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The Vow starring Channing Tatum, Rachel McAdams and Jessica Lange

Posted on July 11, 2012 Written by ripitup

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The-Vow-Movie-Poster with Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams
The-Vow-Movie-Poster with Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams. Image via disneydreaming.

The Vow is Worth Seeing: Feat. Channing Tatum, Rachel McAdams, Scott Speedman & Jessica Lange

The Premise

Sculptor Paige (Rachel McAdams) and record studio owner Leo (Channing Tatum) are happily married and deeply in love – until they have a car accident that gives Paige selective amnesia- the last 5 years of her life are completely gone, all of 5 years in which she met and has been with Leo. Leo does his best to help, but things get complicated when Paige’s parents (Sam Neill and Jessica Lange), who she hasn’t spoken to in 5 years, show up and want to make a fresh start by taking advantage of her lost memories (and anger towards them.) Leo somewhat manages to persuade Paige to come back with him, but whatever he does seem to either upset or annoy Paige so she decides to stay with her parents for a while.

And not only she doesn’t remember Leo at all, the last thing she remembers is being in love with her ex-fiancé, Jeremy (Scott Speedman)- who is more than willing to take her back as he was never really over her in the first place.

We are given lovely flashbacks to how their relationship has been like, making us root for her and Leo- with or without her regaining her memory.

Can Leo make her fall in love with her again? Can he really handle that his wife only seems to be developing a crush towards him when he is madly in love with her? Will Paige’s memory ever come back, and how long can Leo hang on before having to let go?

I Loved It, but I’d Planned on Hating It.

I was so ready to find The Vow mediocre, yet I loved it. OK, for me to find it bad would have been strange – given that I love Rachel McAdams and can’t resist a good-looking lead, in this case Channing Tatum, who plays a very romantic character.

But come on. Amnesia and the question whether true love could conquer that? It sounded like a Nicholas Sparks novel. But then again, had he written it, either Rachel’s or Channing’s character would probably end up dead. They don’t die, so consider this one a very positive and needed “spoiler.”

But The Vow, especially for the diehard romantics, is touching and heartwarming. While it has more clichés than we can count, it makes them work and at the end of the day, it is all that matters.

The Clichés: Good and Bad

-Two beautiful people deeply in love. Oh, and not an ounce of fat or flaw on either of them.

– A great cast (Jessica Lange, Sam Neill as parents. And I like McAdams too), with many pretty actors: Channing Tatum, Rachel McAdams, Scott Speedman (Underworld, Underworld Evolution, 24th Day), Dillon Casey (Nikita), Lucas Bryant (Haven).

-Amnesia.

-The compromising mother who just accepts everything because……Nah. See the movie. But if I had a dime every time the married got away with what he did….

The Vow: The Perks

– Good soundtrack

– Great emotional/entertaining moments.

– A happy ending that is quite realistic that is based on a true story.

– The ex wasn’t a cheater and/or a jackass.

 

Why It Can Win You Over – despite the clichés

The Vow won me over. Because as typical as the storyline was, it was still hard not to feel empathy for all the characters (apart from maybe Jessica Lange and Sam Neill’s-at least until towards the end.)

I loved the little details such as how Leo won his sister-in-love over with the made-up Thom Yorke (front man of Radiohead) story, and how the story pretty much ended on a better note for everyone (except for one- you can guess who.)

And in the end, it is the right amount of cheesy yet heartfelt romance. What if it is a chick flick? It is a darn good one. If you want to cut down romance and see a different kind of film from McAdams, watch The Lucky Ones or Red Eye. If you want the romance to be a background device and comedy in the center, watch Morning Glory.

Hell, if you want Scott Speedman winning the girl’s heart, watch Underworld Evolution. It’s filled with vampires and werewolves and Speedman plays a hybrid. And I do prefer him with long hair anyway.

But as far as romantic escapism goes, it is a pretty good one.

 

The Criticisms

Audiences love oversimplifying things. Some people are calling Paige a bitch, whereas some find Leo a stupid, insensitive jerk. Guess what? They are all right. And all wrong. Because they both needed help, and they just needed to empathize a bit more. And where was the therapy?

 

Leo and Paige needed therapy, you just can’t deal with something on your own – especially when no one involved can be impartial. Yeah- and a separate therapy session for her family please.

 

But people make mistakes, hurt each other and if there is a way to come back from it, they do. Whether the relationship is worth it makes all the difference. Theirs was.

 

Recommended for:

 

  • All fans of the cast. Although if you are watching solely for Sam Neill you are better off watching Alcatraz as he is the main character, who incidentally has a long-lost love who is/was in a coma. For Dillon Casey, who plays the sister’s fiancé, you can always tune in to Nikita’s second season.

 

  • Chick flick fans. And I am a romantic chick, so I am not using the term condescendingly.

 

  • Those who think Nicholas Sparks could write some happy endings.

For those who compare it to The Notebook (also starring Rachel McAdams), I will write a compare/contrast post just like I did for Keith and A Walk to Remember.

Rated 6.6 on IMDB, a 7 from me. My love rate? 8/10.  Enjoy!

 

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: channing tatum, Dillon casey, dillon casey nikita, drama, haven lucas bryant, Jessica Lange, lucas bryant, Rachel McAdams, romance, sam neill, sam neill alctraz, Scott Speedman, scott speedman underworld evolution, The Vow, the vow 2012 movie, the vow cast, the vow dvd, the vow movie, the vow movie review

Haven starring Emily Rose, Lucas Bryant & Eric Belfour

Posted on October 13, 2011 Written by ripitup

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Haven starrng Lucas Bryant, Emily Rose & Eric Belfour.
Lucas Bryant as Nathan of Haven.

Young FBI agent Audrey Parker (Emily Rose) is sent to Maine on a mission to capture an escaped convict. However, the convict is already dead when she gets there, and despite the sheriff’s determination that it is an accident, he reluctantly lends her deputy chief/his son Nathan (Lucas Bryant).

Almost as soon as they start searching for clues, Audrey realizes that something isn’t quite right about the residents. Some of them have supernatural powers, such as mood swings affecting the weather or the ability to shove you a couple of feet with one little push. Oh, and her new friend Nathan can’t feel pain. Or anything else for that matter…

When the mystery is solved, another mystery-possibly one that can unlock Audrey’s past surfaces. She asks a couple of weeks from her boss, who lets her all too willingly to stay.

Then there is Duke (Eric Balfour), the charming, and not-always law-abiding guy who Nathan isn’t fond of.

The sheriff is impressed by case-solving skills, so Audrey joins Nathan in his office.  They become good friends, with implications that maybe we might expect more in the future.

But our main concern in Haven is not if Nathan and Audrey will get together. We want to know about Lucy Ripley, who looks exactly like Lucy- and looks to be the same age as Lucy. Yet she was here when Nathan and Duke were just kids and they don’t remember anything about the day (the day The Colorado Kid was murdered)….

*

Loosely based on Stephen King’s The Colorado Kid, Haven has found a nice balance between the micro events we deal with each episode and the clues as we try to solve who Audrey is, and also learn that maybe things about Nathan and Luke aren’t so straightforward either. The effects could have been better, but the drama/mystery /relationships are well balanced. Some episodes are better than others, but overall it is great for anyone who loves his supernatural without the horror or extreme romances.

As much as I love my vampires and werewolves, it is refreshing and fun where the supernatural come from humans who are just “troubled”. We are curious to see why it started, and how it is all related to Lucy.

Favorite Episodes

–          Season 2, Episode 6-  Audrey Parker’s Day Off offers the appropriate reference to Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day, it had the right amount of comedy, mystery and drama

 

Fun Facts about the Show and the Cast

–          Haven is set in Maine, USA but shot in Canada.

–          Emily Rose (Audrey) and Eric Balfour (Duke) are American and Lucas Bryant is Canadian.

–          Broadcasted on the same network as (the North American version of) Being Human.

–          Original Beverly Hills 90210 (1990-2000)’s Brandon  Jason Priestly appears in 4 episodes, serving both as a “troubled” guy and a love interest for Audrey.

 

–          Wrestler Adam Copeland  is a frequent co-star.

 

 

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Filed Under: TV shows Tagged With: drama, emily rose, eric balfour, fantasy, haven, haven cast, haven tv series, haven tv show, jason priestly, jason priestly haven, lucas bryant, mystery, stephen king the colorado kid, the colorado kid, TV shows

In the mood for a fun romcom novel?

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