Beautiful Story

Rating: 10/10 (6 August 2010)

I am a 41 year old father - former military. I was flipping thru the channels one night while working late on some mindless work statistics for a morning presentation - and I stumbled across this movie. The channel guide on cable gave a few hints regarding the storyline, and it looked somewhat interesting - given that nothing else better was playing. I was saying to myself - I wonder how they are going to pull this one off. Fortunately - I caught it pretty much at the beginning - just as the scene of Jamie singing in the Choir at church was playing. I thought - OK - I wonder if this is the plain Jane that is going to be the love interest - certainly nothing special about her. I let it play for a few minutes - thinking I was going to change the channel at the next opportunity. A funny thing happened...I kept watching, getting to know, and even like the characters. They seemed real- the dialog seemed real...the chemistry grew between Landon and Jamie. Then - the amazing part happened - Jamie blossomed into this beautiful young lady at the school play - and what an amazing singing performance with 'Only Hope'! Before this - I knew nothing of Mandy Moore- other than vaguely remembering the song 'Candy'. The scene where their darkened silhouettes were staring at each other after the kiss at the play - very subtle, but you just knew the romance would grow. I then was hooked - and captivated at the story, the acting, and chemistry. This movie was brilliantly cast- with Mandy Moore putting on a captivating performance. What a beautiful singing voice and such a pretty young lady. Talk about the ugly duckling changing into Beautiful swan! Some reviews of this movie are harsh - if you have a heart, ever loved or wanted to be loved - then this movie has a message for you. Enjoy it for what it is - a beautiful work of art with a timeless message! Hats off to Mandy Moore and Shane West. It could not have been better cast.