MOVIE REVIEW - The Last Song

Here comes yet another Nicolas Sparks story at the movies, Miley Cyrus in The Last Song.

I've stated before that his movies are always the toughest to review. Because of the story, and the overall feel of any Sparks work. Fans love his movies before they walk in. And sometimes no matter what happens in the movie they will love it. It really is an unbalanced playing field. Sparks stories are not about being good, they are about being made.

The Last Song is the story of Ronnie (Cyrus),her divorced mom and dad, and her little brother. Ronnie has just graduated high school and has been shipped off to Georgia from New York to spend the summer with her father, whom she really doesn't care for. She holds him responsible for her parents divorce. She is angry and bitter.

While visiting her father at his beach house, she falls for a local hunk, and a summer romance ensues. This has its troubles too, but they try to survive it all. Then as fate would have it, Ronnie's father, is dying. (I know someone dying in a Sparks story..shocking.) Will she find it in her heart to forgive her dad? Will love find a way, will this be her turning point in life, and will she cross over to adulthood? This is The Last Song.

From purely a movie making perspective this movie really stumbles out of the blocks. Really tentative and predictable performances, and LOUSY dialogue. My goodness. At times it sounds like a bad community theater audition read. But it seems to get better as it rolls on, or maybe you just get used to it. Also, this movie is starting to wear out the Sparks formula. It is so predictable, and campy, with really ridiculous "awww" scenes. All of his movies look and feel exactly the same. And the characters are exactly the same. It really is tiresome.

Cyrus is average at best, but there's not a lot for her to work with here. Much of this is not her doing. But, this movie will find its audience and be a hit. It's core fans laughed, awwed, cried, and clapped at the the movies end, and that tells me that it spoke to who it was supposed to. Mission accomplished. This movie does address what is going in in many young peoples lives, and that's fine. The aftershocks of a divorce, single parenthood, and the raw feelings that can be tough to deal with. But this movie lacks the relevance of Dear John, the Sparks flick from the winter. Dear John was far more topical, dealing with young love and the military in our world today, and over all is far, far better. It had many more, and better reasons to be made than this.

The Last Song. Sparks always finds a way to box office success but this time, it's a rental at best in 90 days. Not so good.