EDGE Boston

Dear John

MY Rating:

8 of 10 stars (based on an advance screening of the 105-minute film).


Will John feel "DEAR" if the Letter brings a TEAR?...

Relationships are seldom "easy", & this story chronicles that fact... John Tyree (Channing Tatum) is an Army Special Forces soldier who’s been hurt on a mission and keeps thinking of falling COINS for some reason...

... During a 2-week leave, he happily surfs in the ocean around North Carolina, & chances to meet Savannah Curtis (Amanda Seyfried) when he retrieves her purse that a male friend of hers (Randy, played by Scott Porter) has caused to fall in the ocean... In part to thank Chan (& to get to know him better), she invites him to a party at her family’s nearby oceanfront home...

... Channing is sort of shy & initially not very talkative, but he is gracious when introduced to Amanda’s bearded friend Tim Wheddon (Henry Thomas -- yes, "THAT" Henry, who played Elliot in 1982’s "E.T."!) & his autistic son Alan (Braeden Reed as the 6-year old, & then Luke Benward at 14)... Amanda senses a bunch of good elements in Channing, & works to spend time with him...

... Somewhat reluctantly, Chan invites Amanda to meet his father (Richard Jenkins). He’s hesitant because his Dad is somewhat "strange", with difficulty socializing & obsessively living his life on a rigid "schedule" (such as making only the same food for meals on certain days of each week: Sunday is "lasagna" day, etc.)...

... But, Amanda comfortably works to ENCOURAGE his Dad to open up, showing a special interest in the COIN collection which is his main interest in life. Chan is surprised that his Dad warms to her, showing his favorite coin, a 1978 nickel "mule" (error coin) that was discovered by Chan when he was a kid...

... At one point, Amanda reveals to Chan that she has a goal of being a SPECIAL EDUCATION teacher & opening a "Camp Horse Sense" for autistic kids like Alan-- & very much shocks him by a statement she makes about something she suspects concerning his dad (which he’d never fully realized)...

... She and Chan grow ever closer, & he tells her he plans to marry her when he completes his Army service in a year, & urges her to WRITE to him regularly in the service...

... The movie shifts to scenes of Chan in his sometimes-dangerous Special Forces work around the world (in Africa, the Mideast, Asia, etc.)... Numerous "Dear John" LETTERS arrive from Amanda, & he eagerly saves them all & writes BACK to her at every opportunity...

... A setback arrives in their lives when the 9/11 tragedy occurs: while Chan very much wants to return to Amanda, his Army buddies such as Noodles (D.J. Cotrona) & Dan "Rooster" Rooney (Cullen Moss) want to RE-ENLIST & EXTEND their tours of duty, & Chan struggles with whether or not to join his pals in that plan...

... Although Chan & Amanda get together on a leave back home, he in time makes clear he feels duty-bound to JOIN his buddies in re-enlisting to fight the "bad guys" (as characterized by Emperor George the Inept in his Mission "Phony Baloney" in Iraq, etc.)...

... That action does NOT "set" well with Amanda, & her letters start becoming FEWER & FEWER to him... In time, after 2 or so months with no communication from her, he finally receives one more letter, that comes across as the stereotypical "slang" type of a "Dear John" example. Her words SHOCK & upset him deeply...

... Has Amanda LEFT Chan for another, &, if so, for WHO?... What will happen to his DAD?... What will become of Chan, since it’s clear he’s been SHOT by some enemies in combat?... Will Chan & Amanda ever get back TOGETHER, &, if so, under what CIRCUMSTANCES?... Will the COINS play a role in the development of the tale?...

... There are a number of "TWISTS" in the story, & it’s pragmatically handled (although the very end struck me and a friend as overly "ABRUPT", which lowered my overall rating a bit unless there’s a "SEQUEL" upcoming)...

... Channing & Amanda do an unusually GOOD job as a slowly-blooming couple, & other main characters add to the overall effectiveness of what is probably likely to be considered as a "CHICK flick" overall.