Not only was the novel amazing, the movie was too. Every one who judges the movie simply becuase of Miley's past career are wrongly doing so. Try the movie out and you won't be dissapointed. Obviously not everything is for everyone, but for all those looking to enjoy a sappy love movie, this is for you! It's great for the family and a very down to earth drama. Get over her Hannah alter-ego and move on as she is trying to.

In watching `The Last Song' over the weekend (to be honest, I actually wanted to do this), I decided that it was probably best to present this review in three sections; the pros, the cons and my verdict.

It just makes more sense this way.

THE PROS:

The beachfront setting of the film, not unlike a previous Sparks film adaptation `Nights in Rodanthe', is stunning and certainly creates a mood, the same mood that follows a lot of Sparks' stories. You can feel the love in the air from the moment the sandy shores are revealed. The acting here is also quite decent, with the exception of Kelly Preston who is just really bad at whatever it is she is trying to do. Greg Kinnear is always a welcome presence, and he layers the stereotypical `dad' role with enough personality to make him endearing. Liam Hemsworth is like a talented Paul Walker (they look very similar) and that is becoming. I see a career in front of him that may (and I'm not really joking here) lead him to some award recognition in ten years or so. That said, the star of the show has a decent three-quarter turn here. Once here character gets out of the `I'm trying to be distant and rebellious' stage she actually shines. So, I'd say that a good 75% of Miley Cyrus's performance is pretty darn good. I'll tell you this, the main performances (and the nonchalant way the film is edited in parts) goes a long way to making this film entertaining, since there are a lot more cons than pros here. But, before I switch gears, I want to mention the biggest pro here and that is the theme song to the film. `When I Look At You' is beautifully sung (yes, I'm talking about you Miss Cyrus) and effortlessly captivating. It actually yanks at your heartstrings more than this movie does!

Ok, we must move on.

THE CONS:

Nicholas Sparks has absolutely NO imagination. Really, it's like he wrote this one book many, many years ago and decided that it was so successful and so well written that, instead of challenging himself to try anything new, he was just going to `rinse and repeat' for the rest of his life. Like you may have guessed it, Ronnie meets Will and falls in love. Will is from a different social standing than Ronnie. They don't initially get along but they fall in love quick. There are problems within the family dynamic. Oh yeah, someone dies. Typical Sparks' material. That said, Sparks usually shines in this genre, but this film feels forced for me. I think the biggest issue is that Sparks doesn't understand modern romance. He totally gets that dated love that shines in films like `The Notebook', and he even understood the aged romantic dynamic in `Nights in Rodanthe' and even `Message in a Bottle', but the way he crafts modern teenage romance is stilted and phony to the taste. It just doesn't seem real, and then when he tries to pepper in modern issues (like the abusive boyfriend with the homeless girlfriend) it looks very skeletal in form and unbelievable. Another issue here is the first 25% of Miley's performance. It is so forced, and that comic relief she tries to deliver with the whole sea turtle bit (that whole subplot was poorly executed) was atrocious. I wish I could wipe that whole section from the film. The films rapid deterioration as the film draws to a close is also a tad underworked. When a certain character winds up sick, the sickness comes on so ridiculously rapidly that one is stunned as to why NO ONE NOTICED IT BEFORE. It just doesn't make much sense at all.

I also want to say this; Miley Cyrus is not the most attractive girl in the world. In fact, the way she holds her face can be comically off-putting at times (and it is also what made the first part of her performance so out of place), but her funny looks could play into her favor once she hones her acting skills. She obviously has some talent (her emotional breakdown upon hearing some tragic news is remarkably in tact and believable) and I can see her developing into a nice actress one day. The fact that she isn't afraid to look ugly (I know that sounds harsh, but if you are a cinephile like me you'll understand that that isn't really meant as an insult) will help her create more reality within her characters. We all know that NO ONE is pretty all of the time. Notice the way that Miley holds her face even towards the films end, when she is looking off or standing in a crowd. She looks lazy and frumpy and at times like she smells something gross. In other words, she looks natural. It works for her in parts, and honestly, if she keeps that up and begins to understand a little better HOW to emote completely I could very well see her getting on the track she claimed she desired (not too long ago she mentioned that she wanted to be like Kate Winslet - great aspirations young lady - and do a dramatic film like `Revolutionary Road'). I don't see her as the next Kate-the-Great (that would be a stretch), but the next Natalie Portman?

Give her five years and ask me that again.

And still, the film is worth seeing at least once.

MY VERDICT:

It could have been a lot better. Even `A Walk to Remember', which is saddled with some clichés that surround everything Sparks' writes, manages to be a lot more realistically sound than this film, and a lot more endearing (this movie didn't even bring me close to tears, and it really needed to). Still, it is a decent summer romance movie and it certainly has everything the tweens are looking for. My brother loves this movie (for reasons I am sure we don't share) and I'm sure you're twelve year old will too. If the day is rainy and the mood is light, I'd have no problem watching this film again, as long as it's on cable TV and I'm not paying for it.

The Last Song Review

Film reviewers everywhere are raving about the film The Last Song inspired by the world renowned Nicholas Sparks book. Even though you may have read the book, you are in for a big surprise. The film has nothing on the book but just how the actresses/actors portray the film makes the film worth seeing. This film is one to sit down and watch with your family or even have a girl's night with your friend that you can ball your eyes out to.
There were many different memorable characters in the film. The protagonist of "The Last Song" is the character Miley Cyrus played named Ronnie Miller. Ronnie Miller is a troubled teen that is shipped off to live with her father for the summer. It has been years since she has seen her father and she is very mad that she needs to be there with him. Her father Steve Miller is thrilled to have his two children to stay with him for the summer but what no one knows is that he has cancer. The way they build up the relationship between Ronnie and Steve is amazing just because it really shows how family is really important and that holding a grudge against your dad for something he couldn't fix is just not a way to live. I loved how Ronnie really grew into this person that her brother Jonah could look up to. She started as this angry teenager and became a woman you could believe in. There was also her love interest Will Blakelee who was a really good character. He started as this volleyball jock who you really didn't want to like because you thought that he was just playing Ronnie but then when he stands up to his parents for her and you really get to know about him and his life you really want to just root for the two of them to end up together.
It is a modern day telling of family trouble and of course finding true love. Ronnie's and her younger brother, Jonah's, parents are divorced. They live with their mother until this summer they are sent to live with their father in a small town on the beach. Ronnie resents her father and has no intention of being friendly or even talking to him for the summer. But after meeting a handsome guy and beginning to fall in love, Ronnie starts rediscovering her love for music, something she shares with her father. Reconnecting with music revives a kinship with her father, which proves to be the most important relationship she may ever experience. Even though her love for her father never left, she still resents him for leaving and she feels like she was not important to him even though she is one of the most important things in his life.
The writing for this film is one of the best parts of the film because Nicholas Sparks is an amazing writer. Nicholas Sparks writing is never something that disappoints. He gets you engaged so you fall in love with the characters. You are on the edge of your set till the very end of the film. His words are something that can touch anyone. If you are a romantic you will love the words that Ronnie and Will share. If you are into family values you will love the dynamic between Ronnie and her father. There is really something for everyone in the words of this film. The way that they play out the real emotions a break up would be life with someone you truly love is just something you want to believe in. All people even if they don't believe in love would believe it after see this film and hearing the words that the characters speak.
The main themes are forgiveness, heartbreak and love because they all connect in some way to most of the characters. Forgiveness is one of the themes in this film because Ronnie ends up making up with her father and realizing it really wasn't his fault that everything fell apart in there family. She also realizes that he didn't leave her but instead he left her mom because he couldn't stay in a loveless marriage. The other theme in this film is heartbreak and love, which tie together because on one hand Ronnie and Will fall in love and they are meant to be together but then there is the heartbreak when she finds out that Will set her father up to take the fall for the church fire even though it was his friends and his fault. He stood by and let Steve take the blame for everything. She really couldn't stand by Will after that because she doesn't like being lied to and knowing that her father took the blame for something that awful just made her hate him. Themes play a very big role in making this movie something that can touch everyone's heart.
The music plays a very important role in this film as well. Since Miley Cyrus is a world known singer she had a few songs in the film that related to her relationship with Will in the film. The songs really made the story line come alive and made it even more interesting to watch. There was other various artist used thought out the film but the best part was that all the music just made the film even more believable and more of something you want to watch. For example for the scene where Ronnie and Steve(her father) had there break through they used the perfect music to show the climax to that point. The film also used good young singers to show the film is about young love and of course the fight to keep that young love going. Another example is that when Ronnie first gets to town and she goes to the pier they play the perfect music that describes who she is at that point and how she doesn't want to be there.
In conclusion The Last Song is a must see movie that you will not regret paying for. It will become one movie that you will love and never grow old. The book by Nicholas Sparks has nothing on the film adaption and you will love every minute of it. I recommend you watch the film and I hope that it touch's your heart like it did for me.