In a new BTB column, our film critics review the latest movies, so you can decide whether it’s worth going out in the snow to see them.
This post was written by Hatchet Reporter Kathryn Beard.
I have a confession to make: I was one of the few females that didn’t like “The Notebook.” Maybe I’m a romance skeptic, or a movie watcher that demands more than popcorn fluff on the screen in front of her, but I found the decade-spanning love story of Noah and Allie sappy, unrealistic and too poetically perfect. “The Notebook” faced the same limitations as the other films adapted from bestselling author Nicholas Sparks’ novels. In his writing, Sparks seems to revise the same formula and then re-issue it time and time again: two unlikely 20-somethings falling head over heels for each other over a minuscule span of time. Some grand force interrupts their romantic bliss, and the lovers will spend months, years, decades fighting their undeniable pull and longing back towards each other. Cue a few music montages of their reconnection and a dramatic climax. Then they all live happily ever after in a Southern seaside hamlet.
I feared “Dear John,” the latest from Sparks, would fall into the same cookie-cutter category, simply updated by a military backdrop and an experienced director (Lasse Hallstrom of “Chocolat” and “The Cider House Rules”). I was pleasantly surprised and genuinely entertained, however, by the romantic motion picture.
In tranquil Charleston, S.C., stoic soldier John Tyree (Channing Tatum), home for a brief military leave, meets and subsequently falls for Southern belle Savannah Curtis (Amanda Seyfried). Visiting for spring break, self-described “conservative” college student Savannah literally stumbles upon John, his six-pack and his surfboard on a beach outing with her friends. A few dates later, the unlikely twosome are in love and spend an idyllic two weeks together before John ships back to Germany and Savannah to college. Unlikely developments threaten their grand plans of reunion, including Sept. 11, John’s subsequent re-enlistment and Savannah’s constant suitors. Their relationship is sustained only by daily letters titled “Dear John.”
The somewhat implausible story and lackluster script is saved by the actors holding up the film. Seyfried, best known for her “ESPN” abilities displayed in “Mean Girls,” makes Savannah likable despite her disgustingly angelic exterior. Her co-star shows that he is more than just a tan body with stunningly large biceps. Tatum has proved in previous roles (see “Step Up” and “Stop-Loss”) that he can easily play the quiet, misunderstood teen with a troubled past; in “Dear John,” he convincingly portrays a dysfunctional relationship with his autistic father (Richard Jenkins) and his internal conflict between love and country following Sept. 11.
The film is not perfect and the conclusion feels too rushed to be satisfying, but the ride to get there is rather entertaining and filled with enough surprises that it keeps the audience enthralled. The beautiful backdrop of the Southern towns and a catchy soundtrack help to compensate for the formulaic plot. Unlike in “The Notebook,” I actually cared about the obnoxiously good-looking couple fawning over each other on the screen. A passionate stare from Tatum’s heartbroken eyes were enough to bring a few tears to my own, and the tears will come, especially in a tenderly sweet moment between John and his aging father. The film does manage to balance these sappy moments with the cute, the comedic and the tragic ones.
“Dear John” will not satisfy the harshest critics or entertain those that possess a Y chromosome, but for women looking for a romantic tale on this Super Bowl weekend, the film will satisfy their cinematic desires as they’ll see that happily ever after is possible, at least in the movies.
