Relationships between people are always a constant experience of development and attention to detail. It requires two people to make the relationship happen and actively work at maintaining the strong bond. Unfortunately, not all relationships end well. Whether it is due to a lack effort from both or one side, simple ignorance to what’s causing friction or worse, destructive behavior. Most however do find their partner that will do what they can to be the best version of themselves, for themselves and their partner. No couple should take each other for granted but make the most of their time together as time is not exact in life. One never knows what could happen in the coming future. This is one of the main points made in this film adapted from a Nicholas Sparks novel.
Written by Dana Stevens (City of Angels (1998) and later Fatherhood (2021)), and Gage Lansky in their only credit, took Sparks’ novel and made into a watchable romance film with some typical clichés. The story is about Alex (Josh Duhamel), a widower with two kids Lexi (Mimi Kirkland) and Josh (Noah Lomax) who are living life as best they can. Things are going as normal when a random woman Katie (Julianne Hough) enters the frame. Things start picking up as Katie begins involving herself with Alex’s family. However, Katie isn’t disclosing much about her past. Meanwhile, detective Tierney (David Lyons) is trying to get a hold of Katie. The film was directed by Lasse Hallström, who in his early days directed a lot of ABBA music videos. But he also directed another Nicholas Sparks film called Dear John (2010).
Overall the writing suffices in its narrative. Over time audiences will begin to understand exactly what it is that Katie is trying to keep from resurfacing but like most things, it comes back to bite them. As for Alex, it’s understandable what someone like him would be going through to an extent. Being a one parent family is not easy even though there will always been existing units. However, the story doesn’t go much into what could help Alex grow. Katie arbitrarily does this for plot reasons. Both main characters and the children characters are likeable in their own way but much of what has been seen in other romance films is repeated here too. It’s cliché but not unwatchable thanks to the acting. One thing that doesn’t make sense though is the conflict of interest a certain character is a part of.
When this is revealed it begs the question how the situation even happened the way it did. The other aspect to the film that may come across cliché or perhaps even in the wrong genre is the injection of some spiritualistic themes. Some may even take it as faith based which typically does not resonate with many viewers. If viewers can let these callouts slide, then it may be more entertaining for some than others. Aside from this movie, Julianne Hough is probably best known from Footloose (2011) and Rock of Ages (2012). She still acts but it doesn’t seem as prominently. Josh Duhamel is best known from Michael Bay’s Transformers (2007) series. David Lyons is a more of a TV actor. Mimi Kirkland would later play Rachel in the Walking Dead series and Noah Lomax had a role in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015).
There’s even appearances from Red West playing Alex’s uncle and Cobie Smulders, playing Katie’s new neighbor. Smulders is also known for playing Agent Maria Hill from Marvel’s movie lineup. The cinematography was decently shot. Handled by Terry Stacey, the shots taking in the sandy coast of the Carolina’s is a nice view. Really not much of any one scene has CGI in it so there’s not much to mention there. Stacey also worked on Dear John (2010). Lastly, composing the score was Deborah Lurie. Throughout the film score, Lurie creates a theme for Alex and Katie, incorporating southern instruments with piano mixed in. There is an album available as well which is nice. Lurie also composed for 9 (2009), Dear John (2010) and Footloose (2011). Lots of overlap.
This is by no means a standout film of excellence. There is one big plot hole in the story and in can feel a bit generic. But the actors have good chemistry and the overall message is an important takeaway along with good camerawork and music.
Points Earned -->6:10
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