The Vow (2012)

I don’t really like Channing Tatum as a leading man /actor but I do like Rachel McAdams and though to give this movie a shot. Why not, everyone loves a good romance flick? The Vow is a 2012 romantic drama film directed by Michael Sucsy, starring Tatum & McAdams and is inspired by the true story of Kim and Krickitt Carpenter. Co-starring are Sam Neill, Jessican Lange, Scott Speedman, Tatiana Maslany, Wendy Crewson, Jessica McNamee, Dillion Casey & Jeananne Goossen.

Paige & Leo, a young married couple are in an accident one winter night after they’ve been to a movie when a truck is unable to break in time to avoid hitting their car from behind. Paige had unbuckled her seatbelt to lean over for a kiss to Leo and is thrown out the car after crashing her head against the windshield. Both are rushed to the emergency room and Leo recovers much quicker. When Paige comes to, she has no memories of ever meeting, falling in love with and marrying Leo. Her whole life for the past 5 years have been erased and she does not recognize him. As she recovers her parents Bill & Rita Thronton arrive and Paige is surprised that it is the first that Leo is meeting them. Her parents are upset that Leo didn’t inform them about the accident and want to take her with them. Paige is surprised that she hasn’t spoken to her parents for the past 5 years and Leo isn’t sure why she hasn’t either. She is about to leave with her parents when Leo brings her a recording she made to him in which she sounds happy and in love, so she decides to give living with Leo – her husband but a stranger to her – a shot.

However as they reach home, Paige gets a shock when Leo’s friends, who she does not remember, give her a surprise welcome home party. Overwhelmed by the large group of strangers who are hugging her, she gets upset and withdraws. She is also not sure why she never finished law school and became an artist (which is now alien to her) and broke off her engagement with Jeremy, her ex. While at a dinner at her family’splace and later at a club, it’s clear that Leo does not fit in with their uber rich & posh lifestyle. But he bears it even if Paige is confused as to why she cut off all ties with her previous life and goes to meet Jeremy for answers to why they broke off their engagement and briefly kiss, though Jeremy tells her that she  had dumped him. With her sister Gwen’s wedding approaching, Paige decides to stay with her parents until the wedding. Though Leo asks her out on a date and spends a night with her, the relationship is further strained when Paige’s dad tries to persuade Leo to divorce his daughter, and by Leo punching Jeremy for talking about chances to bed his wife. Leo gives up trying and he later signs the divorce papers and Paige goes back to law school. However weeks later while out shopping she runs into a former friend Diane, who unaware of Paige’s amnesia, apologizes for having had an affair with Bill when she was going through a rough patch in her life.

Paige now knows the reason she estranged herself from her family and confronts her mother; Rita tells her that she decided to stay with Bill for all the things he had done right instead of leaving him for one wrong act. Paige then asks Leo why he never told her, and he replies he wanted to earn her love instead of driving her away from her parents. While in law class, Paige starts sketching and realizes that she has a knack for the arts. She leaves law school, after speaking to her father, and takes up sculpting & drawing again and moves out to the city. She makes friends with Jeremy, who still wants to be with her but she turns him down. Back in her room, Paige finds the menu card on which she had written her wedding vows and is deeply moved. The movie ends with Paige finding Leo at their regular Cafe Mnemonic and going with him to try a new place instead of their regular alternative, intent on creating new memories.

Good enough romance film, well cast (still not liking Tatum) and devoid of unnecessary gross humour & scenes. It’s the kind of film that you expect women to sit and watch with glasses on wine in one hand and a box of tissue in the other (I’m sure to get death threats over this, I know) but it’s for guys too. I give it an 8 outta 10 for it’s genre.

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