mandy's great

Rating: Null/10 (28 January 2002)

I kind of got roped into going to see this with my sister, and thought why not, at least Mandy Moore is in it. I must admit that at first I thought it was corny, with the illness and the wedding, etc., but I wanted to get the whole story and read the book (a very good and quick read). After reading the book you really get a better idea about the movie and realize that it is not a typical teen movie. The story isn't about a puppy-love crush or the big dance. Admittedly it shares many themes with other terrible teen movies, but that does not link these movies into some cheap "genre". Many of the adaptations for the screen hurt the story, and in that sense help to justify many of the negative reviews. The best adaptation, and one that I feel really makes this a good movie, is the time frame for the two main characters to fall in love. The book offers a very real sense of urgency, which is expected because Jamie is going to die very soon. What happens in only a matter of months in the book translates very well into the time frame of less than two hour movie. It didn't feel forced or choppy to me, but something that could be completely natural.
A word about the acting. I think that Mandy Moore could have a very promising career as an actor. After reading the book I think she played the role of Jamie perfectly. She portrayed that sense of endless exuberance and faith very well. I also think that Shane West did a fairly good job. In watching him perform, he seemed portray well the way a guy would act in certain situations, e.g. with his buddies, with Mandy and her father, etc. He acted in a way a real person would act in the same situations, which to me is most important.
Bottom line, with this movie and with any movie, if you can take something good out of it, then it was worth it. A good movie is one that can personally get you involved in it. Too many people go into a movie with the task of only trying to recognize and point out its faults without actually just watching it. There are too many cynics out there who can't wait to dump a movie into the teeny-bopper genre just because its actors happen to be teenagers. Save your reviews for Britney's movie "Crossroads."