Hollywood's attempt to recreate a fantastic book

Rating: 8/10 (27 January 2002)

The film "A Walk to Remember" was a decent attempt to recreate author Nicholas Sparks's book of the same name. However, this Hollywood adaptation changed several small aspects of the film, creating large discrepancies between the two that those who read the book first will most definitely notice.
The actors tried their best and did extremely well, considering the lackluster script they were handed. The director, Adam Shankman, took a leap of faith in moving to a project so serious, compared to some of his earlier work, like the comedy "The Wedding Planner."
Mandy Moore played the innocent to perfection. Shane West was a good 'bad boy' but a little stiff during the emotional parts of his character. Peter Coyote was an excellent Reverend Sullivan, although the shots of him were a bit strange at times. Darryl Hannah remained in the background as West's mother, but her appearance was quite strange, due to an obvious wig and collagen lip injections.
All in all, Shankman and his crew did their best to adapt a book set in the 1950's for a 2002 audience. I only wish they could have stayed truer to the actual novel...