REVIEW: Old-Fashioned Romance Carries ‘Dear John’ Over Rough Spots
by John P. HanlonMany people know what they should expect when they are go to a film adapted from a Nicholas Sparks book. Sparks, the author of such romantic books as “The Notebook” and its sequel “The Wedding,” is a well-known author who has had nearly half a dozen books adapted for the big screen. “Dear John” is his latest and one that delivers a fine sentimental story about young adolescent romance, even though the third act disappoints.
“Dear John” revolves around a romance between its two lead characters, John Tyree (Channing Tatum) and Savannah Curtis (Amanda Seyfried). The two meet when Curtis’ purse falls into the ocean and Tyree promptly delivers it to her. Although another guy (played by “Friday Night Light’s” Scott Porter) is interested in Curtis, she falls for Tyree, who is at home for a few weeks before he returns to the Army. The romance develops during the two weeks the couple spends together and soon enough the couple is torn apart when Tyree is sent back overseas. But they send each other love letters to keep their romance alive.
The movie develops from there as Tyree is forced to make choices about whether he wants to re-enlist after the September 11the attacks. Curtis is forced to make choices about her own life, as well. This may sound like a romantic movie with nothing else to offer, however there are some strong elements that elevate it beyond a simplistic romance.
The movie has a nice father-son relationship between Tyree and his father (played by Richard Jenkins), that’s even stronger than the Tyree-Curtis romance. In his role, Jenkins is great as a quiet father who collects coins and who once shared that passion with his son. He delivers the strongest performance by far and is one of the best parts of the movie. Jenkins was often off the critics’ radar before his performance in the great film “The Visitor,” and “Dear John” uses him affectionately knowing his strengths as an actor.
As with some of the other Nicholas Sparks films, this is an old-fashioned romance about young love and the things that divide two people who have fallen in love. It is blatantly sentimental and aims straight at your heart strings without backing away. It unabashedly asks viewers to fall in love with the young couple and to believe in their relationship even though the two of them are often separated for long periods of time.
In the third act, though, the story takes a disappointing turn. After Tyree returns home from duty for a short period, there is a surprising revelation that detracts from the main story. It seems like an out of nowhere plot twist that only serves to make the conclusion of the film more dramatic.
Although the third act seriously hurts the movie, I did enjoy the film. It has enough strengths (including the father-son relationship) to overcome the weaknesses. Romance fans will likely not be disappointed. As for other film-goers, “Dear John” might be a letter best unopened.
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If memory serves – a 'Dear John' letter was something you DIDN"T want to get …. ever …
Looking forward to seeing it. I hope the title doesn't convey the real meaning of "Dear John."
As I recall, the very worst "Dear John" letters began "Dear Occupant…"
Or maybe it was the one that began wtih "My husband asked me to write . . ."
Come to think of it, I guess it was "Dear fascist baby-killer. I hope you rot in Hell."
Those involved certainly did not want to get a 'dear John' letter. I will see this film. Hopefully, it conveys that relationships are left behind and that military sacrifice extends far beyond the realm of being in harms way. Clint Eastwood played homage to this facet of military life in one scene where Gunny Highway is confronted by his ex-wife and she slaps him on both cheeks saying that she did not want to live from "one g_d_ war to the next one. Gunny takes her gently in his arms and for the first time in his calloused life possibly understands how much war costs. So I am hoping this film will be exemplary in demonstrating how many persons are involved when one warrior goes to war.
Fully agree about the third act, thought that it was exceptionally better than I expected up until that point. I asked my wife, she of course disagreed, she needed the third act, I didn't. The father-son relationship was excellent and the acting by the father will blow you away, he did a great job. As an aside, see if, as the movie goes on that you find the main characters to be more attractive. My wife and I agreed that their characters made them more endearing, something Hollywood does far too infrequently, have you fall for the characters for anything beyond their looks. That's not to say that both of them aren't already good-looking, it's just that there's more to like of them as the movie goes on.
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This is a case where I wish I did NOT know an actor's politics, but the fact that I do makes me unwilling to support the film.
Given the director's rather deft hand at earlier romances, one may wonder where and when that plot twist got introdiced.
Oddly – there was a review where the reviewer pretty much hated the movie, and it was obvious that the man had a HUGE chip on his shoulder about stuff that made soldiers look reasonably good, etc. as he went out of his way to complain about Tyree's "understanding of Bush's foreign policy", etc.
Predictably enough, when comparing the alternatives at teh end for the "luckless guy" who gets dragged to this chick flick, he said if you'd won the toss and gone to see "From Paris with Love." – you'd have lost anyway.
Me, I haven't seen D.J., but "From paris" rocked.
I think the worst was "To Whom It May Concern", it was xeroxed.
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