A beautiful and innocent love story

Rating: 8/10 (6 April 2013)

A walk to remember is a sweet innocent love story that is hard to come by in this era of cynicism and brainless teen movies such as American Pie and its numerous sequels. This movie is a small treasure and works not only on teenage audiences. I'm 34 and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised when I finished watching this.
What really sets this movie apart from many other teen movies, is its boldness in telling a traditional love story a la Romeo&Juliet. It shows how two young people from the opposite side of tracks fall for each other. And yes, this plot element is somewhat of cliché, but this movie gives it a different spin and actually manages to tell the story convincingly. The most important plot twist (I won't reveal it here)is also something we have seen before, but who cares when it's done believably and West and Moore give great performances.
The movie has some of the most romantic scenes I have seen in ages. I understand that some viewers will find them maudlin or even cheesy but I certainly didn't. Some moments in the movie seem almost magical, like the scene where Moore sings in the school play or where the lovers study the night sky together.
This is a movie that has been needlessly mauled by almost every critic (the late Roger Ebert being an exception, that man knew a good movie when he saw one) but appreciated by the audience. The audience has it right. Don't believe the overtly cynical reviews by critics and give the movie a chance. You will probably like it just as much as I did.