Please let this be the Last Song

The Last Song

Directed by Julie Ann Robinson

Starring Miley Cyrus, Greg Kinnear, Liam Hemsworth, Kelly Preston, Bobby Coleman

Written by Nicholas Sparks, Jeff Van Wie

I get tired of people giving Miley Cyrus the grief, even if she is not the greatest actor, she is a decent singer.  This movie is not her fault.

I feel really bad for Greg Kinnear.  He seems to be in a crappy movie every year, and a good one every 3 years or so.  This movie is not his fault.

There were a lot of good songs in the soundtrack.  But this movie seemed like nothing but an excuse to play each one of them in as dramatic a way as possible.  This movie is not the fault of any of the songs on the soundtrack.

Why is it so many bad movies have been made on the Southern East Coast?  I think part of the reason is Nicholas Sparks sets all of his books in that environment.  This movie is not the location’s fault.

Who is Julie Ann Robinson?  I have found that she has directed several award nominated shows for the BBC, as well as episodes of Samantha Who?, Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice.  This movie could be partly her fault.

I know who Nicholas Sparks is.  He hits every note in this one.

• Dramatic accident – check
• Broken home – check
• Disgruntled, but brilliant heroine – check
• Not going to college on a free ride – check
• Plucky younger brother, filled with pluck and apparently no brains – check
• Exotic location filled with half-dressed kids and few adults – check
• Understanding parent who understands divorce should be okay with the kids – check
• Boyfriend with a family that is “barely hangin’ on” due to their own tragedy – check
• Town bad boy being lecherous to heroine, lecherous to poor girl jealous of heroine and lecherous to wedding guests – check
• Poor girl jealous of heroine, gets heroine in trouble, and then receives her grace and forgiveness – check
• Good kids who just happened to be hanging with town bad boy, get understanding parent in trouble, and then receive his grace and forgiveness – check
• After a false crisis or two, relationship wise, everyone learns something about one another and all is forgiven – check
• Someone dies – check
• Someone gives a unique and original speech, just like the rest of them – check
• Changes mind about going to college – check

My wife did not like this movie.  She still cried at the end.  Like I said, Sparks knows how to hit the notes.  Problem for me is, if you hit a sour note, it ruins the note, and the song does not resonate.  This Song wants to be Wind Beneath My Wings, but comes across as Tiptoe Through the Tulips.

(* out of *****)