The Sun Is Also a Star

Romance fans comfortable with suspending disbelief will find Shahidi and Melton luminous enough to make this uniquely New York City love story a sweet diversion. Yes, there are several too-good-to-be-true coincidences -- especially in a city with 8 million people -- but that's the particular alchemy necessary for the story of The Sun Is Also a Star to make the polar opposite leads think about fate, destiny, and being meant to be. And there's a certain amount of joy involved in watching these two appealing young people traipse around all of Manhattan together. Yes, the movie ia occasionally a tad slow, and it makes their romance spark more immediately than the book did. There, each lingering look, conversation, and mini adventure made the inevitable kissing and declarations of love feel more earned. But director Ry Russo-Young's interpretation of Yoon's book is in keeping with what's always made the story swoon-worthy.

Shahidi is particularly well cast as Natasha, who's initially resistant to Daniel's advances because of her family's imminent deportation. She imbues her character with the depth you'd expect under the circumstances. Melton is almost too amazing to believe as the earnest, eager Daniel, who wears his heart on his sleeve. The movie's differences from the book make sense, especially in today's political climate regarding immigration, but most of the key scenes -- and even the historical interludes -- are the same. The discussions of Carl Sagan, the universe, the historical reasons behind Korean-owned black hair supply stores, the sexy karaoke scene: They're all effective. What doesn't translate as well is the epilogue, which on film seems unnecessary and overly cute after a poignant, bittersweet almost-ending that would have worked better.