In a lot of ways "Dear John" is the perfect manual for what to do and what not to do in making a weepy romantic drama.
Do hire Lasse Hallstrom, who has more or less mastered the art ("Chocolat," "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," "The Cider House Rules").
Do hire Amanda Seyfried who is quickly becoming a gigantic star, can act and is traditionally beautiful while having a look all her own.
Don't, however, under any circumstances, hire Channing Tatum to be in your movie.
The man has all the presence of a broomstick, and without that little bundle of straw at the bottom he's about half as useful.
Really, at this point after leading roles in movies like "Step Up," "Fighting," and "GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra," he hasn't shown he's anything but the worst leading man in Hollywood.
In "John," which, by the way isn't the film adaptation of the Judd Hirsch sitcom from the late '80s, is the story of Tatum's John Tyree, an Army sergeant on leave who goes back home to Charleston, South Carolina and meets the stunning Savannah (Seyfried). The two hit it off quite well, even meeting John's father (Richard Jenkins) on their first date.
John's headed back to duty in two weeks, though, so they keep in touch the old-fashioned way: by writing letters (an FYI, a little quick math based on historical events depicted in the film-9/11-would seem to indicate the film takes place right around the 1999-2000 range...didn't we have e-mail at that point?). The young lovers get to know each other from afar, pining for the fleeting summer love they had and lost and wait for John's tour of duty to end.
The film's most glaring weakness is Tatum, who has zero chemistry with Seyfried and can convey exactly one emotion effectively: apathy. Trying to convey anger or happiness is almost impossible for him to do effectively (put it this way: in the DVD extras, he wasn't even believable speaking about the film or working with Hallstrom and Seyfried).
To a point Tatum fits the character, who is the son of a man who may or may not have a mild form of autism and as a consequence is extremely quiet and detached. It's believable, then that John would be less than a social butterfly.
But it's hardly the only flaw of the film. The romantic leads engage in a series of actions that would, in the real world away from the romantic fugue of young lovers in Hollywood, honestly make them really terrible people. At their first meeting, John is really rude to one of Savannah's male friends (who is clearly sweet on her), then later after what comes off as a pretty mild argument with her, beats the living crap out of the same friend.
Of course, said friend is playing the role of Douchey Frat Boy Jerk for the first part of the film, but later when the friend apologizes (yes, this is after John throttled him), John more or less rebuffs him yet again.
In terms of acting, other than Tatum Hallstrom assembles a pretty solid cast. Seyfried is one of the better young actors around, and Jenkins ("The Visitor") is a marvelous actor who is wonderful here working mostly with a glorified cardboard cutout.
It's also great seeing Henry Thomas (who about a thousand years ago played Elliott in "ET: The Extraterrestrial") as a friend of Savannah's family with an austistic son. In a better film he would have been the lead character.
Overall "Dear John" is the kind of movie where the bonds of marriage take a backseat to rekindling old passions. It's the kind of movie where when, years after their relationship ended and they both moved on, the lovers reunite, they steadfastly resist the urge to jump each other's bones because one or both are in another relationship, but fate and the Hollywood machine conspire to get them back together by any means necessary.
Still, Hallstrom does a lot with what little he's given, and turns what could have been an unbearable film (based on a Nicholas Sparks novel, by the way) into something that's occasionally watchable.
The extras are pretty good, with an alternate ending that is far less syrupy and frankly makes John a much stronger character than the theatrical ending, along with deleted and alternate scenes, a kind of befuddling outtakes reel given that this is a serious drama, a featurette on Tatum, Seyfried and Hallstrom, and featurettes on a young actor in the film who is autistic, and on rare coins (which figure into the film's plot).
Film: 3 Yaps Extras: 4 Yaps