dear john

jay and i have recently been priviledged to an occasional day off together during the work-week, which means afternoon dates while our sons are in preschool!  on our most recent outing, i chose to watch the film Dear John.  nicholas sparks + channing tatum = how could i resist? 

i love nicholas sparks' novels.  he is extremely eloquent and classy in his writng.  he never fails to illustrate the perfect love - timeless and unconditional.  i find myself rooting for the couples that he's created, in that their love will prevail!, as much as i rooted for romeo and juliet when i was a teenager.

i first discovered channing tatum in Step Up a few years ago, not that i hurried to the theater or movie rental store to see it.  we subscribed to hbo at the time, and it seemed like the only movie on t.v. that was worth giving a try.  Step Up didn't make an impression on me; however, channing tatum sure did.  he won me over with his later roles in Stop-loss, Fighting, and particularly, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, for which he was nominated a Gotham Breakthrough Award and an Independent Spirit Award for best supporting male actor.

photo courtesy of http://www.rottentomatoes.com/

i haven't read Dear John, although i was tempted to.  but i had longed to see the movie (it's been some time since i saw a good romantic drama, and i am a sucker for such sappiness) that i didn't want to ruin it for myself by previewing the novel.  the movie was good, though not nearly in the ballpark of The Notebook.  while it contained the elements of a nicholas sparks' love story - wonderful laughter and heart-wrenching tears, i didn't care for the twist in the plot.  the choice that savannah, the lead female character, had made wasn't very realistic for a modern-day woman of this era.  i didn't agree with the ending either.  after all that was said and done, i thought, "really?"  in reference to the story portrayed in the film, i don't feel that Dear John is one of nicholas sparks' best. 

channing tatum, on the other hand, was pretty awesome.  tatum, who usually plays the macho, tough guy, proved that he can hold the role of a loving and loveable character.  he and his co-star, amanda seyfried, who is truly adorable, were a perfect match.  the way they eyed each other, touched each other, and spoke to one another - you could tell they shared real chemistry, more than what i could remember between tatum and his wife, jenna dewan, in Step Up.  (actually, i was surprised that they married - who would've thought?)  it was tatum's and seyfried's acting and their partnership that made the film Dear John worth seeing.