Dear John (DVD)

Criticising Dear John is sort of like kicking a puppy and complaining it isn’t a kitten. It’s a film that’s exactly what it’s meant to be, and for those who don’t mind blatant emotional manipulation and sickly sweet sentimentality, it should work a treat, even while it’s quite clear the movie is more than a little preposterous. I personally don’t mind a bit of sentimentality, but in Dear John it’s all incredibly contrived, with the plot taking constant deus ex machina turns, so that the main characters can compete in how self-sacrificing and pained they can be.

Based on Nicholas Spark’s novel, soldier-on-leave John (Channing Tatum) meets bright young thing Savannah (Amanda Seyfried), and while he’s only got two weeks until he has to go back to war, the two fall madly in love. While he’s away, the two stay in touch through a series of letters, trying to keep their passion alive (actually scrub that, as their relationship seems pretty much sexless, although they do love each other desperately), despite the difficulties they face both at home and away, not least a friend’s illness and John’s decision to re-enlist. Into this mix is thrown John’s father, who’s possibly mildly autistic, and as we find out at the very start of the movie, the fact that John will get wounded in battle.

It’s essentially a movie about painfully nice people (although John has a bit of a temper), who spend their lives putting themselves last and ensuring everyone else’s happiness is pushed to the fore. Sacrifice is one of the strongest of emotions and very effective in drama, and Dear John really takes it to the extreme, along with death, illness, injury and just about anything else they can use to turn the emotional manipulation up to 11. And it works, even if it’s difficult not to feel like you’re being played for a fool.

However, as I said, it is what it’s meant to be, and will undoubtedly find a very receptive audience, who won’t mind its contrivances and OTT melodrama, or that it’s about as close to real life as a Disney fairytale. These willing recipients will probably also be female and appreciate how much time Channing Tatum spends topless. I myself got drawn in, particularly as Tatum and Seyfried give committed performances, even while being very aware it’s cheesy nonsense.

The DVD comes with very few special features, basically just a few deleted and an alternate ending, which is slightly more downbeat and plays up the self-sacrifice even more.

Overall Verdict: If you don’t mind being manipulated within an inch of your life, Dear John works, but it’s undoubtedly incredibly contrived nonsense.

Special Features:
Deleted Scenes & Outtake
Alternate Ending
Trailer

Reviewer: Tim Isaac