Starring Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum, The Vow is about a newlywed couple, Paige (McAdams) and Leo (Tatum), who get in a car crash, leaving Paige with severe memory loss and no memory of Leo.
Who wouldn’t be attracted to a movie that features a good-looking couple, the man helplessly in love with the woman? McAdams, who we’ve seen in movies such as The Notebook, seems to do well in romantic flicks. However, this only happens with a plot.
In The Vow, there aren’t as many twists and turns as I had hoped. There is a scandal with McAdams’ character’s father and her friend, but other than that, it becomes embarrassingly repetitive. Tatum’s character sees her at one party. They don’t get together; they only talk. He sees her at another party; he again tries to convince her of their love. It’s the same story over and over again.
Paige’s family is annoying. In this movie, that’s a good thing. It honestly portrays the “country club lifestyle”–Paige’s rich family lives in the suburbs, and they desperately wanted her to go to law school and be a lawyer. Their pleas effectively convince Paige to go back, but then she finds out about the scandal, driving her back to the city.
A good ending really makes a movie. But the ending of this movie leaves the viewer guessing, and not in a good “Ooh, I wonder what will happen?” way. Spoiler alert: Paige and Leo meet up in the street in front of their favorite coffee shop, exchange a few meaningless words, and walk home in the snow. End of story.
Well, now what? Do they get married? Or do they still live separate lives? You wouldn’t even know unless you read the book, a memoir that details the true story, as told by the real couple.
To watch or not to watch? I say it’s worth the watch for funny one-liners, but keep your expectations in check.
