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Another Nicholas Sparks tearjerker: The dish on Dear John

posted by ChickSpeak
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at 11:50am EST

Whenever I first saw the trailer for Dear John, I was more than excited. Being an avid fan of Nicholas Sparks and his super easy to read and sometimes overly sappy novels, I was hoping that a movie would finally be made about one of his books that followed the novel to a T.

However, by now I should know better than to get my hopes up that much.

Any movie that has been made based off of a book is an adaptation of it. That is something that is easy to forget, especially when the book was beyond stellar. So we get our hopes up then are surely disappointed when we watch the movie.

Dear John, the movie starts out with Channing Tatum who plays John Tyree lying on the ground looking up with blood seeping from his shoulder into a puddle of mud. This sets the tone for the entire movie, making it seem like the story was being told from his perspective. This I liked since in the book, John was the narrator.

Amanda Seyfried plays the chaste and good-hearted Savannah Curtis. She meets John while on spring break at her parent’s beach house, and the two become inseparable immediately falling passionately in love. John being a special-forces soldier has to return to finish his final tour of duty. They promise to write to each other, and share every detail about their lives.

Meanwhile, 9/11 happens, and forces John to choose between the woman he loves and the country he has sworn to serve. Choosing the latter of the two, he leaves Savannah heart-broken and faced with the challenges of living without John and with the fear he may never return.

While the story centers on their romance through their letters, there are other characters that add a nice subplot to the tale. Tim, played by Henry Thomas is Savannah’s kind-hearted neighbor at the beach who has a delightful son which has autism. John’s dad, Mr. Tyree played by Richard Jenkins, also has a form of autism known as Asperger’s Syndrome. I agree with Mary Pols from Time when she writes “though the role doesn’t require him to do much more than fondle a coin collection and avoid direct eye contact, his understated performance makes Mr. Tyree the film’s most touching character.”

With these touching characters in play, it only makes sense for Savannah to be interested in special education. John’s relationship with his dad seems to be at times at a standstill, but the love that this father and son share comes out later in the movie.

Overall the entire movie was OK. Even if you do not read Sparks’ novels, you at least know what to expect when you go to see a movie adaptation of one of his books. Lasse Hallstrom, director of Chocolat did a great job of accentuating the romance between John and Savannah during the first half of the movie, but I feel she let the drama fall in the second half of the movie.

Many of you who have read the book, and already seen the movie may disagree with me, but I actually liked the ending of the movie better than the ending of the book. Of course I will not share what that ending is because I do not want to spoil anything for the chicks who have not yet seen it. If you have read the book and plan to see the movie, I advise you to do so remembering that it is an adaptation, not a replica of the novel. This way you will not be too disappointed.

Fatima Meadows attends Appalachian State University, the same school that Savannah Curtis’ parents met at in Dear John. Her adorable finance’ took her to see the movie opening night, February 5, and he made it through better than expected.