Think of your typical college guy. Fraternities. Beer Pong. To most 18- to 22-year-old males, “romance” is letting a girl have a free party cup and chivalrously paying for a cab so she doesn’t have to walk-of-shame down West Johnson come morning. In “Dear John,” based off of a book by romance writer Nicholas Sparks, girls can escape into a world of kisses in the rain, boys who want to meet your parents and Channing Tatum (“G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra) looking stunning in an army uniform.
“Dear John” may look like your typical romance, and in many ways, it is. A moment of love at first sight that’s sort of hard to believe? Check. An oh-so-innocent beautiful girl and a ridiculously good-looking boy? Check. A “look at how in love we are” montage? Check. And an eventual separation, leading to a fight, leading to a major rift in the relationship that later comes to a head when they meet again? Check. But before you throw “Dear John” into the same category as stuffed bears and heart-shaped boxes of candy, know that this particular movie has a bit more to offer.
Amanda Seyfried (“Jennifer’s Body”) shines as a sweet-yet-sassy southern girl by the name of Savannah, who loves horses and has a dream to one day open a horse camp for autistic children. She doesn’t smoke or drink, and she builds houses for charity. Combined with her gorgeous looks, she could come off as too perfect to be realistic, but Seyfried pulls off the character effortlessly and makes her seem a bit more three-dimensional with a hot temper and a ballsy attitude toward John, an Army officer in Special Forces played by Tatum.
John Tyree is an ex-bad boy who doesn’t get along with his father and apparently has a soft spot for blonde southern belles. Although Tatum clearly isn’t bad to look at, which may be the number one reason he landed this role, he also pulls off the brooding soldier rather well. His more emotional moments were actually very moving and believable, whether he’s heartbroken over Savannah’s letters or visiting his sick father in the hospital. But at the same time, he can pull off the goofy, charming side of John. Although his stoic ways can sometimes seem more bland than brave, he can cry realistically, which is more than one can say for most chiseled 20-something actors.
A true star in the movie is Richard Jenkins (“Burn After Reading”), who plays John’s autistic father with an obsessive coin-collecting hobby. Jenkins’ performance will particularly move any father who has had a hard time understanding his son and any son who has had a hard time accepting his father, as well as anyone with, well, an emotional bone in their body. As Savannah helps mend John and his father’s broken relationship, Jenkins flawlessly pulls off the character of an old man who has a hard time coming out of his set ways. His performance could overshadow Tatum’s, but it instead improves it, allowing Tatum to feed off of Jenkins’ perfectly polished portrayal and to pull out emotion from his own character.
Another highpoint of the movie was the soundtrack. Filled with acoustic guitars, gentle piano pieces and even a song sung by Seyfried, the music weaves in and out of the movie, successfully helping further the story and put the audience member in either the deep south or the army base camp where John is stationed.
The movie does, however, have a hint of predictability. With the exception of a final twist that no one will be able to guess, the first four fifths of the movie pretty much follow the elements of a love story to a T. The movie gets a tad long in the middle and appears rather anticlimactic, but the subplots of Savannah’s autistic neighbor, John’s time in the army and his relationship with his father fill time reasonably well.
Overall, romances aren’t for everyone. If you drag your boyfriend to this movie, the moments of army action and fighting boys might keep him interested, but he will most likely complain. Most cynics will probably roll their eyes at this traditional Nicholas Sparks tale. However, if you’re desperate for a movie with some eye candy and believable actors that’ll also make you have a little more faith in the opposite gender, “Dear John” is well worth your time, money and Kleenex, mostly due to its fresh faced talent.
4 stars out of 5.
