There is a lot of anticipation when a couple enters a movie theater on Valentine’s weekend. Hollywood, of course, will be there to give you a few movie options. And Hollywood, if you are reading, this is what we want to see: a good story, love, happiness and above all romance.
In The Vow, a film directed by Michael Sucsy, a young newly married couple is dealing with a traumatic brain injury after a car accident. Paige (Rachel McAdams) has no memory of her new husband Leo (Tatum Channing), and Leo works to win her love all over again. Or so the trailers for this film would make you believe. One scene played in every trailer had Leo vowing “to make her fall in love with me all over again.”
Once Paige wakes from her medically induced coma, the only life she remembers is that of before she met her husband. And soon after returning home, she leaves Leo to be with her parents and friends she knew before her life with Leo. Eager to have her back in his life is Jeremy (Scott Speedman), Paige’s ex-fiancé, who works to wedge himself between Paige and Leo. And then Leo vows to “make her fall in love with me all over again.” And Leo does take Paige on a date but that’s about it. The vow that Leo makes to Paige and to the theater going audience is truly overstated. Much of the rest of the film explores the reason Paige left her family in the first place and her exploration of her new self, which is nice, but not the movie that was expected. Things between Paige and Leo are not completely lost and the ending is somewhat sweet.
My biggest complaint about this film is that it was advertised as the most romantic film of the year and when Leo makes his vow, the movie audience expects grand gestures on his part to win Paige all over again. This was a big letdown and a missed opportunity.
The second thing that worked against this film was the casting of Channing Tatum. Yes, he is very popular among the teenage set and he’s great when it’s time to take his shirt off, but when it comes time to speaking dialogue he comes up short. He comes off in this film as somewhat slow and dim-witted.
And lastly, movie goers are so tired of the amnestic plot line. Yes Hollywood, a romantic film can be made without great memory loss and without the demise of a child’s parents. These themes have been so overdone. A simple love story can be made without the introduction of story lines that rarely happen in real life.
Rachel McAdams is very good as Paige. She is a fine actress and this film may work against her due to her previous romantic film The Notebook that introduced her to the movie going audience. Lovers of The Notebook may be very disappointed with the The Vow in comparison.
One very nice part of the film is the role of Paige’s mother played by two-time Oscar® winner Jessica Lange. The one scene between Lange and Rachel McAdams is the best part of the entire film.
Director Michael Sucsy is coming off huge success with his previous endeavor: the HBO movie “Grey Gardens.” With The Vow strategically place on Valentine’s weekend he is sure to make his money back, but this film in no way compares to his brilliant turn in “Grey Gardens.” The HBO movie was written entirely by Sucsy and I suggest that he continue to write his own material as he is a very gifted writer and has the possibility to complete with heavy hitters in the film industry like The Descendants’ Alexander Payne.
So in conclusion, I vow to you to give it to you straight. If you seriously want to watch a film with a similar theme, skip The Vow and rent or stream 50 First Dates. This film starring Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler is much more smart, fun, surprisingly sweet and above all - romantic.
The Vow is rated PG-13 for an accident scene, sexual content, partial nudity and some language and has a runtime of 1 hour and 44 minutes.
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Whatever your movie choice this week, please remember your movie theater etiquette: silence your cell phones & no texting, please don't talk during the film and remove your children if they become a distraction to other audience members. Don't forget that laughing, crying and cheering are always approved behavior and even encouraged.
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-Kay Shackleton is a film historian with special focus on Silent Films; see her work on SilentHollywood.com®
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