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Movie · Romance, Drama · 2014 · PG-13

The Fault in Our Stars: parents' guide

13+our pick

Best for ages 13 and up. Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, some sexuality and brief strong language.

A heartfelt, very sad teen romance about two kids with cancer, best for teens ready for a good cry. Hazel and Gus fall in love, travel to Amsterdam and have sex for the first time in a tender, discreet scene with bare backs and a sheet. A central character dies of cancer, and the film lingers on illness, hospital scares, a funeral and grief. Language includes one forceful f-word and a handful of s-words, and a novelist the teens idolize turns out to be a rude drunk. Fine at 13 for most, though kids who've recently lost someone may need more time.

What's in it

Violence

Mild

No real violence. A heartbroken Isaac eggs his ex's car with his friends' help and smashes Gus's old trophies with permission, and a quick glimpse of a video game shows some blood.

Language

Moderate

One forceful f-word, about six s-words, plus "ass," "asshole," "bitch" and "bastard." God's name is used as an exclamation often; one guide counted about 30 times.

Sex and nudity

Moderate

After a kiss in the Anne Frank House, Hazel and Gus undress and have sex; the scene shows a bare back and chest, then the couple under a sheet. Other teens make out and grope, and there are jokes about herpes.

Drinking, drugs and smoking

Moderate

The novelist they visit drinks from morning on and offers the teens Scotch. Hazel and Gus drink champagne at a dinner in Amsterdam and at a picnic, Hazel jokes about fake IDs and pot, and Gus carries an unlit cigarette as a metaphor.

Scary or intense scenes

Moderate

Emotionally heavy rather than scary: medical emergencies, including a late-night crisis that ends with an ambulance, a teen who has lost his eyes to cancer, constant talk of dying, a funeral and raw grief.

Sensitive topics

  • Death of a child

Worth talking about

Hazel worries she's a grenade that will hurt everyone close to her when she dies. Is it better to keep people at a distance to protect them, or to let them in anyway?

Where to stream →

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Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, bbfc.co.uk. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.