Review: Dear John

I love movies. So much so that lately I’ve been able to pick (just by a trailer) if a movie will make me actually laugh, cry or roll my eyes. Most of the time, I can even tell you how the movie will end. And I am rarely wrong.

Sometimes, it’s good to know how you’ll react to a movie because then you’re prepared. Unlike I was for Up, where even with warning, I sobbed like a baby. Seriously, that movie broke me.

Anyhow, TC and I hit the movies again and this time it was my pick :) Let’s get to the review.

Movie: Dear John

Rating: PG-13

Release date: February 5, 2010

Everyday Adventures’ grade: B+

Summary: Nicholas Sparks is tries again to make you cry until you can’t breathe or your tear ducts beg for mercy. But this time, instead of “The Notebook,” it’s “Dear John,” a love story about John (Channing Tatum) and Savannah (Amanda Seyfried). John and Savannah meet and fall in love one summer, only to be torn apart by John’s Army deployment. To stay connected, they write letters to each other and over the years find that things don’t always stay the same.

My thoughts: I’ll just say it, yes, you will cry. And yes, there are several scenes of Channing Tatum shirtless and they are G-L-O-R-I-O-U-S. It’s the only time I’ve been in a movie where people are choking back tears and fawning over a bare chest at the same time.

In comparison to “The Notebook,” I liked “Dear John” a lot more. The timeliness of the story, a couple torn apart by one being in the military, really connects and the frustration and devotion between John and Savannah is very realistic. Sure, there are some hammy lines and lingering moments with unfinished sentences (like a bad Party of Five rerun) but the emotion in the letters between the main characters really makes you yearn for that connection we often lose by email.

Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried are great and the chemistry between them feels very real. And of course, he is VERY NICE to look at. Richard Jenkins (The Visitor/Stepbrothers) is also really effective as John’s dad. He is a great actor and the father/son dynamic made me cry at parts (even more than the main story) because it was so real. Even little Elliott from E.T. (Henry Thomas) has a small role and provides a rather surprising plot twist. There is a subplot about autism that never fully plays out and throws you off but it’s not a big distraction from the main story.

Here’s what I liked about the movie: the way it shows love growing and changing as time passes but distance remains. The ending was not what I expected but yet, it after some thought, I felt okay about it. It tackles the idea that a true love and connection never dies even as lives and relationships evolve, but doesn’t wrap everything up in a bow like, “oh my gosh we went through so much and still are the same people we were before.” That’s not real.

I wasn’t a huge fan of 500 Days of Summer’s realistic view on love but this is a good balance of reality and idealism and that I can live with.

On a tissue scale, this was a 2-3 tissue movie.

Did anyone else go see it this weekend? Or do you plan to see it?