This would be a good opportunity to stop and acknowledge how impossibly wholesome “Midnight Sun” is, but that’s also what makes it kinda refreshing. The movie exists in an alternate universe in which the hunkiest, most popular guy in school also happens to be smart and sensitive—and of course, he prefers the sweet, sheltered Katie to the beautiful, bitchy cheerleader who’s after him. He’s a modern-day Jake Ryan. All these characters ever do is share chaste kisses and—at most—go night swimming in their underwear. Even the obligatory raging kegger is shockingly bereft of house trashing and projectile vomiting.

But taken to an extreme, that sweetness can be cringe-inducing, as in the scene in which Katie finally gets the guts to busk in front of a crowd when Charlie takes her out on a big-city date in Seattle. People of all ages and ethnicities suddenly appear, clapping and bopping and smiling at each other as she sings her peppy pop song. It was hard to look at it head-on—I almost needed one of those shoeboxes with a pinhole in it, like you’d use to view an eclipse. And that’s just a harbinger of things to come as Katie’s body deteriorates, but her magical powers of love and inspiration seem to grow exponentially by comparison.

Having said that, Katie and Charlie push and support each other to overcome their fears and be the best they can be—her with her musical dreams, him with his competitive swimming and college aspirations – in a way that’s worthwhile. But I wish Quinn Shephard had more to do beyond functioning as Katie’s wisecracking best friend. Shephard is a force to be reckoned with in the psychological thriller “Blame,” both in front of and behind the camera, and she brings a lot of presence and personality to a one-note role.

And as she and all the other characters in Katie’s orbit ultimately learn, love means never having to say you’re sorry. But you might be sorry you stepped into “Midnight Sun,” depending on your age.

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