I really wanted to like this

Rating: 4/10 (27 November 2015)

"The Last Song" is a 107-minute movie from 5 years ago directed by Julie Anne Robinson. It was the first of so far 2 writing efforts by Jeff Van Wie when he adapted the Nicholas Sparks novel for the screen. I loved "A Walk to Remember", I liked "The Notebook" and I have always been a fan of Miley Cyrus, so i was pretty curious about it. My hopes were smashed pretty quickly though. This was a disappointing movie. Cyrus plays her part solid and same goes for Kinnear, but most of the cast are really not good. However, the worst thing about this film is the script. It is packed with enough drama and tragedy for 3 films and at some point, it just stops feeling authentic: Hemsworth's brother, the protagonist's father, the arson plot, Chaikin's character etc. And what was up with that raccoon-turtle story on the beach? I guess that is supposed to be a metaphor on children who want to live after their parents left them alone? It's very pretentious and hey raccoons have to feed their kids too.
One of the worst moments was surely when Hemsworth's character actually turns out to work for the aquarium. Talk about really cheesy and unrealistic coincidence. And sadly, the whole love story did not feel too authentic either, especially when they meet and are not a couple yet. It's not romantic, it is really just cringeworthy. This is particularly disappointing as Cyrus and Hemsworth were a couple for a very long time and they certainly could have made something better with their chemistry. And finally, this movie lacks the great music from other Miley Cyrus works in the past, especially the marvelous "Hanna Montana" movie. This will not destroy my appreciation for her as I don't think her performance wasn't bad in "The Last Song", but the movie crumbled around her. Looking forward to her next projects, which will hopefully be better.