Two words describe this movie: "COMPLETE TRASH." There is a reason why "Dear John" did not linger long at the theaters, and was rushed to DVD sales. Though seen my some people as a harmless diversion for teenage girls, this film's moderately trashy content really disqualifies "Dear John" from even a conditional recommendation.
- GENRE: Sappy Romance
- ACTORS: Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried, Richard Jenkins, Henry Thomas, D.J. Cotrona, Cullen Moss, Scott Porter, Gavin McCulley, Jose Lucena Jr., Leslea Fisher
- RATING: PG-13
- PARENTAL NOTE: A PG-13 implies to many parents that this film is suitable for teenagers. In this case, I don’t agree. As detailed below, this movie pushes a fairly trashy theme, even for those who are not put off by the sappy story line. Limited cursing and brief nudity.
- INTENDED AUDIENCE: If you like the Twilight movies, or most any movie with the word, “Princess” in it, then Dear John is aimed toward you. This movie is intended for teenage girls, who apparently swoon en masse at the sight of Channing Tatum’s bare chest. His bare chest is on display for quite a bit of the film. I don’t agree that the movie is appropriate for even this group.
- GENERAL PLOT: (No spoilers, although the title to this movie is something of a spoiler) Boy meets girl at the beach. They fall in hopelessly in love during their two weeks together. Boy goes off to war. They exchange letters.
- REVIEW: First of all, I need to explain why I am reviewing a sappy romance movie. Dear John is really not my cup of tea. It was recommended by one of the original founders of the Christian Men’s Breakfast group. Which proves again, that one ought not believe EVERYTHING that one hears. OK, about the sappy premise, as expressed in the GENERAL PLOT section of this review… The story is trite and worthless, to be sure. But I admit that lots of people enjoy mindless fluff in a movie. Frankly, I personally object to the fact that a movie supposedly about a member of the Army’s “Special” Forces, only portrays a couple of combat related kills. Also, there are no zombies in this movie, nor any psychopathic killers. Admittedly these shortcomings are also a matter of personal taste. My real objection is the way in which the relationship between the main characters veers in an “inappropriate” direction. A movie which portrays sin as wholesome and normal, does more harm than a movie which portrays immoral behavior without pretending that sin is anything but sin. This is especially true, when the target audience is approximately teenagers.1 Although I hesitate to nit-pick the small points of a movie, I’m uneasy about the killing off of one of the character’s spouses to make room for “true love.”
- RECOMMENDATION: This film does look like it was produced by professional film makers (add one star), and it arguably has a plot, such as it is (add one star). However, for all the reasons set out in this review, I have to subtract so many stars that this movie should really have a negative rating. As it is, zero (0) stars is the lowest I can rate this movie, which is actually giving Dear John undeserved credit. This film is worthless, and trash. Don’t waste your time.
- RATING (out of 5 stars): zero stars!
MOVIE RATING SYSTEM:
Start with zero (0) out of five (5) possible STARS
- Add one STAR if it looks like the movie was made by professional film makers–not 4 or 5 guys with a camcorder.
- Add one STAR if the film has a story, theme or plot (optional for horror and/or zombie movies); or if the movie makes any sense.
- Add additional STARS for special effects, acting, good moral message(s), realistic zombies, scariness, interesting theme or plot and the like.
- Subtract STARS for extreme bad acting, COMPLETELY awful themes/messages, overall INCREDIBLE trashiness, graphic and persistent lewdness, and the like.
FOOTNOTES:
- If you have read my other Christian Movie Reviews, you know that I have highly recommended other movies which have far more inappropriate situations than in Dear John. Is this a double standard? Well, it is a different standard for sure. Movies directed to adults (e.g. horror, zombie) should be judged differently than movies which target children and/or teenagers. I’m working on a separate article on this topic. I’ll link this review to the article, when it is posted. ↩
LOL. I guessed you missed the sarcasm in my original comment. “Dear John” is a movie for Janet and your daughters, or if you feel like sucking up to them.
Now perhaps, if you take me seriously, this is what you get – two hours of torture. But if you want to know a recent release for “guys only”, go watch Iron Man 2 (or 1). Either will definitely give you plenty of explosions, fights, weapons, and assorted other “guy stuff”. Oh yeah, and I guess the dudes that fill out the Iron Man suits could be mistaken for zombies if you reach a bit. Either way, this is the kind of movie that you could review and at least offer a charity star to.
Sadly, movies like “Braveheart” and “Gladiator” only come along once a decade. If you find one of those Tom, “I’m your huckleberry” (See Doc Holiday in “Tombstone”).
Very good post.