There's something magical in how CRAZY BEAUTIFUL YOU delivers its teenage romantic tale. As it unfolds, this new KathNiel movie, bares no different skin, and unveils a familiar picture reminiscent of countless others belonging to its genre. Yet, it is through this familiarity, that the movie takes its greatest strengths. It's with its simplicity and honesty that the film is able to seamlessly hit its targets, and deliver its message with haunting resonance.
On moments where the story shreds its details, CRAZY BEAUTIFUL YOU comes across with piercing yet tangible truths about family and young love, and forgiveness and acceptance. There's these striking references to Mount Pinatubo's eruption--how it created an ambrosial beauty after an utterly horrendous disaster--and to Jackie's pictures--how it assumes heart when taken at newer perspectives--both of which rings across the path that our leads take on their way to maturity, and across the story's overall progression. On those moments, the scenery and music both play as key factors, for bringing the emotional capacity of the film to seismic levels.
There's no doubt that Kathryn and Daniel are central to the film's overwhelming charisma, as we see how their characters transform throughout the film, and plays in perfect accord with the story's lazy yet satisfying development. And against the backdrop of Pinatubo and dusty yet breathtaking landscape of the lahar-infested Aeta community of Tarukan, plus the mostly timely insertion of Starship's Nothing Gonna Stop Us Now, that KathNiel charm proves to be the biggest asset that this film has.
In the end, Crazy Beautiful You, triumphs in delivering its full capacity. In spite of its tiring formula, the film pays utmost attention to its details carefully and exquisitely, enough for it to completely shrug off its easily recognizable set-up. This is easily my top teen romantic movie of the year. I give the film 9/10 stars.
