OK romantic drama

Rating: 6/10 (5 May 2010)

Green Beret John Tyree (Channing Tatum), home on two week/s' leave, falls for student Savannah (Amanda Seyfried) and vice versa. When he goes back to his unit and she goes on to university they console themselves with the fact that they will only be apart for a year until John's discharge and, during that time, they can bridge the gap between them with letters. Then 9/11 happens and John signs up for another tour. And it isn't long before John gets a "Dear John" letter (OK, so they all are, but you know what I mean).
Much of this is amiable enough, mildly emotional if essentially somewhat inconsequential, and enlivened by some rather unexpected plot developments towards the end.
An interesting wrinkle is added by John's father's borderline autism, sensitively portrayed by Richard Jenkins, who is head and shoulders the best thing in this movie. Jenkins is one of those actors who has been in loads of things, is always first rate, you always recognise him, and you can't remember his name. He is excellent here, although the character's condition begs the question of how he managed as a single father to bring up a son on his own: indeed, how he managed to have paternity attributed and custody awarded.
I didn't care for the ending or how it was arrived at.