Vow-entines

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a sucker for anything "romantic." So of course it would not be a shock that I saw "the Vow," this year's Valentine offering. If we were to just employ logic about this movie, then yes, one would say it is horrible and unrealistic. So the filmmakers more than once remind us that this is "inspired by a true story," and even show a picture of the inspirees at the end reel. So okay, let's suspend disbelief. I feel like we don't need to, because both Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams are terrific in this movie, and because of them, you believe. Tatum continues to surprise me, and he is really evolving to be a sensitive actor. Maybe because he is so beautiful that my expectations of his acting are lowered? Here, though, he is charming, and you can sense that he really took his time and effort into understanding his character. (At the same time, though, I am now kind of imagining the role being played a little darkly, maybe Johnny Depp, and wondering what kidn fo movie that would have been if it were the case) I thoroughly disliked McAdams in "Midnight In Paris," but we see her here bouyant and vibrant, and perfect, like she was in "The Notebook." And they have chemistry, so you end up rooting for them, even if the peopel around them are all two-dimensional. Jessica Lange here (my God, she looks awful - bad plastic surgery?) gets what I call the "Joan Allen" role - wherein the schemes and cheats only to have a small transformation at the end.  Haters of romantic movie will despise this movie, but for hopeless romantics like myself, this will be nirvana. I remember years ago when it was first released, "The Notebook" was reviled, but today it seems to have amassed a cult following. There are numerous songs on YouTube wherein sentimental songs are visually set to scenes from there, and every day I always see retweets of the user "TheNoteBook" wherein the owner quotes dialogue from it daily. I don't know if "The Vow" will have the same fate, but right here, right now, it made me think of love, of regrets, and made me hope for just a little bit. If only for that, my money spent has been well worth it.