The Vow

Throughly enjoyable...except for the f*rt gag...And the f*rt gag is worth mentioning because it was foul.

Otherwise, switch off your brain and enjoy the gorgeous Channing Tatum laugh, cry and bare his beautiful buns -- and all in the name of love.

It's a film that doesn't bear much examination. It's a chick flick with a dumb heroine (why are they always artists???) who wouldn't know love unless it smacked her in the gob...which it eventually does.

The reveal where we find out why she originally changed so radically is like: Oh, get over yourself, girlfriend! The punishment hardly fits the crime...unless you're 12.

But who cares. It's a fairytale. And for me it worked.

When I went with my two friends to see this movie, I thought we were in for a ladies night out and a teary chick flick. I was pleasantly surprised. The drama and dialog were very believable and realistic, and it was pleasingly funny in places. The fact that the setting was clearly Chicago without any effort to try and hide street signs and restaurant placards only added to the charm and believability of the movie. Quickly into the film I was wishing I was friends with this couple and could hang out with them and be part of their lives. When the credits started rolling I desired our relationship to continue. O.k. maybe I had a couple of tears, but I would definitely see this movie again and take my husband. After seeing the number of men in the audience who enjoyed it, I think he would feel comfortable attending and glad that he went.

The Vow is a wonderful little movie. At first blush, the movie seemed like it's another 50 First Dates, but without the comedy. The only similarity to 50 First Dates is that both the female leads suffer from amnesia with their respective significant others trying to win her heart. The Vow actually comes across having a feel more like The Notebook.

It's the story of the romance between Leo (Channing Tatum) and Paige (Rachel McAdams), and who are victims of a car accident. Leo recovers, but Paige emerges with no memories of her whole relationship nor marriage to Leo, and he must now make her fall in love with him again. In her mind, as Leo says in one of the trailers for this movie, she's still engaged to her ex-fiancé.

The movie manages to avoid cheap Hollywood writing, and gently leads you down its plot. Just when you think you might know where the story is going, it heads in a different direction. Details are revealed to you layer by layer as Paige discovers them. Tatum's voice-over was somewhat annoying, and unnecessary.

In trying to remember her memories, Paige manages to gain a new life. Opening in time for Valentine's Day, this makes for a wonderful date-night movie.

Today I had the opportunity to see a preview of The Vow with my wife.

We both enjoyed the movie, her a little more than me. I was very surprised to learn that this movie is based on actual events, perhaps this was why it was not just another amnesia movie. Therefore not entirely predictable. The struggles seemed a little abbreviated, but genuine. Leo (the husband) had a noticeable lack of grief, even in the most down point.

This is a great example of a couple facing a great difficulty, particularly a husband's love. But it failed to truly pull deep emotion out of me (and I can get choked up pretty easily).

This is appropriate for most teen and up audiences. All intimation of sex are between a married couple. There is full backside nudity of Tatum Channing, but it fits appropriately in the movie.

My last "negative" point is that it seemed slow, particularly at the beginning. Maybe that's because I watched Mission Impossible last night, but nonetheless it sure felt like it.

I would certainly recommend seeing the movie, but it probably will be just as good as a Blu-ray instead of paying $10+ for a movie ticket.

While reading up on "The Vow", I learned that professional reviewers didn't particularly care for this film. The same can be said for many of the IMDb reviews. While I would disagree, since I really enjoyed the film, I can certainly understand some of the dislike. For folks wanting a traditional romantic film, "The Vow" isn't exactly a date movie. A traditional date film has a formula--including a happy ending. And, oddly, the film ends on a hopeful but vague note--disappointing those needing the happy finale.

In addition to reading up on the reviews, I also looked into the story of Kimand Krickitt Carpenter--the couple whose real life story inspired this film. I say inspires because so much of the film is fictional and the religious faith of the Carpenters was omitted in "The Vow". It's sad, as although you don't want a preachy film, it's odd how in films today there is NO reference to God or almost none and this might have been an interesting addition to the movie.

Now on to the film. The story, if you don't know, is about a newly married couple who are in a terrible traffic accident. Leo (Channing Tatum) is okay but his wife, Paige (Rachel McAdams) is left in a coma. Oddly, when she awakens, she has a strange sort of amnesia where the most recent portion of her life is missing. This means she has no idea who her husband is and their time together is, naturally, quite uncomfortable and awkward. At the same time, Paige's no longer existent relationship with her parents is suddenly given a second chance and they work hard to recapture her love and make her the girl she used to be. What will become of poor Leo?

The two leads, McAdams and Tatum were quite good in the film and easy to watch. The script rather clever and enjoyable. And, overall I have very little negative to say about the film. Well worth seeing--just be forewarned that although there is a lot of romance in the film, it is not at all traditional or what you might expect from such a movie.