DEAR JOHN **

Lasse Hallström directed this Romantic Drama starring: Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried, Henry Thomas, Richard Jenkins, and Keith Robinson.  See Preview  Rated PG-13 for some sensuality and violence. Running time is one hour and forty-five minutes.


Based on the novel by best-selling author Nicholas Sparks, "Dear John" tells story of a young soldier (Tatum) home on leave and the idealistic college student (Seyfried) he falls in love with during her spring vacation. Over the next seven tumultuous years, the couple is separated by his increasingly dangerous deployments. While meeting only sporadically, they stay in touch by sending a continuous stream of love letters to each other.

Teenage girls and young women will no doubt think more highly of this picture than I do. From my perspective this is a very slowly paced, maudlin romance that most males will find boring. Seyfried is the one reason to see this as she possesses a screen presence that few can match. Tatum has the personality of a rock in this film although I'm sure that's what his role called for. Jenkins is very good at portraying a caring father with social limitations. This will do as a date movie or for an outing of teenage girls but that's about it.