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All-Reviews.com Movie/Video Review
A Walk to Remember
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 out of 4
| *Also starring: | Peter Coyote, Daryl Hannah, Al Thompson, Lauren German, Clayne Crawford, Paz de la Huerta, Jonathan Parks Jordan, Matt Lutz |
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Review by Susan Granger
1 star out of 4
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Targeted directly at teenyboppers, this sappy parable, set in Beaufort,
North Carolina, revolves around a widowed Baptist minister's overprotected
daughter (teen pop star Mandy Moore) who teaches some lessons in humility and
selflessness to a reckless, popular young stud (Shane West). He was involved in
a high school hazing accident; as punishment, he's ordered to tutor a young
student at a nearby school and participate in the Drama Club's spring play. But
he can't remember his lines, so she rehearses with him. Soon, the wholesome
geeky girl who loves astronomy and the guy from the in-crowd discover they're
attracted to one another. Adapted for the screen by Karen Janszen from a novel
by Nicholas Sparks ("Message in a Bottle") and directed by Adam Shankman ("The
Wedding Singer"), the formulaic good-girl-meets-bad-boy plot is predictable,
including an impending tragedy. (If you've seen "Here on Earth," "Autumn in New
York," or "Sweet November," you've been there, done that.) The roles are
two-dimensional stereotypes, not fleshed-out characters. Mandy Moore comes
across as guileless and sweet, certainly better than Mariah Carey in "Glitter,"
and Shane West tries to impersonate the rebellious Charlie Sheen. As his
divorced mother, Daryl Hannah (now a brunette) looks haggard and acts dazed,
while Peter Coyote struggles valiantly to make his preacher part resonate. On
the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "A Walk to Remember" is a fuzzy,
sugar-frosted 3, obviously destined for a quick trip to the local video store. A
flick to forget.
Copyright © 2002 Susan Granger
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