A loyal soldier on a two-week leave meets a sweet young woman, and they begin a passionate relationship. Love promises are made and reuniting dates are set. Dozens of letters are traded. But then 9/11 happens, and the soldier re-enlists.
A loyal soldier on a two-week leave meets a sweet young woman, and they begin a passionate relationship. Love promises are made and reuniting dates are set. Dozens of letters are traded. But then 9/11 happens, and the soldier re-enlists. Their brief and intense love will be put to a test.
Swedish filmmaker Lasse Hallström has directed some incredible masterpieces, such as “My Life as a Dog,” “What’s Eating Gilbert’s Grape,” “The Cider House Rules” and “Chocolat.” So it seems strange that he would direct “Dear John,” a long, bland and painfully weepy movie, even though it’s well crafted.
Channing Tatum plays Special Forces army sergeant John Tyree, and Amanda Seyfried plays Savannah Curtis.
Tatum and Seyfried actually do an excellent job playing the young couple in love, and are able to pass the notion that love conquers everything. But it doesn’t, love cannot save a movie based on a Nicholas Sparks’ novel.
Sparks’ bestselling novels specialize in fate, love, tragedy and Christianity. While his novels might work as inspirational books, the pseudo-Greek tragedies of the Nebraska native don’t work for film; despite six of his corny books have already been transposed to the silver screen.
There’s nothing but tears and pain in “Dear John.” A timid attempt to portray the good side of autism doesn’t even work, because the autism portrayed in “Dear John” is in a mild form, and is used merely as an illustration anyway.
Not much is achieved by the main characters on “Dear John,” but lots of tearful moments. However, Tatum’s character deserves some credit for mending his relationship with his father, well played by Richard Jenkins.
There are a few moments of greatness in “Dear John.” When Savannah’s father, an apparently arrogant know-it-all first meets John, he tells him the war will last a lot longer than expected, and soldiers will have to be told to reenlist over and over. Sparks’ novel was not such a military propaganda as it seemed at first.
But the movie is hardly against the military. John, an exemplary soldier with a somehow not so exemplary past, puts army duty above and beyond anything.
Sparks seems to embrace the trend of supporting the troops, but not the war. Only fair.
Had Hallström been able to break free from Sparks’ novel, he would’ve probably been able to craft a great movie.
The Swedish director has enough talent to put together beautiful and touching movies. Instead, he made what looks like an expensive Lifetime TV movie.
“Dear John” has some touching moments of tenderness between Savannah and John, and we are led to believe that true love is worth it every sacrifice. But then in the drop a hat, everything changes. A message becomes Greek tragedy, and we are left to wonder what this movie is all about.
In real life, sometimes romance beats fiction. Movie-goer Alana White was involved in a long-distance relationship while attending college for a year in Santa Barbara, California.
“He wrote me postcards everyday,” White said. “I have a stack of like, 60 postcards.”
Juli Boucher, who accompanied White at the movies, was quickly to remind her friend that she didn’t act like she “was going to die everyday,” an allusion to Seyfried’s character.
White is now back on the island, and still going strong with her other half.
Boucher said she enjoyed “Dear John” overall, but that it was nothing more than a “cute chick flick.”
On its opening week, “Dear John” topped the weekend box office, grossing over $30.4 million. “Avatar” came in second, grossing over $22.8 million.
However, the alien fantasy is on its eighth week at theaters. It’s arguable that by its eighth week, “Dear John” will already be “John Who?”