Dear John

Rating: 5
Length: 1:45
Starring: Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried, Richard Jenkins
Genre: Mature Audience, Drama, Romance

Let's be upfront: this is a "chick flick." Boy meets girl along the coast of North Carolina. He is a soldier on leave, and she is a college student. He goes to Iraq, and they promise to write. The letters flow in a steady stream back and forth. He returns for a brief leave, and they strengthen their love. When he returns to war, the letters from her suddenly stop. The he gets the "Dear John." He comes back home to be with his dying father, and he gets some improbable surprises. At this point, the movie falls apart into implausibility. The local paper gave it only one and a half stars. It's a little bit better than this. The movie is based on a popular novel and Mrs. Matinee Idle tells me it deviates quite a bit, especially at the end.