By Nicola Moyne
AS far as romantic comedies go, Dear John is a cracker. Starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried, it sees Special Forces soldier, John Tyree (Tatum) fall in love with Savannah Curtis (Seyfried) while on leave in South Carolina.
After meeting on a beach, John falls for Savannah’s pure heart and Savannah, presumably, falls for John’s impressive set of abs.
From here the pair embark on a passionate courtship – cue kisses in the rain and cosy family dinners. However, two weeks later, John has to return to the army, and the pair decide to keep their relationship going with letters. So far, so predictable.
But what gives the film depth is Richard Jenkin’s fantastic performance as John’s dad.
There are three main narratives running through the film: John’s relationship with Savannah; Savannah’s relationship with her autistic neighbour Alan and John’s relationship with his dad – a shy, awkward character who expresses little emotion and devotes all of his time to a coin collection.
It is these difficult relationships, rather than the perfect one exampled by John and Savannah, that make the film interesting.
And, when I met Amanda and Channing last week to discuss their roles, they were proud to be part of a more challenging rom-com.
“People love a happy ending, but it’s not always like that in real life,” 29-year-old Channing explains. “You have to make tough decisions sometimes, and that’s what I love about this film – there are a lot of layers.”
“I find myself defending Savannah all the time,” Amanda agrees. “She is forced to make some difficult decisions in the end, and people can be confused by that.”
Indeed, there are a lot of twists and turns in Dear John, and director, Lasse Hallstrom, has clearly tried to stray away from the all-together more idealistic novel from which the film has been adapted.
“It’s great to be able to play things more subtle and stay away from melodrama,” Channing laughs. “I read the book before filming, but I think the film is more relatable. It’s real and sweeping.”
Amanda’s character in particular has been made less conventional, and despite her sweet persona, Savannah has been given more depth and sass.
“She was more timid, and a little too perfect in the book,” Amanda tells me. “I tried to stay away from reading her character because I really wanted to make her my own.”
And both actors have clearly done a good job. Channing’s brooding sex appeal will bring in the ladies no matter what the narrative, and Amanda’s witty take on Savannah is sure to be a big-screen success.
Indeed, it seems Channing’s venture into rom-com territory has triggered a lust for similar roles, and the all-action hero admits he’d like to do more of them in the future.
“Action movies aren’t that interesting,” Channing – who has starred in Fighting and G.I Joe – admits.
“They never let you do the fun things on set - that’s left to the stuntmen, so it’s not as challenging as a film like this.
“I think with Dear John, I definitely had to be more open and honest in my performance.”
Talking of honesty – and letters – I wondered what sort of fan mail the duo receive now that they’re rising up the ranks in Hollywood?
“I get some pretty weird, crazy stuff,” Amanda laughs. “My mum goes through it all and replies for me, so it’s quite funny.”
“Same here,” Channing admits. “But I get underwear and stuff like that, so it can be a bit crazy!”
And no doubt, given Amanda and Channing’s performances, the craziness will continue once Dear John hits cinemas this week.