Mandy and Shane should do more movies together

Rating: 8/10 (16 May 2007)

I didn't watch A Walk To Remember for a long time, because I didn't expect it to be any different from just about every other soppy teen love story there is out there. But needless to say I was pleasantly surprised when I eventually did. And it was mainly due to the on-screen chemistry between the two leads, Jamie (Mandy Moore) and Landon (Shane West). Whoever wasn't impressed with their performances must be mad, because they neither overplayed nor underplayed with the complexity of emotions they had to express throughout the movie.
Shane was believable as the bad-turned-good guy Landon, a guy who felt like no one believed in him until Jamie came along. She turns his life around and getting to know her makes him want to change himself. All due to Shane's performance, you're right there with the character along for the journey as he falls in love with a girl who once seemed to be his total opposite - and out of his league. Moreover I'd like to commend Mandy for her role as Jamie, a kind-hearted and faith-filled studious girl with a heartbreaking secret. As a pop singer first and foremost, Mandy will no doubt be judged by critics for her supposed failure to bring anything new to the screen as an actress (understandably I guess, given Britney tried once and as far as I know hasn't since). But Mandy gives brings an undeniable screen presence, along with her beautiful singing voice and it's fair to say she has the most challenging role, what with having to go from a school tutor to a lovelorn teenager to a sick patient within an hour. Together Shane and Mandy create sparks on-screen and it's lovely to watch their journey together as their characters embark on marriage.
Any One Tree Hill viewers will no doubt see the similarity between Landon and Jamie's romance with Nathan and Haley Scott's. Personally I think the story has been copied way too much for the show and Landon/Jamie is much more effective in the long-term. Not to mention 'Dare You To Move' was not originally Naley's song!! Overall, a feel-good movie with lots of drama and at times, really tugs at your heartstrings. There's also a lovely song half way through the movie, 'Only Hope', sung by Mandy, which I'm sure will capture the audience's attention.