For any girl who swooned over American romantic classics such as The Notebook, Titanic or Gone with the Wind, even the very thought of a movie with similar romantic proportions seemed like a “must see.” In the weeks and even months leading up to what everyone believed would be the next Notebook movie, girls chattered about the perfectly chiseled Channing Tatum starring as a lead and planned when to watch this ideal chick flick. Yes, The Vow, which came out in theaters February 10th had big shoes to fill and even higher expectations to exceed.
However, as a big fan of such romantic classics myself, The Vow fell short. Its overwhelming predictability and story line made for a movie that lacked some sort of substance and mainly felt like déjà vu from any other sappy romantic film. However, the saving grace of the movie was that it was based on a true story, one of love, heartbreak and the pure dedication of a man to the woman he loves.
The movie follows the story of Leo (Channing Tatum) and Paige (Rachel McAdams), a recently married couple living in the heart of Chicago, who exude a likeable, artsy vibe. Just a year after their wedding, the couple experiences a tragic car crash, sending Paige through the front windshield. After several days in a coma, she has no recollection of her past five years with Leo: no wedding, no love, no memories.
I found that the movie was heartwarming in how it portrayed a man’s undying love for his wife, as stated in their wedding vows (hence the name). The movie would make any girl fall head-over-heels for Tatum’s character, who showed warmth, genuine compassion and dedication throughout the film. At first sight, you would not necessarily think a person of his braun would portray such realistic emotions through his character, but to my surprise, his acting proved inspiring in trying to rebuild that “once- in- a- lifetime love” with McAdams’ character. Because Tatum is still budding on the acting scene in Hollywood, I was skeptical if he could pull off such an important and compassionate role, but he did, and I think this is a role that will lead him to star in more movies.
On the other hand, McAdams was her typical, natural and radiant self on screen as she is definitely no rookie in the world of chick flicks and most noted to this day for her lead role in The Notebook. For the moments in the movie that seemed strained and rather boring, I felt the overall chemistry between both actors had a sense of realism, which lacked in the rest of the film.
Possibly what frustrated me the most was how unoriginal the movie in itself really was. The sequence of events was typical and paralleled other movies of similar genre. There was no shocking or awe-inspiring moment; no tearjerking or Kleenex tissue moment, either. I constantly felt like something was missing. Even during the moments when there were flashbacks portraying the characters’ lives before the accident, there was a need for more. The majority of the movie just revolved around Leo trying to make his wife fall in love with him again, despite her reluctance.
While the movie will definitely not be an award-winning piece, if you are just looking for a “cute” girls’ night movie, then this will satisfy you. In my honest opinion, this movie might make for a good date night movie as well.