It’s a Friday night and classes are done for the week. If you’re in the mood for a romantic, dramatic comedy, an ice cold drink and some fresh popcorn, MoviE-town is the place to see the newly released film “The Vow.”
Rachel McAdams has come a long way since playing blonde queen bee Regina George in “Mean Girls.” She has starred in numerous films since then, including “Midnight in Paris” and “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” which both hit the box office in 2011. Now sporting a brunette hairstyle, she stars in the 2012 film “The Vow,” along with Channing Tatum.
Fortunately, this will not be the last of Tatum on the silver screen this year. In addition to starring in “The Vow,” he is also going to star in five additional films set to be released throughout the year, Cindy Pearlman from the Chicago Sun-Times confirmed.
In “The Vow,” released this past Friday, McAdams plays the role of Paige, the artistic wife of Leo, a recording studio artist played by Tatum.
The movie opens with a scene of Paige and Leo caught in a snowstorm and running to their car. As they sit in the car and talk about their future, a snow truck suddenly rear-ends their car, driving it straight into a pole. Leo survives, almost unscathed, while his wife suffers serious head trauma. Paige’s injury leaves her not only with confusion, but also with complete memory loss of her husband. The only memories Paige has are of her life prior to moving into the city, becoming an artist and marrying Leo.
As the rest of the plot unfolds, Leo desperately tries to make Paige remember that he is her husband. He takes her to all the familiar places they used to visit and even shows her the wedding vows that they exchanged, yet she fails to recollect any memory of him. Emotions run high as weeks pass and Paige is still as clueless as she was right after the accident.
A college student might be frustrated if he or she is unable to remember information for a test, but forgetting a whole chapter of your life would probably cause more problems. This movie deals with the realization that the brain is very fragile and one injury can make a person forget everything.
The movie’s plot is interesting yet suspenseful. “I liked the chemistry between the couple,” Elizabeth Rall, a sophomore occupational therapy major, said. Despite similar plots about memory loss having already been made, “The Vow” brings along a story of love that gives the viewers a sense of hope for the couple.
However, there are some aspects of the movie that probably could have been done better. “The movie was not as emotional as I thought. I expected more tears or fighting,” Rachel Fuehrer, a sophomore biology major, said.
While the previews suggest another cliché chick flick, the movie itself strays from the traditional plot and takes a different route. “The ending of the movie was not what I expected,” Rall said. Additionally, Fuehrer felt that “the plot went fast.”
Tatum might be the reason behind audiences wanting to see the film. “Channing Tatum definitely made the rating of the movie higher for me. What girl doesn’t like Channing Tatum?” Fuehrer said.
Aside from his attractiveness, Tatum plays the part of Leo very well. “Channing Tatum did a good job of showing how much he loved Rachel McAdams,” Fuehrer said.
At the end of the movie, the audience is reminded that the story was inspired by true events surrounding Kim and Krickitt Carpenter, a couple who married in 1992. After a terrible car crash, Krickitt suffered amnesia and could not remember the previous eighteen months of her life, which included her husband Kim. The story has been featured in People Magazine, Readers Digest, and on the Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN and MTV.
The film’s writers did their best to maintain a realistic take on the story, but despite the great plot line, it’s probably not the best Valentine’s Day pick. Out of five stars, the movie received an average of four, based on the unexpected ending and the quickly-moving plot.
Even with its four-star rating, the story line still holds powerful meaning concerning marriage and the vows that are exchanged, which represent the promises a couple makes for the rest of their lives. While this might not make the Valentine’s Day movie cut, it is definitely a good movie for a girls’ night out or simply a night out with a group of friends.
“The Vow” – Official Trailer
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