"The Vow," starring Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams, hit theaters Feb. 10 and met with mixed reviews.
By Meghan Doyle
Executive News Editor
I brought my tissues. That’s right; I brought a whole box of tissues — don’t laugh at me. I wanted to cry; I was obviously prepared to cry. But I didn’t. Nope, not one single tear rolled down my cheek.
“The Vow,” directed by Michael Sucsy and released on Feb. 10, follows the story of Paige (Rachel McAdams) and Leo (Channing Tatum), a happy couple living in the city of Chicago. However, when their romance is interrupted by an untimely car accident, Paige, an aspiring artist, is left without any memories of the past five years. The last thing she remembers is being enrolled in law school, happily engaged to a high society jerk and surrounded by her quietly dysfunctional family. Leo is not in the picture.
Based on a true story, the film chronicles Leo’s attempts to make his wife fall in love with him all over again through adorable dates and intimate moments.
So you can see why I thought I might cry. But the tender love story didn’t touch my heart the way I had predicted it would. Though the acting was (somewhat) believable and the characters were lovable, the sadness was not prolonged or dwelt upon for long enough to make an impact.
The one scene where the waterworks might have come was when *SPOILER ALERT* Leo finally accepted that Paige was never going to remember him, despite his efforts to recapture her heart. But, like I said before, the somber air was interrupted by attempted humor, clearly meant to “lighten the mood.”
But, honestly, if someone goes to see a movie with that kind of plot line, do they really want the mood to be lightened? Sometimes, I think people may go to a movie specifically to cry and, if that was the case, this film did not satisfy. Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams (from left) pose with the couple that inspired "The Vow," Kim and Krickitt Carpenter. (Photos courtesy of Google Images.)
On a brighter note, however, a girl can never tire of watching the soft side of Tatum, whose every side is absolutely beautiful — at least, to the teenage girl demographic. And the boyfriend who gets dragged along to see the total chick flick will not be disappointed by the ever-stunning face of McAdams.
While it was refreshing to see a married couple so in love on the big screen, “The Vow” is definitely not my all-time favorite romantic movie. Though the journeys each character took were emotional in themselves, it was hard for the audience to relate to the situation at hand, and the average performances from the actors did not help.
All in all, “The Vow” may be a good flick for a Valentine’s Day date, but let’s just say it’s not winning any Oscars in the near future. Oh, and it’s not going to make anybody cry either, so leave the tissues at home.
