Dear John: C-

In the spirit of fairness and glass-half-full optimism let's talk about the good parts of "Dear John" first. Hard working character actor Richard Jenkins does a good job as John's autistic father. His performance is touching without being to actor-y, and even though he says very little, his eyes speak volumes that are only amplified by his shrugs and discomfort outside the home base of his own house and his coin collection. I wish they'd made the movie about him instead.

Amanda Seyfried is pleasant to look at. Her doe eyed innocence a shimmering beacon of true love. And the Charleston, South Carolina locales are beautiful especially when viewed from the frigid cold of Chicago.

But sadly the love story here falls flat. Channing Tatum is surely going to be a welcome piece of eye candy for the ladies in the audience. But he's pretty much a big dumb lunkhead here as a soldier named John on a two week break back home from his duties overseas. And in what seems like milliseconds he falls in love with Seyfried, a young college student home on spring break.

Over the course of two weeks on the beach they are supposed to have forged a love that will last a lifetime. But this chemistry free couple has about as much passion as two sleepy bank clerks in a teller window.

When time comes for them to go their separate ways, they promise to write each other faithfully. Which leads us to another problem. For a movie that relies on the beauty and prose of love letters, its letters are remarkably pedestrian. They lack prose, poetry or any passion of any kind.

These impossible love stories are supposed to carry you away and sweep you off your feet. If they're particularly good, fans might be tempted to read them or see them over and over again to cherish those moments. But it all rings hollow here. And the filmmakers seem to be particularly proud of their coin metaphors, because they use the same one twice as a metaphor for war.
Believe me, it doesn't get any better.
And I don't think this one would benefit from repetition either.

Dear John: C-