MOVIE REVIEW: DEAR JOHN

DEAR JOHN

Five of Seven Cows

I’ll be honest: When I saw that Dear John was the only new movie out this week I was supremely bummed. A love story was the last thing I was in the mood for, especially one with the ever-so-original title of Dear John. How good could that possible be?

             

Turns out, it’s very good. Who would have guessed? The John in question is John Tyree, a special-forces soldier home on leave when he falls for the charming Savannah (Amanda Seyfried).

             

There has been quite a bit of criticism leveled at Dear John. The storyline has been called clichéd. The acting has been called uninspired. The direction has been called detached. The ending has been called contrived. I don’t get it. I challenge anyone to imagine a love story that is not “clichéd”. How many different ways are there to fall in love? As for the acting, that is actually one of my very favorite aspects of this movie. Several characters, John Tyree being the central one, don’t seem like characters at all. Played by Channing Tatum, Tyree is quietly-competent, stolid and non-charismatic. I’ve been in the military and I’ve known this guy. Director Lasse Hallstrom mostly stays out of the way of the story. If that is detached, then so be it. The ending is a bit contrived—the critics were right about that – but so what?

             

There are trends in critical circles just as there are in creative circles, and I think there are times when they bear notice. It seems any movie that has war as a backdrop and yet dares to be apolitical is in for especially harsh criticism. Ditto any movie that takes an un-cynical look at middle-America. We are supposed to hate ourselves, don’t you know, and there’s simply no room in the creative world for those who don’t. Dear John is both apolitical and un-cynical, which explains much of what I like about it.

           

It’s odd being a movie reviewer and going to a movie like Dear John alone. It’s even a little embarrassing coming out of it a bit teary. Dear John is a beautiful movie, and were one to get a little teary-eyed while watching it he needn’t feel silly. Indeed, were he not to tear up a little he should perhaps question his humanity. This is probably the best Valentine’s Day option out there. I give it five weepy, emotionally wrought cows.