[yasr_overall_rating]
A 17-year-old girl suffers from a condition that prevents her from being out in the sunlight.
A doting father, Jack (Rob Riggle), has nothing but love for his 17-year-old daughter Katie (Bella Thorne), whom he has raised by himself after her mother died when she was only three years old. While he does everything he can to protect her, he cannot shield her from xeroderma pigmentosum, a dreaded disease which causes immense pain if she is exposed to sunlight. Faced with few alternatives, Katie is homeschooled and from her bedroom window, she grows up watching the neighborhood children play and go back and forth to school. In particular, she develops a fascination with and then lifelong crush on Charles Green (Patrick Schwarzenegger), the typical boy-next-door type who is handsome and athletic.
Katie still manages to have a great life as she learns to play the guitar and is able to spend endless hours after sundown hanging out with her girlfriend, Morgan (Quinn Shephard). Whether doing activities at home or going out on the town with her father at night, she manages to keep up with various social activities. When she graduated High School, her father gifted her with the guitar that her mother used to play for her when she was a child. Katie’s insistence on being able to go out on the town and celebrate graduation leads to a surprise meeting with her childhood crush, Charlie. Not totally prepared for the surprise encounter, Katie turns into a shrinking violet and makes silly excuses as to why she has to get back home. In her haste to get away, she leaves her music diary and Charlie’s quest to find its owner becomes his main mission after he receives news that an injury would jeopardize his college scholarship.
A great love story starts to unfold as Morgan sets Katie up for another meeting with Charlie and they form a solid relationship built on an untold truth. The more Katie falls for Charlie, the more she tries to keep the secret of why she isn’t able to be out during the day. When she becomes totally consumed with the relationship and stays out beyond her sunshine curfew, she is forced to come clean with Charlie as she becomes gravely ill. In the final stages, Katie makes a decision to choose love, live fully, and accept her fate and she challenges her father to do the same.
Director Scott Speer gives us an amazing story that focuses on the boundaries of a critical illness, how it impacts an entire family and community, and the limitless boundaries of love. Bella Thorne and Patrick Schwarzenegger exude chemistry while Rob Riggle plays the amazing role of a dedicated, single parent who only wants the best for his child. While emotions run high in this film, the life lessons balance it out, making it both educational and entertaining with real examples of unconditional love and acceptance.
In theaters Friday, March 23rd
