Iraq war movies haven't caught on at the box office, but as yet no one's thought to get Nicholas Sparks involved.
Enter "Dear John," based on a Sparks' novel, the story of a hunky Green Beret (Channing Tatum) and his epistolary romance with a girl (Amanda Seyfried) back home.
They fall in love during two magical weeks on the beaches of South Carolina, the site of so many star-crossed Sparks affairs, and they plan to marry until 9/11 intervenes.
Tatum's character is torn between his passionate desire to be with his girl and his desire to serve his country by reenlisting.
The girl's position is clear: Billy, don't be a hero, don't be a fool with your life. Billy, don't be a hero, come back and make me your wife.
OK, his name's not Billy, and she doesn't actually use those words, but that's essentially the depth and breadth of "Dear John."
I don't know why the studio bothered to hire Lasse Hallestrom for this job. He's a talented director, but "Dear John" is bland, impersonal, and feels as though it's presented by a studio - gauzy, amber shots of live Carolina landscape, handsome guy hugging lovely girl on the beach, and a frighteningly endless collection of acoustic balladeers on the soundtrack.
Movies have penetrated the soapy surface of Sparks' stories before - Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams made their box office bones when they added life to "The Notebook."
The stars have a tougher time here. Seyfried does nothing here to diminish her status as movie's most adorable young lady, and Tatum gets a little better with each film. But they are too often separated by the narrative, and neither can punch through the superficial surface of "Dear John."
There are no tears jerked by the absurd third-act turn of events, although Tatum does carve out a few nice scenes with Richard Jenkins, who plays his mildly disabled father.
