Product Description

DEAR JOHN - DVD Movie

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1471 in DVD
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2010-05-25
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Dimensions: .16 pounds
• Running time: 108 minutes

Amazon.com
Dear John brings together a totally believable and charming cast--the lovely Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum--with a tried-and-true romantic plot that will have a new generation of movie fans and lovers reaching for their hankies. Director Lasse Hallström (The Cider House Rules, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, My Life as a Dog) again proves his deft handling of young actors portraying feelings and emotions far beyond their years. His direction, along with the stellar performances of the cast, will have Dear John lingering in the memory long after viewing. Tatum plays a soldier home on leave (the John of the title), when he meets Savannah (Seyfried), a college student. The two may not have been looking for love, but love finds them anyway. Then the September 11 attacks happen, and John is torn between love for Savannah and duty to country. Because this is an adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel, there will be drama and heartbreak, and Dear John doesn't tread lightly in this emotional battlefield. But there's a delicacy in the performances, especially Seyfried's, which transcends the almost-cookie-cutter character outlines given to the actors. Also worthy of mention are supporting cast members Richard Jenkins (as John's quiet, autistic dad) and Henry Thomas (as Tim, a single dad who goes to nearly impossible lengths to avoid breaking the heart of his son). See Dear John with an open heart, and know that it will be deeply touched. --A.T. Hurley


Stills from Dear John (Click for larger image)

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews

49 of 61 people found the following review helpful.
Amazing
By Elizabeth T. Evans
I saw the movie in theaters the weekend after it opened. I was extremely excited, it was something I had been waiting on for weeks. Some of my friends had told me they did not like it or it was not what they expected, even hearing that I was disappointed. About 30 minutes into the movie I started crying and it continued the remainder of the movie. Dear John, touched my heart in a way no movie has in a long time, I felt connected with the characters. I recommended this movie to all my friends and I recommend it to you too! It was everything I expected and more! :)

42 of 55 people found the following review helpful.
Lacking any kind of Spark
By JournalStone
OK, it was date night. What can I say? I had the kids, and along with my girlfriend, we were looking for a movie we could compromise on. "Dear John" fit the bill. I didn't have huge expectations but I admittedly did enjoy "The Notebook". It is sadly one of my favorite romantic comedies of all time. Yes, I enjoy romantic comedies. Get the jokes in now for all of you who are coming across this blog for the first time. I also have three daughters, so with them and my girlfriend living in the house, I am forced to see some romance once in a while or I would be watching nothing at all.

"Dear John" is (as you might infer) a movie about a young man in the military who finds his way home for a couple of weeks, falls in love and then gets dumped via the US postal service. He is a surfer dude, with a rock hard body and a quiet reserved demeanor. Channing Tatum plays the lead role and while I don't know too much about him, his acting was less than stellar. While all the women in the audience were watching with their mouths wide open and a little drool forming or their lips, he didn't do much more than grunt his way through his lines. I think he might want to stick to modeling. His acting was nothing more than a few guttural slurs that were almost indecipherable.

While he drags the movie down, Amanda Seyfried and Richard Jenkins did their best to elevate it to a lofty level. The army brat (Channing), who apparently had a violent past, finds love in Amanda's character and with Richard Jenkins doing an amazingly fantastic job as Channing's father; the three spend two weeks getting to know each other. Richard Jenkins is at his very best playing the father who suffers in silence from autism. One catches on quickly with the constant references to meatloaf every Saturday and Lasagna every Sunday, without fail.

As you might expect, John (Channing Tatum) heads back to his day job and Savannah (Amanda) heads back to school stretching their romance to thousands of miles. It starts out well with letters exchanging hands but eventually it gets too difficult for Savannah to handle. After the planes did their damage in New York City John decided to re-enlist for another stint and what was supposed to be a 12 month separation begins to stretch into years. There is a reason the movie is called "Dear John".

The movie is filled with several sad scenes, struggles with handling the autism aspect and injects "true love' into the mix. While it wasn't a bad movie it definitely was lacking something. In my opinion it would be extremely difficult having much of a connection with a man (Channing Tatum) who can't manage much more than looking good with his shirt off. Whoever was in charge of the cast should be slapped on the wrist. I change of actor in the lead male role would have done wonders with the chemistry.

Still, if you want a date movie this would be a fine one to pick. All of the women would overlook bad acting for a cut six pack and you do get to see plenty of Channing topless. Richard Jenkins deserves an Oscar nomination in my opinion for carrying so much of the emotional load of this movie as a supporting character. I did not realize he was so gifted, but I thoroughly enjoyed seeing him in this character.

Overall, not bad but could have been much better. It will have you crying, if you are a woman, or possibly and feminine male as I continue to be called from time to time. I didn't cry for the record so get off my back.

30 of 40 people found the following review helpful.
Need to watch!
By K. Littlefield
I've read all of Nicholas Sparks' books. Dear John was one of my favorites so when it came to the big screen I naturally wanted to see it. I was NOT disappointed. NO MOVIE will ever match the dynamics of the book. When you go into a movie with that knowledge, you can enjoy what the movie has to offer.

While this is no "The Notebook", Dear John is definitely worth seeing. I can't wait to buy it on DVD and I generally don't buy a lot of movies on DVD. Back to "The Notebook"....I'm not sure if any movie will ever be able to match the delight, heartbreak, and hope it offered but that's ok with me!

Watch Dear John...I don't think it will disappoint.