The Last Schmaltz starring Miley Cyrus and Greg Kinnear (The Last Song)

I didn't want to see. I wasn't going to see it. Not even on DVD. I swear. OK, admittedly, I am a sucker for The Notebook. I have seen THAT one twice- but never in the theatre- that has got to count for something! See, I don't do Nicolas Sparks! Oh wait, was Nights in Rodante by Nicolas Sparks? Shit. OK, I need to stop promising myself things that get me in trouble later. I made a promise that I will always see everything Ryan Gosling is in. Thus, the Notebook. Then, I promised myself that I would see anything Viola Davis was in. You guessed it: Nights in Rodante- really- she's in it! She plays the coveted "best friend of the lead" role!
Anyway, my 11 year old daughter wanted to see it. I let her read the book the week before the movie opened. The book is in the Young Adult section of our public library. She LOVED it. I still was not going to see it. But then, Lisa Schwartzbaum, movie reviewer extraordinaire from Entertainment Weekly wrote a review for The Last Song. She gave it a B. It was as though she was speaking to me. She wrote of how one must forget whatever preconceived notions one might have about Miley Cyrus and her Hannah Montana persona. She said that Cyrus was a strong up and coming actress that offered something different than the other starlets of her age. I was convinced to give it a try. Convincing my 11 year old son to see a love story on the other hand was not so easy. OK, that's a lie- I said, "you are going with us to see this movie." What choice does he have? I LOVE this age!  Actually, I shared with him my trepidation about seeing the film and then how Lisa convinced me to give a try. Then I told him the whole story from beginning to end and by the time I finished we were at the theatre.
Well, wouldn't you know, my son was more enthralled and affected by the emotions and love in the movie than my daughter! He talked to me about it for days afterwards!
OK, I gotta go now. I have to finish this non-review later. I am going to go eat brownies and watch HOT TUB TIME MACHINE. Guess whose movies I promised to watch this time? Hint: Must Love Dogs sucked! And I am sure John would agree!