#Review: DEAR JOHN
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's Awesome Applesauce: Charles Quevedo
When serving in the military during wartime, letters to soldiers are the next best thing to having their long-distant loved ones actually next to them. 
They await those letters as if they're the last breaths of oxygen that's gonna save their lives. When those letters finally arrive, huge smiles stretch wide across the soldiers' faces. Their looks are so priceless as they tear open the envelopes, slowly reading and absorbing each word into their brains. They treasure those pieces of paper, clutching them tight as if they're the most important things to them (and at those moments, they are). Those letters are the only link to what soldiers knew as "normal" before being sent to an insane war.
DEAR JOHN is a romantic-drama about two young star-crossed lovers, "John" (played by actor, Channing Tatum) and "Savannah" (played by actress, Amanda Seyfried), that meet in South Carolina over the summer and fall in love almost immediately. John is a polite and brooding Army Special Forces soldier on "leave" (vacation) and Savannah is an idealistic college student (from a wealthy family) on spring break. When John witnesses Savannah's purse being accidently knocked off the pier and into the ocean, he doesn't hesitate jumping into the water to retrieve it. Impressed and grateful, Savannah asks John to come to her beach party. John hesitates at first, but eventually agrees. At the party, John meets Savannah's family friend, "Tim" (played by actor, Henry Thomas) and his young autistic son, "Alan" (played by actor, Braeden Reed). John and Savannah talk privately in front of a campfire, away from the other party-goers, growing increasingly attracted and close to each other in just a few hours. I feel I have to bring up that there's a hint of troubled history in John's past before him entering the military, but nothing is really explained and is quickly forgotten.
For the next several days, John and Savannah spend more and more time together (surfing, building a house for a homeless family, playing at the beach during sunset), they act like they're officially "boyfriend and girlfriend" (publicly hugging and kissing each other at every available moment). A scene where John and Savannah take shelter from the pounding rain (in an unfinished built house) is overly romantic and the part that gives this movie it's "heart and soul" (when you see them standing close to each other while both clutching a wooden post, staring deeply into each other's eyes and then kissing for the first time... you'll understand why). During this courtship, she meets John's father (played by actor, Richard Jenkins), an avid coin collector who Savannah suspects may be slightly autistic himself. From what we see of John and his father's relationship, John keeps him at arm's length.
When John has to return to his base in Germany, they promise to stay in touch by writing each other, someday being together after his remaining year of "tour of duty" finishes. Over the next several months, they continuously send each other love letters, telling each other every small moment that happens in their lives. As John's tour of duty near its end, the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center buildings change their fate. Always the brave and patriotic soldier, John decides to re-enlist. Savannah protests against John's military extension, but it's not enough to change his mind. Again, they promise to write each other. John is deployed to the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan. As time goes by, Savannah's love letters come less and less to John, the time and distance taking its toll on her. Will their love endure?
Tatum has shown off his athletic skills in macho-action movies such as "Fighting" and "G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra" and is quite impressive in those type of movies, but when it comes to serious ""romantic-drama", I believe he's out of his genre. I'm sure that Tatum's chiseled Adonis-like physique and good looks make the young girls swoon over him, but his expressionless robotic performance makes him look stiffer than the surfboard he rode on in the movie. Tatum just doesn't show much acting range here.
Seyfried, the beautiful Goldilocks-blonde with big E.T.-like eyes, does a much better job in her performance as she oozes with cuteness. She impressed me with her performance in 2008's "Mamma Mia!" and equally impresses me again in DEAR JOHN. When an actress like Seyfried can make the viewing audience well up with tears just by her character pouring out her heart and then crying uncontrollably (when the Savannah and John characters confront each other during a reunion after many years of separation), then that's great acting.
Since I already brought up "E.T." (sort of), actor Henry Thomas (yes, the little boy that played the "Elliot" character in Steven Spielberg's 1982 blockbuster, "E.T." .... Can you say, "ouch"?), surprised me by being in this movie since he was almost unrecognizable with a full-grown beard and long shaggy hair. His performance was adequate enough, but it wasn't anything memorable (in my opinion).
Based on Nicholas Sparks' novel, the movie version of DEAR JOHN seemed like one big music video at times as music (as well as John & Savannah's voices as they read from each other's letters) played over montages of war images. Don't expect any crazy testosterone-fueled, "Black Hawk Down"-like war scenes (no hardcore images of blood, blown-off limbs or excessive gunfire.... it's actually quite tame). The war scenes are short and quickly edited, switching back-and-forth with images of Savannah back in South Carolina.
Nicholas Sparks is probably the biggest romance novelist existing today. His other romantic novels like, "A Walk To Remember", "Message In A Bottle", "A Night In Rodanthe" and "The Notebook" have been turned into movies as well. DEAR JOHN isn't exactly "The Notebook" when it comes to capturing our hearts and giving us goosebumps, but it will still drive the female population to the theaters in packs. It's an old-fashion romance movie (a.k.a. "chick flick") that women will love, but they shouldn't count on an ending that will leave them too satisfied. I heard that the ending was changed from the book, making John and Savannah end up together in the movie, but I couldn't tell when I saw it. The sudden wrap-up of the story seemed rushed as the two main characters embraced each other at the end, the scene then "fading to black" and the credits suddenly rolling. I was left throwing up my hands, shrugging my shoulders and muttering, "That's it?". I wanted more (like a wedding scequence).
Although I felt the status of their relationship at the end needed to be more clearly defined, this is still a sweet movie worth going to see. It has alot of that classic heartache romance that will keep you reaching for the Kleenex.
I give Dear John a 7.5 out of 10 rating.