installing heavy-duty tinted windows in the house and minivan and installing additional security on the front door. We learn early on in the film, during a conversation between him and Katie’s doctor, that it’s a miracle that she’s survived this long.
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Katie, on the other hand, has been spying on her next-door neighbor, Charlie (Schwarzenegger in his first leading role), skateboarding down the street every day for as long as she can remember and has grown to adore him from a distance. When Katie’s high school graduation night comes around, which she and her father commemorate with their own home-school version, she and Charlie finally meet cute at the train station in their quiet suburb, where she’s allowed to sing and play guitar at night and he just so happens to be passing by on his way home from a party. She understandably tries to keep her disease a secret from him over a series of nighttime dates, if only to experience the joy of being treated like a normal person for a change.
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As a point of reflection, it would be appropriate to point out how impossibly wholesome “Midnight Sun” is, but that is also part of what makes it so refreshing. According to the plot of the film, an alternate universe exists in which the hunkiest, most popular guy at school also happens to be the most intelligent and sensitive—and, of course, he prefers the sweet, sheltered Katie to the beautiful, bitchy cheerleader who is after him. He’s the modern-day equivalent of Jake Ryan. All these characters ever do is exchange chaste kisses and, at the most, go swimming in their underwear at night in their underwear. It’s surprising that even the obligatory wild kegger is devoid of house trashing and projectile vomiting.
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That sweetness, however, can be irritating when taken to an extreme, as in the scene in which Katie finally gets the courage to busk in front of a crowd when Charlie takes her out on a big-city date in Seattle, which is cringe-inducing. Plentiful crowds of people of all ages and ethnicities suddenly appear, clapping, bopping, and smiling at one another as she sings her upbeat pop song. Trying to look at it straight on was difficult; I almost needed one of those shoeboxes with a pinhole in the top, like you’d use to watch an eclipse. In fact, Katie’s physical health is deteriorating, but her magical powers of love and inspiration seem to be growing exponentially in comparison, as her body deteriorates.
Having said that, Katie and Charlie encourage and support each other to overcome their fears and be the best versions of themselves – her with her musical ambitions, him with his competitive swimming and college aspirations – in a way that is worthwhile. Although Quinn Shephard serves as Katie’s wisecracking best friend, I wish she had more to do in the show than that. Shephard is a formidable presence in the psychological thriller “Blame,” both in front of and behind the camera, and she brings a great deal of presence and personality to what could have been a one-note performance.
She and the other characters in Katie’s orbit eventually come to realize that love means never having to say you’re sorry. Depending on your age, however, you might be kicking yourself for having ventured into “Midnight Sun.”
For more personality quizzes check this: Hell Fest Quiz.
