Dear John
Dear John is the cliché opening salvo of a letter to a soldier in uniform but not in country with heartbreaking news from a sweetheart back home saying that the relationship is over. This seems hardly likely with crazy-mad-for-each-other John Tyree (Channing Tatum and Savannah Curtis (Amanda Seyfried) who meet on the shores of South Carolina in the summer of 2001. He’s back home on surfing R&R from the Marine’s special forces and she’s between college years on her family’s annual trip to the seaside and after only two weeks they’re passionately in love. As she heads back to class and he gets deployed overseas but the plan is to stay in touch until his tour is up in 12 months and then reunite. When 9-11 happens John feels compelled to re-up and Savannah plays along for only so long before posting her Dear John (the reasons for which we eventually discover are not exactly logical). This plays like The Hurt Locker meets The Notebook and for good reason since Nicholas Sparks who authored The Notebook also wrote the Dear John novel. Although it’s a predictable romantic drama there are a few surprises especially in the subplot with John’s mildly autistic father played by the always solid Richard Jenkins. Tatum has upped his acting chops considerably and the chemistry between he and Seyfried is palpable. However the saccharin final 15 minutes does leave a slightly sour taste.