A Walk To Remember ** (for men); ****(for women)
Directed by: Adam Shankman
Written by: Nicolas Sparks (novel), Karen Janszen (screenplay)
Starring: Mandy Moore, Shane West, Peter Coyote and Daryl Hannah
Rated PG (there’s some language, some implied drinking, and some smooching)
This wasn’t an intolerable movie. It has that going for it, anyway. I’ve seen worse, at least.
If you’re a guy who is dating, you will be seeing this movie. If you’re a guy who’s married, you might be seeing this movie. So, be warned: A Walk To Remember is a ‘chick flick’. It is not a romantic comedy; it is a romantic DRAMA. You will probably get jabbed and/or glared at if you are unable to stifle your laughter during the DRAMATIC parts. You might even get the silent treatment. Fortunately, I was able to view said film unencumbered by such things. Under the right circumstances, it could be a gut-buster. Even funnier than She’s All That.
In case you haven’t been able to discern the plot from the trailer, here’s how it breaks down: Landon (West) is a ‘bad boy’. This means that all the women in the audience love him. He has a fast car. He runs with a ‘bad’ crowd. It’s implied that he may have had a beer or two. He hates school. And his dad. He lives with his mom (Hannah). After a prank goes wrong, he is ordered by his principal to go to all of his classes, tutor poor kids on Saturdays, and take part in the school play. Jamie (Moore) is also involved in the school play. She’s the preacher (Coyote)’s daughter. Her mom died. Jamie likes astronomy, drama, tutoring and God. She’s a ‘plain Jane’. She doesn’t dress all fancy and she doesn’t try to fit in. That means that she will be the target of ridicule and hatred in her school, because that’s how things work. Things happen involving the play, the evil politics of high school society and various stock characters, and we wind up with a ‘romantic’ movie. Presumably some tears will be shed.
I have absolutely nothing against chick flicks. Some are very good, like When Harry Met Sally... and Pretty Woman. Some are guilty pleasures of mine, like Lucas. Some are loved by men and women, as is the case of The Princess Bride, Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink. Some are cleverly disguised, like Top Gun and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. A Walk To Remember, however, is none of these.
It tries. It really, really tries. It starts to ask some questions about things like the relationship between God and human suffering, but then it forgets about those things because they don’t photograph well, nor do they have catchy pop songs to go with them. It tries to restrain itself, but the sheer absurdity of what happens in the movie just pushes it over the edge into almost-but-not-quite-Lifetime-Movie-Of-The-Week territory. It just couldn’t help it.
Acting-wise, eh, it was there. I’ve never seen Mr. West act before, and I’m pretty sure that this was Mandy Moore’s first role, so I really don’t have a base to compare them to. Neither Hannah nor Coyote is phoning their performances in, but it really doesn’t matter, since their characters really don’t matter. Well, Coyote’s matters a little bit more than Hannah’s, but, really, this could have been set anywhere with the same results. There is, however, a clear distinction between not-entirely-by-the-numbers Hollywood and timeless stories.
Was the movie well-made? Well, it was OK. The photography was decent, and they didn’t use soft focus a whole lot. They did do some cross-fades (like during the ‘play’ scene – Moore is singing a song, and the screen shows a close-up of her face and a medium-shot of her standing on the stage) that were just a bit stupid and cliched, but, eh. The music was there to sell soundtracks and to tell the audience how it should feel. It didn’t really feel like it was a ‘part’ of the movie, it was just there. The pacing REALLY suffered during the third act, after the ‘bomb’ is dropped. Honestly, if you don’t see what’s coming, well, by golly, this movie is for you!
Females, especially teenage girls, will LOVE this movie. Men, if you need to score points, here’s an idea – why not rent a classic chick flick like some of those I’d mentioned? If, however, you must go to this movie, rest assured that it’s not unwatchable, but, please, contain your laughter.
