Review of Dear John (2010) by Tim M — 16 Jan 2011

The man responsible for four of the most popular romances throughout the past 11 years has brought us a new chapter to his growing resume. There is no doubting the popularity of author Nicholas Sparks.

His works that have been transformed into film include "Message in a Bottle," "A Walk to Remember," "The Notebook" and "Nights in Rodanthe." Sparks' novels have translated into box office success with his first four outings grossing more than $360 million worldwide. Although supported by a loyal fan base, critics have been skeptical of every Sparks' outing so far.

Sparks' latest source material is "Dear John" directed by Oscar nominated filmmaker Lasse Hallstrom and co-stars Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried. "Dear John" is the story of John Tyree (Tatum) who is a young soldier with a troubled past that unexpectedly meets Savannah Curtis (Seyfried) who is a student with a passion to make the best decisions for herself.

The relationship between John and Savannah grows over the period of two weeks until they are torn apart by John's military requirements and Savannah's college commitments. The two plan to exchange letters until they meet again and start a life together. After the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001 occur, John's military plans change and Amanda must decide whether she can live without him directly in her life.

"Dear John" lacks the most important element in making it's tender story effective: character development. The first hour of the film focuses on the initial connection between John and Savannah. After Savannah has her purse knocked off of a pier and into the waters below, John is there to dive in and rescue her belongings. Savannah's gratitude leads to inviting her new found friend to a beachside party. The exchange in conversation seems unnatural and awkward. The two characters seem to immediately fall in love with no connection being relayed to the audience.

John and Savannah grow from complete strangers to soulmates in what seems to be 15 minutes. Baking a batch of fish sticks takes longer than this on-screen relationship and simple excuse for character development. We see two weeks of our main characters building a house, surfing and eating at a seafood restaurant where John seems to not be a welcomed customer due to his shady past. The opening beach scene of "Grease" gives us more of a background story than the first hour of this film. John and Savannah never give the audience a reason to root for their love to survive.

In the first hour of the film we also meet John's coin collecting father, Mr. Tyree (Richard Jenkins) and Amanda's friend Tim Wheddon (Henry Thomas). Both supporting characters seem to be the most realistic aspect of "Dear John" contributing to most of the film's plot. The film's romance is overshadowed by the numerous subplots, including John's diminished relationship with his father, handicapping mental disorders, hospital death bed speeches, John's shady past, cancer, Savannah's autism camp, funerals, footage of Sept. 11 and an ensuing war effort.

These topics are simply used to keep the melodramatic tone of the story moving along. Although these deeply emotional plot tactics are cheap and coarsely used, they are disguised as uneventful themes that revolve around the two main characters. The only depressing maneuver not used to create an emotional response was the death of an animal although there is always the extended DVD version.

"Dear John" helps give a new definition to the term melodrama with numerous accounts of abrupt emotion including what should be the most passionate scene of the film suddenly occurring while the two main characters are discussing their unplanned future together, which is never revisited. Although the acting, directing and technical aspects of the film are not a key failure, Sparks' latest source material is. The film is trying to be too many things for all the wrong reasons. There is no doubting the financial success that this genre of movie has had in targeting women of all ages, but with so many better titles in the romantic drama category "Dear John" will be a film towards the bottom of their list.

Dear John,.

We want our two hours back.

D +.

Sincerely,.

Detached Audience.