True tearjerker, surprisingly strong acting...

Rating: Null/10 (28 July 2002)

I recently rented this movie and was expecting the typical romantic cliche storyline and definitely got that. However, I found the movie to be overall heartfelt and the cliched morals to be so true and not forced. I agree that the movie was far different from the book (which I read before seeing the movie) and I did feel disappointed that a lot of what happened in the book, like the dance, didn't happen in the movie. Yet I was pleased that there are still a number of things that the movie did incorporate from the book. I did find myself surprised at the acting. Although, both Mandy Moore and Shane West's acting is not superior, I thought that overall they did a really good job. They were believable and emotional in their roles. This movie to me was good because it draws you into the storyline and leaves you as emotional as the characters and lets you feel exactly what the characters at feeling at the given moments. When I first saw the whole movie throughout, I started crying when Jamie is ridiculed by Landon's friends and the anger and sadness she was feeling got to me. And from that point on I was bawling throughout the rest of the movie all the way to the end. When Jamie tells Landon she has Leukemia to...Landon's reaction to it to....Landon with Jamie in the hospital to....Jamie's dad breaking down to....Landon finds out his dad is paying for home care and goes to thank him to....Landon saying that although he cannot see their love, he can feel it. A true tearjerker with a heartfelt storyline that is a cliche but definitely well-acted by newcomers Mandy Moore (whom I definitely had doubts of but was proved wrong) and Shane West (whom I have adored since his first season on Once & Again and surprised at his strong acting skills). Another good thing is the songs could not have fit the scenes they were in any better. I have fallen in love with the soundtrack from watching this movie.
The DVD features are not all that great but I did learn that the character Jamie is based on Nicholas Spark's real-life sister...and Mandy Moore, Shane West and Adam Shenkman's catches on bloopers. I just wanted to add one that they failed to mention or maybe even didn't catch. But when Landon goes to visit Clay at the rehab center he's in a beige shirt but walks in with a blue & white striped shirt. But anyways the movie is pretty good and I give it an 8 out of 10 stars. It'll definitely leave you teary eyed at the end.