Going into Dear John, it's important for any viewer to know one fact: it's a movie based on a Nicholas Sparks novel. If you had a problem with A Walk to Remember or The Notebook, you're probably not the target audience for this movie. That being said, if you go into Dear John with the right expectations: knowing that it is first and foremost a romance movie, that it'll have its cheesy moments, and that you'll need a pack of tissues handy, you are much more likely to come out with a gratifying movie-going experience.
Dear John's plot is simple: John, a soldier who is back home in North Carolina on leave, and Savannah, a college student working for Habitat for Humanity during her school break, fall madly and passionately in love with each other over the course of the two weeks they have together. Of course, like in all movies, its not as simple as 'they fell in love and lived happily ever after', the conflict sets in: John has to go back to war, and Savannah back to college. Yes, we've heard the story before. I know it's not original. But thats one of things I think I like best about a Nicholas Sparks story: he doesn't rely on originality. Its the relationships in his stories that he focuses most of his attention on, and in this he succeeds beyond belief. You feel the chemistry building between the two leads and cant help but keep your fingers crossed during the whole movie, hoping they will finally be together in the end. And the two stars, Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried, do everything they possibly can to support Sparks passion and bring John and Savannah to life. I was especially surprised with Channing Tatum. Having only seen him in movies such as "She's the Man" and "Step Up", I went into the movie with my mind made up that he would screw over all the emotional moments of the movie with his terrible excuse for acting. But i'll say this right now: I was wrong. He really put his all into the role, and while I still feel like he had his moments where he was slacking, he has the building blocks to be a much better actor than he has given himself the opportunity to be. Amanda Seyfried was, as usual, stunningly gorgeous and very sincere in her portrayal of Savannah. I'm starting to think that she can really do no wrong.
Now for the negatives: for the most part, Dear John has been recieving less than positive reviews from most, and the only thing I can contribute this to is the screenplay. Without giving anything away, I will say that there are certain aspects of the story that seem as if they come absolutely out of nowhere and don't make sense to the audience, therefore forcefully dragging the viewer out of the story. In addition to that, the ending is very abrupt and somewhat dissatifying. For people who have read the book: as hard as it is, try and detach the book from your head, otherwise you are destined to hate this movie. The ending was completely butchered and things were changed that brought the story as a whole down instead of up. But sadly this is a risk we always have to be prepared to face when a favorite book is adapted into a movie.
While it's unfortunate that the story structure broke down in the second act, there are still a very good amount of extremely satisfying and heartwrenching/heartwarming moments that, in my opinion, the movie was still able to redeem itself as a whole. John and Savannah's connection is so touching and sweet that I can't help but forgive the movie its flaws. Instead of instantly listening to the bad reviews and staying far away, all I can say is to at least give it a try. If you liked the look of the trailer and go in with the right state of mind, I truly feel like you will thoroughly enjoy Dear John.
Rating: B-
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