Posted by Sherman Toh
Social Media Manager
Social Media Manager
I don’t know about you but I’m actually someone who’s quite fond of romance movies. After watching the trailer of ‘The Vow’, I thought it was going to be an amazing film. Imagine yourself getting married and your new wife meets with an accident. All of a sudden, she gets the kind of amnesia that’d make your grandmother seem half her age. Instead of enjoying your supposed honeymoon, you have to make your partner fall in love with you again. Can life be any more difficult?
According to Hollywood, (and my least favourite author) the answer is a resounding YES.
Call me sadistic or whatever, but such a plot is bound to be a tear-jerker. However, to me, ‘The Vow’ is NOT AS SAD AS IT SEEMS.
For a start, it’s a pathetic love story and the constant “The Notebook is better than The Vow” argument is, at the very least, a no-brainer. It’s one of those many movies that spring up every year, where big actors take up big – but poorly-developed – roles for big paycheques.
Call me sadistic or whatever, but such a plot is bound to be a tear-jerker. However, to me, ‘The Vow’ is NOT AS SAD AS IT SEEMS.
For a start, it’s a pathetic love story and the constant “The Notebook is better than The Vow” argument is, at the very least, a no-brainer. It’s one of those many movies that spring up every year, where big actors take up big – but poorly-developed – roles for big paycheques.
The Alternative
The movie ends with Paige and Leo somehow “finding” (in the real world, it would be defined as “stalking”) each other at their regular café, before departing to try a new café. I totally understand the underlying narrative here: It’s a new chapter for them both, so they head off to greener pastures. But come on, the build-up to the ending was already, well, horrible. You don’t build-up three-quarters of a movie making the audience fall in love with its characters, before letting everything unravel right at the end. The supposed lovers getting a divorce? Well, damn you Jeremy, Paige’s father and even the doctor!
In my own little parallel universe where I am the director, the movie ends like this: Paige and Leo fill the former’s memory holes together, and they patch up. Yes, I know, it’s typical. But hey, a good plot like this is supposed to help the audience feel a sense of closure, and the original ending didn't do that.
Well, what more can I say? It’s based on a true story so it is probably more restricted as compared to a fiction film. Good try but try harder next time, Hollywood.
Feel free to comment! And if you have any recommendations for our next post, do tell us!
The movie ends with Paige and Leo somehow “finding” (in the real world, it would be defined as “stalking”) each other at their regular café, before departing to try a new café. I totally understand the underlying narrative here: It’s a new chapter for them both, so they head off to greener pastures. But come on, the build-up to the ending was already, well, horrible. You don’t build-up three-quarters of a movie making the audience fall in love with its characters, before letting everything unravel right at the end. The supposed lovers getting a divorce? Well, damn you Jeremy, Paige’s father and even the doctor!
In my own little parallel universe where I am the director, the movie ends like this: Paige and Leo fill the former’s memory holes together, and they patch up. Yes, I know, it’s typical. But hey, a good plot like this is supposed to help the audience feel a sense of closure, and the original ending didn't do that.
Well, what more can I say? It’s based on a true story so it is probably more restricted as compared to a fiction film. Good try but try harder next time, Hollywood.
Feel free to comment! And if you have any recommendations for our next post, do tell us!