MOVIE OF THE WEEK #2 (2/10/12): THE VOW
KEY VOICE CAST MEMBERS: Channing Tatum, Rachel McAdams, Jessica Lange, Sam Neil and Scott Speedman
WRITER(S): Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein and Jason Katims
DIRECTOR: Michael Sucsy
WEB SITE: http://thevow-movie.com
THE PLOT: The latest film to announce it was "inspired by true events" so the story can be manipulated to create a more audience pleasing (or at least, that's the intent) experience, The Vow stars Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams as Leo and Paige. A happily married couple living in Chicago, the young lovers find their world thrown upside down when a truck smashes into their parked Saab during a snowstorm. While Leo is able to walk away, Paige is thrown from the vehicle as a result of the impending collision, resulting in her being placed into a medically induced coma while doctors attend to her head trauma.
Then Paige awakens ... And her entire memory of who Leo is gone, rendering her husband a complete stranger.
Not wanting to lose the woman of his dreams, Leo tries just about every and any thing possible to bring back his wife's memory – which has reverted to her college days 5 years earlier. That's back when she was still in law school, eating meat, talking to her parents (played by Sam Neill and Jessica Lange) before their blowout ... And dating Jeremy (Scott Speedman), who has gone to becoming a successful businessman.
Now, with his wife's memory gone, Leo faces a choice: Let go of the woman he loves forever ... Or do his best to bring her memory back and make her fall in love with him all over again.
Then Paige awakens ... And her entire memory of who Leo is gone, rendering her husband a complete stranger.
Not wanting to lose the woman of his dreams, Leo tries just about every and any thing possible to bring back his wife's memory – which has reverted to her college days 5 years earlier. That's back when she was still in law school, eating meat, talking to her parents (played by Sam Neill and Jessica Lange) before their blowout ... And dating Jeremy (Scott Speedman), who has gone to becoming a successful businessman.
Now, with his wife's memory gone, Leo faces a choice: Let go of the woman he loves forever ... Or do his best to bring her memory back and make her fall in love with him all over again.
THE TAKE: If there was ever a film that was the definition of a bad first date romantic drama, The Vow would be a likely candidate to be depicted on Wikipedia when someone looked up an example. Make no mistake about it: This film is no Crazy, Stupid, Love; it's just stupid and crazy. In fact, if I was Krickitt and Kim Carpenter – the real life couple this film was inspired by – I would be so displeased with this movie I would consider finding a way to finance my own take.
What are the problems, you ask? OK, let's start with the completely phoned-in performance of McAdams, who seems as if she's doing an impression of an actress starring in her first romantic comedy. Seriously, the first hour-plus is so hokey and forced I kept waiting for Katherine Heigl to show up and act exasperated she wasn't part of the cast. That's balanced, of course, by the wooden, super-clichéd evil/pretentious routine also phoned in by Neill and sadly, Lange, too, which further takes you out of what should have been a great story and instead comes off as pure, mindless pablum that feels like a TV movie of the week. The chemistry between the characters and dialogue is just about as bad as the performances, so don't look to either of those tenets for something to enjoy.
Poor Channing Tatum. For while he turns in the best performance in the film, even he is not immune to being part of the misery of The Vow. For while you can tell he cares, for whatever reason, you just can't take the idea of him when he's emotional (Spoiler alert: He cries, ladies!) as it just doesn't feel right. Then again, given the overall corny/sappy/been there, seen that/insert adjective here nature of the movie as a whole, maybe he's just collateral damage by default.
I hesitate to classify a main problem with The Vow, but there is a quote from Spyglass Entertainment Producer Jonathan Glickman that I think sums things up nicely. Speaking about the film, Glickman is on record as saying "Because the story is so emotional and gripping, we didn't want to make a melodrama, but something that could elevate itself to one of those classic love stories like The Way We Were or Love Story and at the same (time) include relationships between parents and daughters, sisters and friends. The script needed to be accessible, with humor and a light touch throughout, so that we don't take ourselves so seriously."
Well, when you don't take yourself seriously enough, you end up with films like The Vow: Silly, unconvincing, uninteresting as a whole and largely disappointing. If relying on being cute (which is questionable a call at best in a film with this many wacky haircuts and outfits) is your main strategy to success, you're setting yourself up for disappointment.
What are the problems, you ask? OK, let's start with the completely phoned-in performance of McAdams, who seems as if she's doing an impression of an actress starring in her first romantic comedy. Seriously, the first hour-plus is so hokey and forced I kept waiting for Katherine Heigl to show up and act exasperated she wasn't part of the cast. That's balanced, of course, by the wooden, super-clichéd evil/pretentious routine also phoned in by Neill and sadly, Lange, too, which further takes you out of what should have been a great story and instead comes off as pure, mindless pablum that feels like a TV movie of the week. The chemistry between the characters and dialogue is just about as bad as the performances, so don't look to either of those tenets for something to enjoy.
Poor Channing Tatum. For while he turns in the best performance in the film, even he is not immune to being part of the misery of The Vow. For while you can tell he cares, for whatever reason, you just can't take the idea of him when he's emotional (Spoiler alert: He cries, ladies!) as it just doesn't feel right. Then again, given the overall corny/sappy/been there, seen that/insert adjective here nature of the movie as a whole, maybe he's just collateral damage by default.
I hesitate to classify a main problem with The Vow, but there is a quote from Spyglass Entertainment Producer Jonathan Glickman that I think sums things up nicely. Speaking about the film, Glickman is on record as saying "Because the story is so emotional and gripping, we didn't want to make a melodrama, but something that could elevate itself to one of those classic love stories like The Way We Were or Love Story and at the same (time) include relationships between parents and daughters, sisters and friends. The script needed to be accessible, with humor and a light touch throughout, so that we don't take ourselves so seriously."
Well, when you don't take yourself seriously enough, you end up with films like The Vow: Silly, unconvincing, uninteresting as a whole and largely disappointing. If relying on being cute (which is questionable a call at best in a film with this many wacky haircuts and outfits) is your main strategy to success, you're setting yourself up for disappointment.
PARTING SHOT: A film with as many awkward, clumsy moments and cliches as a bad first date, The Vow makes you want to divorce yourself from it. Instead of being inspired to believe in love, you'll walk away feeling that uninspired romantic dramas are best left untold on the cutting room floor.
RATING (OUT OF FOUR BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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