Good, not great,--turn in the story was not well executed

Rating: 5/10 (4 February 2010)

First off, the scenery was gorgeous, lots of beach and marshland, just like I love, and plenty of hanging Spanish moss, palm trees and blue sky. However, the story itself left me cold. There is a turn in the story that makes NO sense to me--though this could be because of Amanda Seyfried playing a cute, tiny little blond with long curling locks and big eyes--she was fine in something like 'Mama Mia', which was more like a fairy tale, but she failed to show the acting chops needed to explain the story angle presented. Lots of folks put down the choice of Channing Tatum for the soldier's role, but actually, he did quite well. I live in a city with a large Army base, and he reminded me of SO many soldiers I've met. No, he's not a big talker. Yes, he's got some issues in is past, but basically he's a good guy. I think Richard Jenkins as his father, played with a big dose of autism (maybe Aspergers Syndrome), was fantastic. We have more than one child in my family with this and he got the characterization right on the nose. Tatum played John with just the right amount of masculinity--he was strong, passionate (without being oversexed,), tender when he needed to be, but no wuss--and when his heart was broken, he showed a kind of manly grief that tore me up, that really touched me. Amanda Seyfried's sorry-ass hysterics when he confronts her later, well, was unconvincing and called up NO sympathy at all--maybe because I'm not a guy overwhelmed by her prettiness, but to me, the acting was awful. People around me were weeping left and right,and I just wanted to grab her and shake her 'til her teeth rattled. The ending is changed from the book, but it doesn't make the movie any better for me. This 'eternal love' story just didn't work, and left me feeling sorry for John, but irritated and angry with Savannah.