MINI-REVIEW: Safe Haven

MOVIE
Safe Haven

CAST
Josh Duhamel, Julianne Hough

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
February 14, 2013

DIRECTOR
Lasse Hallström

STUDIO
Relativity Media

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 55 minutes







STARS
**1/2









REVIEW:

Nicholas Sparks is a genre in itself when it comes to books and movies.  Every story is the same: someone is running to or from a secret, falls in love with someone, and the past catches up with them.  With the new Nicholas Sparks adaptation 'Safe Haven,' the someone running from the past is Katie, played by Julianne Hough of 'Footloose' and 'Rock of Ages' fame.  Katie escapes to a town in North Carolina known as Southport, where she takes a job at a restaurant, gets a home on the outskirts of town, and befriends two people: a new neighbor named Jo, and a widowed father of two children/owner of a gas station named Alex.  As this is a Nicholas Sparks story, Katie and Alex end up developing chemistry and falling in love just as Katie's past is slowly lurking back into her life.  If it wasn't for Julianne Hough's performance, a sweet little girl in the film who's the daughter of Josh Duhamel's character, and a surprisingly clever twist at the very end of the film, I would have personally hated it.  Thanks to the three bits that made the movie better than awful, I can honestly say that this isn't a terrible movie.  Frankly it's not a great movie, but it is decent and tolerable enough to give a very mild home-video recommendation to.  'Safe Haven,' while not groundbreaking or fantastic in quality, is a passable piece of fluff that has elements that are tolerable and enjoyable.

Not really much is there to say about this movie.  The story is predictable, the script is bland, the direction from 'Dear John' director Lasse Hallström is weak, villain is way too over the top, and the attempt at comedy falls flat.  However the chemistry between the two leads was good, most of the actors gave decent performances, the twist at the end was surprisingly good, and for the most part, the film as a whole was pretty tolerable.  This isn't a movie with any spiritual takeaway, or even something that memorable overall.  Even if 'Warm Bodies' and 'Beautiful Creatures' are better romantic date night flicks out there, this movie will at least make one's girlfriend happy, and for that alone guys should be taking their loving other to see this film.  'Safe Haven,' while cluttered with many flaws that can be expected in a Nicholas Sparks film, is an enjoyable enough movie that will at least make your girlfriend happy/crying in your arms.




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