Monday Movie Review #4 - Dear John

Monday, February 8, 2010

Well, Dear John has officially reaffirmed my lack of faith in book-to-film adaptations. I know, it's sad to hear because I was really excited for this film, and I'm pretty sure a lot of you were/are, too. Perhaps it's just me. Either way, let's review...Below is the summary of the novel by Nicholas Sparks.



An angry rebel, John dropped out of school and enlisted in the Army, not knowing what else to do with his life--until he meets the girl of his dreams, Savannah. Their mutual attraction quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah waiting for John to finish his tour of duty, and John wanting to settle down with the woman who captured his heart. But 9/11 changes everything. John feels it is his duty to re-enlist. And sadly, the long separation finds Savannah falling in love with someone else. "Dear John," the letter read...and with those two words, a heart was broken and two lives were changed forever. Returning home, John must come to grips with the fact that Savannah, now married, is still his true love--and face the hardest decision of his life.
Taken from GoodReads.


Dear John opens with a monologue from John, one of the many letters he has written over the course of his life, and it begins by showing the day John was injured overseas. A huge part of the book was the letters John and Savannah wrote one another while he was deployed. That was so downplayed though. It was almost an afterthought. (I'm really trying not to give spoilers here, so you'll have to forgive my incoherent babbling.) Nicholas Sparks books are sad. We all know this, but I have to be honest - the relationship between John and Savannah didn't make me cry. Not once. John's dad though, I cried over him. That broke my heart.

The movie fails to give much of John or Savannah's back story at all - back story that creates the actual story at hand. Yes, it's visually appealing, and yes, the setting is as gorgeous as the book describes, but other than that, there was just no real connection between John and Savannah, played by Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried, respectively. To be blunt, Channing Tatum, though incredibly attractive, simply can't act the part. Rating this movie based only upon itself and not on the failure to live up to the book, I give this a 2 out of 5. Bottom line - do not go in expecting to see The Notebook because this will not measure up.

Highlights Include: The previews, watching Channing Tatum surf and checking out his abs, and dumb quotes like "You made fire! How primal."



P.S. They showed the trailer for The Last Song, also by Nicholas Sparks, and I have to say it looks a thousand times better, even if I'm not partial to Miley Cyrus.

17 comments:

  1. oh ouch. well, didn't plan on seeing it before, definitely not going to now...you nearly failed it! well you did actually. and channing what's his name? he's a shiteous actor! (was that too blunt?)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oooo I can't wait for The Last Song. Thanks for the review. I think I'm going to wait until this one comes out on video.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My teenage sister went and saw it this weekend and told me she liked it. We both liked the book, so I was asking her questions and was shocked to hear how it didn't match up to the book at all?!? She appreciated the movie for Channing Tatum, and as a cute love story, but from what I understand it is not the same plot of the book in almost any aspect (except maybe for characters names).

    ReplyDelete
  4. My sister saw this Saturday and then bought the book. She's reading it now, and has already told me that, compared to the movie, this book is gold. I'm even more curious now than I was before.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm sad to hear you didn't like it. I'm still planning on seeing it this weekend though. When I read the book I was sadder about the relationship with John and his dad than John and Savannah, so as long as that stays true to the book then I'm happy.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I feel about the same way as you, I was really disappointed. I didn't cry either, aside from his father, which really let the tears out. That is so true about the letters, they read out loud a few letters, but that was basically it! Overall, I didn't think it was terrible, I just expected a lot more out of it. Yes, The Last Song looks a LOT better, I can't wait! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have to say I feel the opposite about this movie. The book to movie adaption was seriously lacking but I felt the acting was pretty good. Since all the emotion comes from his side, I thought he did a good job of conveying his feelings. I was disappointed that there was not more of the letter in the movies and the thought it was better than the Notebook. But great review!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I actually haven't read this novel, but I have a copy somewhere. I always get so disappointed when a film fails to live up to the book.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ah, was looking forward to this. Still might see it but too bad you didn't like it. :(

    ReplyDelete
  10. Have you read the stories about Channing's incident with his package? Shocking. That's all I can think about when I see the previews for this movie. It's, uh, distracting.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm excited for The Last song. So many Nicholas spark books adapted. I like The Notebook the best!! Though I don't think I'll be seeing Dear John.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I havent read this book, but have seen and loved the Notebook! I thought this would be similiar, something just as good or even better..wow..giving it two stars is not that great. I will check it out ofcourse.. :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh dear... :(
    But at the same time, I don't know which movie adaptations is EXTREMELY faithful. (I only know of one. :P)

    ReplyDelete
  14. I was super excited about this movie, but I went in expecting it to totally disappoint compared to the book. I just wanted to see Channing Tatum...he is pretty awesome to look at!!!

    I want to watch The Last Song, but I'm not looking forward to Miley. Oh well...I still heart N. Sparks and his writing!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh my. I'm going to watch this movie this weekend with me mom, who really wants to go, lol. I don't know though! I haven't read the book yet (AH, it's SOO hard to find the time to read the book first then watch the movie these days) and I really want to.

    Anyway, that's too bad. My friend, however, said she almost cried. I like those kinds of movies...and I just may see it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ah. Sorry to hear you didn't like it. I think I'm going to watch the movie FIRST and then read the book after. Maybe I'll have a better chance of liking the movie if I wait on reading it. And I agree, Channing Tatum is good looking, but not too good of an actor. Oh well. I love Amanda Seyfried. She is so pretty. And not a bad actor. I think she's pretty good. :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Ah, I might just wait until it comes out on DVD then (plus, it will give me more time to read the book!).

    Ooh, and I just looked up The Last Song trailer, and it does look pretty good! :D

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! I always do my very best to return the favour :)

Please note that this blog is an award-free zone!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Pin It button on image hover