The Telescope

Issue Date: 2/8/10

'Dear John' nothing to write home about

2 stars out of 4

By Yvonne Lanot

Media Credit: Courtesy Photo

The film "Dear John" has plenty of romance, drama and wit. What it doesn't have is chemistry between its romantic leads.

This book-turned-movie is about a man named John Tyree, played by Channing Tatum, coming back to his hometown on leave from the U.S. Army. He meets a girl on vacation named Savannah Curtis, played by Amanda Seyfried.

They end up falling madly in love in just two weeks. Later, Savannah has to leave for college and John has to go back to the Army. They promise to keep in touch through letters.

Like most Nicholas Sparks books-turned-movies, this plot follows the romantic drama cliché of a man and a woman falling in love, going through obstacles, ending in tears. This formula made the movie dry and fairly predictable.

Set shortly after the events of Sept. 11, 2001, many people may find themselves able to relate to the losses that John and Savannah suffer. The movie realistically portrays the turmoil that war inflicts both on soldiers and everyday people.

Luckily, Tatum did a good job in portraying the troubled John. As a bonus, Tatum's good looks will help the women in the audience forgive some of the film's more glaring flaws.

Although it's easy to hate the female lead in a romance (how dare she take the charming Tatum for herself?), Seyfried played the young, naive, and thoughtful Savannah very well. In comparison to "The Notebook," another movie based on a book by Sparks, Tatum and Seyfried didn't have the same chemistry that Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling had when they fell in love. The relationship here simply isn't believable.
The true gem in the movie is Richard Jenkins as Mr. Tyree, John's father.

His performance as an antisocial father obsessed with his coin collection was surprisingly good, and Tyree's relationship with his soldier son formed the real heart of the film. Their bond overshadowed the young lovers.

For Sparks fans expecting to cry, this movie will not disappoint. While it did prove to be slow and predictable, where it fails as a romance, it succeeds as a movie about hardships shared between a father and a son and the difficulty of being away from the person you love the most.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools