If I Stay 2014

Sara Stewart, New York Post: Compared to another recent teen weepie, "The Fault in Our Stars," this one comes up wanting. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: What works for readers, left free to produce their own versions of fantasy devices, can be gigglesome for audiences confronted with a film's prefab literalism. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Ultimately, "If I Stay" is a just barely average teen weepie, enlivened by some pretty cello music but never coming to life. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: You may wonder how Moretz landed in the Cartoonistan of this dewy melodrama, and chalk it up to alien abduction. Yet she almost convinces you, solely on the power of her commitment. Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: The overall execution is so pedestrian that it's possible to feel more moved by the filmmakers' good intentions than by the actual emotional content onscreen. Read more

A.A. Dowd, AV Club: A real turducken of a teen movie, If I Stay stuffs a tale of budding musicianship into a banal romance and then stuffs that combination into a maudlin supernatural melodrama. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Almost everything in the film feels either forced or false, so the tears aren't earned. Read more

Peter Keough, Boston Globe: Maybe on the page this all seems less ridiculous. Read more

Drew Hunt, Chicago Reader: There are even shades of Bergman in the existential premise, but director J.R. Cutler is more interested in the young leads' cookie-cutter romance, and the clunky nonlinear plot precludes any sort of comprehensive narrative. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Cutler is selling a certain kind of product with "If I Stay," but he sells it honestly and well. Read more

Jon Frosch, Hollywood Reporter: [Moretz is] a rapidly rising star and the role is her first full-fledged romantic lead. But a few minutes into the drippy teen love-and-death story, you'll likely wish she hadn't. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: "If I Stay" shuttles between lachrymose developments at the hospital and a series of flashbacks that detail the Mia-Adam relationship. Not surprisingly, the romance is where you want to be. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: If you're not in tears by this movie's end, it probably wasn't intended for you anyway. Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: The title refers to Mia's fraught decision-should she cling to existence or just give up?-and, well before the end, even loyal viewers will be begging her to hurry up and choose. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: "If I Stay" only left me nearly comatose - and very eager to walk into the white light of the lobby. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: I went through half a pack of Kleenex watching "If I Stay." But know this: those tears are no more honestly earned than if director R.J. Cutler had merely been chopping onions in front of me. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: A cleanly directed, credibly acted machine for the production of tears. Read more

Michael Sragow, Orange County Register: The heroine lies in the coma, but the audience may feel brain-dead by the end of If I Stay. Read more

Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press: There's no question that you'll cry at some point during this film. Beautiful young people on the brink of death will do that. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Moretz has a nicely calibrated energy and intensity, and the teen romance ups-and-downs of Mia and Adam's relationship - are they really soul mates, or will he drop her when the right groupie shambles along? - feel authentically OMG-ish. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: The acting is solid across the breadth of the cast, with all the actors fitting nicely into their roles. Mortez is especially good; she brings humanity and believability to Mia. Read more

Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: Plays like a high school version of 'Ghost.' Read more

Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com: [Moretz's] grounded, naturalistic presence goes a long way toward making mushy material palatable. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Documentarian R.J. Cutler, in his feature debut, joins Moretz in delivering this pap as if it meant something. Cue eye rolling. Read more

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: Moretz is an appealing young woman whose star is rising. She'll probably have an exceptional career, but "If I Stay" won't be a highlight. Read more

Kristin Tillotson, Minneapolis Star Tribune: "If I Stay" just barely makes the B honor roll, despite a fine job by dark-indie darling Chloe Grace Moretz in her mainstream breakout performance. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: The settings and supporting roles suggest that "If I Stay" started out as someone's passion project, but the final product only requires its star to sleepwalk through buckets of schlock. Read more

Geoff Pevere, Globe and Mail: If I Stay is true to principle in one significant regard: It makes no concessions to anyone outside its teenage female cohort. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: This overlong adaptation of Gayle Forman's popular young adult novel manages to make the usually effervescent Moretz seem dull. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: While many of the big moments of If I Stay can be easily dismissed, it's the little ones that elevate the film to at least mixed-bag status. Read more

Trevor Johnston, Time Out: For a drama pretty much aimed at 12-year-old girls, this is less superficial than you'd expect. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: It's a tough balancing act melding dewy-eyed teen romance with family tragedy, and harder still to weave in rousing rock performances and gorgeous classical music. If I Stay ambitiously tries to fuse it all and occasionally succeeds. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice: There's something morbidly gratifying about the supercalifragilistically supernatural elements of If I Stay, even if the movie isn't ultimately as effective as it could be. Read more

Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture: You want these people to have real challenges and messiness. But their lives don't quite feel lived in; they feel exemplary. Read more