The Last Song (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (2010)

The Last Song is a great movie. It is a coming of age movie but not just a chick flick. All family members will enjoy this movie. Miley Cyrus plays a somewhat troubled teen and blames her troubles on her parents divorce. Her attitude quickly takes a turn when she falls in love and even more of a turn when she finds out that her father is dying with lung cancer. Take a box of tissues to the theatre. Miley plays this dramatic role very well.

In this movie you will be introduced to turtle eggs and you will see them crawl back to the ocean when they hatch. I think this is interesting for children of all ages to watch.

Go watch this movie and go as a family. We don't get many of these type movies so make it a family day and go. You won't be sorry.

Although some young children are upset that the series Hannah Montana has ended, I have to say I am glad. Miley Cyrus has so much more to offer to the entertainment business than her role as Hannah Montana. I think we will see her in many, many, more movies.

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.

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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.

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The Last Song:

The first time ever I sat in a movie theater that was packed by teenage girls out numbering others by at least twenty to one. Having been around teens from divorced parents, I am in good position to spot the weak links in the movie's narrative. Miley Cyrus fitted perfectly in the role of a troubled and defiant teenage girl who was confrontational, insecure, and very pragmatic. She succeeded in invoking a sense of anger in her dad, brother, friend, as well as the viewer. Her growing up troubles must be attributed to her parent's divorce. Her parents are easy targets by virtue of their distance from her.

Spending the Summer in Georgia, her trivial altercation in New York added to her Father's being falsely accused by the locals for burning the church. Getting to know the local teens, she struggled to sort out the honest ones from not so honest. Like her father, she was set up by an encounter and accused for shoplifting she did not do. Now, both the daughter and father were stigmatized by the locals for being arsonists and shoplifters. As if divorce was not enough of strain on their internal affairs that they needed additional pain from outside.

The cold and rebellious daughter would make a full turn by a casual hint from a nurse that her father planned his quick death that summer in order to pass away with his children being around him. With her father's imminent death from lung cancer, the rebellious teen got a jolting effect that will bring her closer to the man she blamed for her misery. The tragic news about her father's terminal illness dwarfed her relentless blaming of the whole world for her growing up struggle.

Her caring for turtle eggs being eaten by predator brought her new and expected love that will change her life, but will require fewer challenges before she could learn how not to push people away from her. In contrast to the newborn turtles who were equipped to run to the sea from the moment they hatch, the teen girl must rely on many cues from parents, peers, and otherwise casual encounters in order to get equipped to mature as an adult.

Half way through the movie, you quickly find out why teenage girls must love The Last Song. It is a true and great story about misperception and immature reactions to cues that were deceptive in their outlook and would have been judged differently had the person looked further into the bigger context of affairs. The movie narrative deviated from the provocative and sleazy commercial tricks of sex and violence and presented real people doing real business.

An ugly and abusive relation between a bad boy and a girl was presented in a context that justifies its dismal outcome. The classy and casual encounter future boyfriend behaved and thought like what real decent people would do. Everywhere else, you sense that the moviemaker kept their heads leveled and were appreciated by such massive approval by the teenaged audience.

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At first I didn't won't to see Miley Cyrus in some teenage romance story. But it happen to be good. And I enjoyed it. What is sad is she is going down Lindsay Lohan path which is very disturbing. But all in all the movie was really good and it was sad that her dad dies in the movie. Buy it or rent or check it out at your local library. I just hope she remember what it is like to be a good star and don't had down the path of corruption.(that's another story.) But a must see film.

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