**** out of 5

Rating: Null/10 (6 October 2002)

Sometimes when you look at the stars they all look the same but once in a while you will see one that has something so much more beautiful than all the rest. Not just physical beauty but that certain way it glimmers in your eye as it passes, for one second, enchants you in a mysterious way and you don't know why but there is no doubting its presence. You may loose sight of this star or never see it again but every time you look up into the sky, somewhere deep down inside you will always come back to that one star. Landon is one of the popular kids, but one night after a dare goes horrible wrong he sees himself in deep trouble, forcing him to help children on weekends and join the drama club. But through his punishment he is able to see something in Jamie that he has never noticed before and it just so happens that she sees something in him as well. The label romance is synonymous for cliche so don't expect anything new here and it has that "teen movie" feel to it that kicks the dramatic intensity down a notch and throws in a tad of sexist humour but there is still something very satisfying with the finished product. The film features everything we love to hate: the lead actor who gets by on his looks and not talent, the often amateurish scripting, the sappy tissue box sentimentality and the far to obvious symbolism, in this case the different tastes in radio stations shows the split in personalities and they play that shows the "hidden feelings that both Jamie and Landon have for each other. Maybe it is Many Moore who actually possesses a great degree of acting talent as the shy choir girl who only needs faith to survive. The huge problem here, along with almost every other teen movie, is that instead of having a major point of development we have many. Landon's reputation, an absent father, a strict preacher and a hurtful secret, but instead of dealing with all of these separately, filmmakers touch on them slightly then cover them up with to much sentimentality (and it's not only teen movies, can anyone say Life as a House?) which gets laid on a little thick at times, often leaving the viewer feeling a little empty at times. But there is an original concept that we are shown in that in that love is a very natural thing. How you ask, well by comparing it to nature. Love is like the sunset or even the wind "I can't see it but I know that it is there." We are shown that like the stars or the sunset that we don't know why or how love happens, but we know the world just wouldn't feel right without it.