'An excellent romance film is a lot like true love ... it only happens once'
Chris Moskaly
Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Reviews
I have nothing against love stories and I never tire of hearing and sharing them among my peers, but when it comes to seeing them on the big screen, I'm seriously starting to wonder if the concept of "originality" has run completely out of gas in Hollywood. The worst part of romantic flicks is that most (if not all) of them have a strong desire to be special, and even if we can acknowledge the effort, they still fail to escape the "love flow."
"Dear John" is a prime example of a romance story (or chick flick, whatever) that has its heart in the right place, but doesn't quite know how to follow it. Impressively enough, it does maintain a close connection to the Nicholas Sparks novel, but because we have already seen one of his better novels (The Notebook) brought to life, 'Dear John' feels more like a second honeymoon to the same exact place.
We already know without asking that the main character's name is John (Channing Tatum), and that by some coincidence he will fall in love with a girl who is (from a social perspective) too good for him. The girl's name is Savannah (Amanda Seyfried), and all she has to do is drop her purse into the ocean so that the quiet guy can retrieve it. A nice idea to get the ball rolling, but as soon as the two lovebirds are forced to leave each other (as they inevitably must), it doesn't take long for the "low battery" signal to start flashing on "Dear John."
Much like "The Notebook," the plot in "Dear John" doesn't thrive so much on the characters who are in it, but more so on the letters they write to each other in the process. This makes the thespian job much easier for Tatum and Seyfried, both of whom are very talented and deserve much better opportunities to prove it. The ironic thing is, they actually are convincing as a couple in this film, but only when their characters are placed in the comfort zone can we buy their performances. By the time we reach the more climactic moments, it feels like the actors have suddenly become prisoners of the story, and are only behaving "according to the genre." We know what they're going to do, we know what they're going to say, and as the title hints, we know exactly where the road must eventually turn.
Aside from misusing its up-and-coming stars, "Dear John" also suffers from an empty approach to its premise. Even when the producers know they can't disguise the familiarity of the story, it shows a good bit of potential when a director can still "grip" the audience through specific details. 'Dear John' has no details, and Lasse Hallstrom doesn't seem to care at all about how or why anything is happening. Nick Cassavetes knew that "The Notebook" couldn't be entirely original, but that film had a strong theme, and because he knew how to use it properly, most viewers still followed it all the way to the tear-jerking conclusion. As I drove home from this test screening, all I could think was, "Maybe Mr. Tatum should send a "dear John" letter to his agent.
Seeing that National Condom Week is upon us, I'm sure that in spite of what I've said here, "Dear John" will still fair a decent amount of success at the box-office. How it will compare to next week's "Valentine's Day" remains to be seen, but if the outlook on that film is any indication, I'm starting to think that no matter how recycled the formula seems, all you need to make a romance film is a cast of popular actors, a familiar (but not too recent) dramatic structure, and a February release to seal the deal. I guess seeing an excellent romance film is a lot like finding true love ... it only happens once. For me, it was "Chasing Amy."
Grade: C-
"Dear John" is a prime example of a romance story (or chick flick, whatever) that has its heart in the right place, but doesn't quite know how to follow it. Impressively enough, it does maintain a close connection to the Nicholas Sparks novel, but because we have already seen one of his better novels (The Notebook) brought to life, 'Dear John' feels more like a second honeymoon to the same exact place.
We already know without asking that the main character's name is John (Channing Tatum), and that by some coincidence he will fall in love with a girl who is (from a social perspective) too good for him. The girl's name is Savannah (Amanda Seyfried), and all she has to do is drop her purse into the ocean so that the quiet guy can retrieve it. A nice idea to get the ball rolling, but as soon as the two lovebirds are forced to leave each other (as they inevitably must), it doesn't take long for the "low battery" signal to start flashing on "Dear John."
Much like "The Notebook," the plot in "Dear John" doesn't thrive so much on the characters who are in it, but more so on the letters they write to each other in the process. This makes the thespian job much easier for Tatum and Seyfried, both of whom are very talented and deserve much better opportunities to prove it. The ironic thing is, they actually are convincing as a couple in this film, but only when their characters are placed in the comfort zone can we buy their performances. By the time we reach the more climactic moments, it feels like the actors have suddenly become prisoners of the story, and are only behaving "according to the genre." We know what they're going to do, we know what they're going to say, and as the title hints, we know exactly where the road must eventually turn.
Aside from misusing its up-and-coming stars, "Dear John" also suffers from an empty approach to its premise. Even when the producers know they can't disguise the familiarity of the story, it shows a good bit of potential when a director can still "grip" the audience through specific details. 'Dear John' has no details, and Lasse Hallstrom doesn't seem to care at all about how or why anything is happening. Nick Cassavetes knew that "The Notebook" couldn't be entirely original, but that film had a strong theme, and because he knew how to use it properly, most viewers still followed it all the way to the tear-jerking conclusion. As I drove home from this test screening, all I could think was, "Maybe Mr. Tatum should send a "dear John" letter to his agent.
Seeing that National Condom Week is upon us, I'm sure that in spite of what I've said here, "Dear John" will still fair a decent amount of success at the box-office. How it will compare to next week's "Valentine's Day" remains to be seen, but if the outlook on that film is any indication, I'm starting to think that no matter how recycled the formula seems, all you need to make a romance film is a cast of popular actors, a familiar (but not too recent) dramatic structure, and a February release to seal the deal. I guess seeing an excellent romance film is a lot like finding true love ... it only happens once. For me, it was "Chasing Amy."
Grade: C-
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