Since The Vow features a melodramatic plot of everlasting true love, I would have guessed that it would be yet another movie based on a Nicholas Sparks novel. After all, both of its lead actors — Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams — are all too well-known for their respective roles in Dear Johnand The Notebook. The Vow is “inspired by true events,” however, and while it should be noted that this is an extremely loose interpretation of the actual story, a semblance of reality gives the film a nice touch, placing it a step above the typical American romance.
The audience is introduced to newlyweds Leo (Tatum), a musician who has recently opened a small recording studio, and Paige (McAdams), an aspiring artist, on the eve of a delicate snowfall in Chicago. In the first few minutes of the film, it is obvious that the two are completely in love with one another, but their bliss is short-lived. Almost immediately after the opening credits subside, a snowplow rear-ends the couple’s shabby sedan and a slow-motion sequence shows Paige being plunged through the windshield. A few scenes later, Paige wakes up from a coma in a hospital bed, only to discover that she has no memory of the past five years of her life, during which she separated herself from her country clubbing parents, became a Bohemian vegetarian art student and met Leo. She now believes that she is still attending a prestigious law school and is engaged to her ex-fiance Jeremy. Enter Leo’s confession to one of his many hipster friends: “I need to make my wife fall in love with me again.”
Without a doubt, the two stars have chemistry, and they make the most of the screenplay they were given, which was at times dull and lagging. Even though McAdams probably does have talent, she rarely gets to prove it because she often plays the same character. In other words, she’s a girl raised by a rich family that spoils her and expects her to marry someone with considerable wealth, but eventually she meets the less-affluent man of her dreams, much to her parents’ dismay, and the story continues from there.
Although his heartthrob character plays to your emotions, Leo is far too perfect and incessantly makes the most romantic comments imaginable. Girls’ hearts will melt as he croons Meat Loaf’s “I’d Do Anything for Love” or asks Paige to move in with him by spelling out the question with blueberries on a plate of freshly made pancakes. Conversely, Paige is relatively unlikable, at least when she is clad in J. Crew and flaunting distasteful blonde highlights. Even though it is she who endures the brain injury, it seems as though Leo is the victim in this situation, suffering from his wife’s erratic mood swings and lack of appreciation for his sweeping gestures.
The Vow is better than most chick flicks because it avoids the sappy pop song that typically dominates the scene depicting the realization of love, or reunion between a long-separated couple. That being said, the movie is enjoyable, but the cynical side of me cannot, in good conscience, offer it much praise. The film will probably give you exactly what you expect: It will tug at your heartstrings and present some eye candy, just in time to provide you with a holiday fix. With a Valentine’s Day week release, the publicists are really milking the sentimentality out of potential audiences.
Overall, the movie does adhere to the standard formula of romantic dramas, and in the process, it addresses the importance of the most precious elements of life: love, happiness and seatbelts.
