Dear John (2010 film)

Dear John

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Lasse Hallström
Produced by Marty Bowen
Wyck Godfrey
Ryan Kavanaugh
Screenplay by Jamie Linden
Based on Dear John
by Nicholas Sparks
Starring Channing Tatum
Amanda Seyfried
Henry Thomas
Richard Jenkins
Music by Deborah Lurie
Cinematography Terry Stacey
Edited by Kristina Boden
Production
company
Distributed by Screen Gems
Release dates
  • February 5, 2010 (2010-02-05)
Running time
 107 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $25 million[1]
Box office $114.9 million[1]

Dear John is a 2010 American romantic drama-war film starring Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum. It was made by Screen Gems and was released theatrically in North America on February 5, 2010. The film was directed by Lasse Hallström, and it is an adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' 2006 novel of the same name. It follows the life of a soldier (Channing Tatum) after he falls in love with a young woman (Amanda Seyfried). They decide to exchange letters to each other after he is deployed to the war. The movie was filmed in 2009 in Charleston, South Carolina.

Plot

While serving in the United States Army Special Forces in 2003, Staff Sergeant John Tyree is lying on the ground in Afghanistan, after being shot multiple times with his comrades around him. In a voice over, he recalls a childhood trip to the U.S. Mint and compares himself to a coin in the United States Military before stating that the last thing he thought of before he blacked out was "you."

In 2001, John is on vacation in Charleston, South Carolina while on leave. He meets Savannah Curtis, a college student on spring break, when he fetches her purse from the ocean. She invites him to a bonfire party where he meets her neighbor, Tim Wheddon and his son Alan. Over the course of two weeks, they go on several dates and fall in love. Savannah also meets John's father, who is obsessed with his coin collection.

Savannah mentions to John that his father, like Alan, may have high-functioning autism. This upsets John who storms off. Savannah's friend Randy, who also has a crush on her, makes a comment that provokes John to fight and he accidentally punches Tim. Savannah sees the commotion and stops speaking to him. John apologizes to Tim, who offers to give Savannah a message. She drives to John's house to spend one last day together.

John and Savannah continue their relationship through letters. Savannah spends more time with Tim and decides she wants to work with children with autism, and plans to build a farm and horse stables where they can enjoy the outdoors and animals. They expect to build a life together when John leaves the army, but after the September 11 attacks, he re-enlists. Over the next two years, the romance goes on through their letters and one turns out to be a Dear John letter that she is engaged to someone else. John burns all of Savannah's letters.

Despite being wounded and encouraged to return home, John re-enlists. After four more years, while waiting to receive orders on his unit's next deployment, John is informed that his father had a stroke. When John arrives at the hospital he learns that his father is alive but in grave condition. John writes a letter to his father, which he reads to him at the hospital; John's voice over at the beginning of the film was from this letter, in which he told his father that the first thing to cross his mind after he was shot was coins, and the last thing to cross his mind before he lost consciousness was his dad. Soon afterwards, his father dies.

John visits Savannah and learns that she has married Tim and abandoned her dream of a riding camp for kids with autism because of Tim's fight against lymphoma. John goes with her to visit Tim in the hospital. Tim tells John that Savannah still loves John. John sells all of his father's coin collection except the mule that John found, to raise money, which could help Tim in his treatment. Back in the army, John uses the mule as a charm. He receives a letter from Savannah telling him that Tim died after two months. John, now a civilian, sees Savannah at a coffee shop and they hug.

Cast

Soundtrack

  1. Joshua Radin and Schuyler Fisk – "Paperweight"
  2. The Swell Season – "The Moon"
  3. 311 – "Amber"
  4. The Donkeys – "Excelsior Lady"
  5. Wailing Souls – "Things & Time"
  6. Amanda Seyfried and Marshall Altman – "Little House"
  7. Fink – "This Is the Thing"
  8. Rosi Golan - "Think of Me"
  9. Rachael Yamagata and Dan Wilson – "You Take My Troubles Away"
  10. Deborah Lurie – Dear John Theme
  11. Snow Patrol ft. Martha Wainwright – "Set the Fire to the Third Bar" (Bonus Track)
Other songs from the movie not on the CD soundtrack

Music

The score to Dear John was composed by Deborah Lurie, who recorded her score with the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the Warner Brothers Eastwood Scoring Stage.[2] A soundtrack album containing songs was released on February 2, 2010 from Relativity Media Group, and a score album was released digitally the same day.

Reception

Box office

Dear John has grossed $80,014,842 in North America and $34,962,262 in other territories for a worldwide total of $114,977,104.[1]

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $30,468,614, finishing first at the box office, knocking off Avatar after seven weekends in first place and making it the best debut for a film based on a Nicholas Sparks novel.[1][3]

The film was the second highest debut for a film opening Super Bowl weekend, just shy of Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert in 2008.[1][4]

Critical reception

The film received mixed to negative reviews from critics, with some praising the casting, but many dismissing its characters and writing as generic.

Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score from film critics' reviews, reports a rating of 43% based on 34 reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a "rotten" 29% with an average score of 4.4/10.[5]

Accolades

Year Award Category Work Result
2010 MTV Movie Awards Best Male Performance Channing Tatum Nominated
Best Female Performance Amanda Seyfried Nominated
Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie: Drama Dear John Nominated
Choice Movie Actor: Drama Channing Tatum Nominated
Choice Movie Actress: Drama Amanda Seyfried Nominated
Choice Movie: Chemistry Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum Nominated
2011 People's Choice Awards Favorite Drama Movie Dear John Nominated
ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards Top Box Office Films Deborah Lurie Won
CinEuphoria Awards Top Ten of the Year – Audience Award Lasse Hallström Won
Top Ten of the Year – International Competition Won
Best Actor – International Competition Channing Tatum Won

Home media

Dear John was released on DVD and Blu-ray on May 25, 2010.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Dear John (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
  2. ↑ Goldwasser, Dan (2010-01-25). "Deborah Lurie scores Dear John". ScoringSessions.com. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  3. ↑ Brandon Gray (2010-02-08). "Weekend Report: 'Dear John' Delivers, 'Avatar' Flies High Again". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
  4. ↑ "SUPER BOWL OPENINGS". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
  5. ↑ "Dear John (2010): Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks. Retrieved February 7, 2010.

External links

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