After an opening segment that has 7-year-old Quentin meeting new neighbor Margo Roth Spiegelman—also known as M—and falling instantly in love, we are introduced to their current-day versions. As close as they were as children, when she would often visit Quentin via his second-story bedroom window, they are now worlds apart socially. Margo, as embodied with feline allure by model-turned-actress Cara Delevingne, has gone her own way and is now the coolest member of the cool crowd. Meanwhile, the still-infatuated Quentin is reduced to catching mere glimpses of his dream girl as they pass in the hallways.
That is, until Margo comes knocking on his window in the dead of the night and demands he drives her around town so she can carry out a series of vandalizing acts inspired by the fact that her rich jock boyfriend cheated on her with one of her friends. Mission completed, the two share an intimate interlude in a high-rise building and even dance to “Lady in Red.”
Quentin gets his hopes up that this could be the start of a beautiful friendship. Then—poof—Margo mysteriously goes missing the next day, right before prom and graduation.
But Ms. M is not one to go into hiding without sprinkling a trail of Amazing Amy-style clues along the way, which occasionally includes leaving behind a spray-painted “M.” Perhaps it’s a Fritz Lang reference or maybe Zorro. But soon Quentin enlists his pals, and eventually Radar’s girlfriend and Margo’s ex-BFF Lacey, to help search her down. Surely, that is what she wants, Q believes.
Almost everyone in the main cast gets a standout moment or two, including Halston Sage—what a name—as the misunderstood Lacey. But “Paper Towns,” which refers to invented locales that cartographers would use to ensure no one purloined their map, is winning enough that you probably won’t ponder its flaws at least until after you toss your popcorn bag away.
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