Two people meet somehow and somewhere on the east coast. Their relationship goes through major ups and downs before they decide to stay together and something terrible happens to the main character through the course of the journey. This seems to be what happens in almost every movie based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks. "The Last Song" is no different. One summer Ronnie and her brother Jonah are sent to her dad's house for the summer. Her parents are divorced and she is bitter about it, having let her life plummet in New York. During her stay on the east coast she slowly works towards reconnecting with her father and builds a romantic relationship with a young man who accidentally causes her to spill her milkshake all over her. Also, she used to play piano but ever since her dad left them she has given it up.
Remember that other film that was released this year based on a Nicholas Sparks novel called "Dear John?" This film is just as terrible. Perhaps part of the reason is because (as I have heard) that the filmmakers decide to venture a great deal from the source material. On the other hand, perhaps there is something about most Nicholas Sparks novels that just don't translate well to the screen. But no matter what it is true that "The Last Song" is a bore. The writing is mediocre. The film is paced slowly and it's hard to understand how two people can fall so quickly in love within a few days especially when one of those two despised the other to begin with. Of course anything is possible is the dreamlike hollywood land.
Even the acting was mediocre. Greg Kinnear couldn't even save his performance in this film and he is one of the few in the cast who has acting chops. When it comes to the others they are there for either romantic kissing scenes are tear inducing scenes that don't manage to produce emotions because it took so long to get there in the first place. One thing is for sure though. Miley Cyrus is definitely jumping away from her Hannah Montana days and moving up into the older teenage crowd. But she still has some work to do.
If there was something that redeemed this film it was the cinematography and the soundtrack. The film is littered with wonderful sunset shots and manages to capture the beauty of nature when it finally ventures away from the uninteresting characters. The soundtrack is filled with quality songs that are honestly too good for the material it is representing. In the end, though, the main thing I have to say is they should just stop trying to adapt Nicholas Sparks novels into films. All of the recent ones have been awful and feel exactly the same.
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