Safe Haven Review

Rated PG-13 (Thematic Material involving Threatening Behavior, and for Violence and Sexuality)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 55 Minutes

Cast-

Julianne Hough-Katie Feldman

Josh Duhamel-Alex Wheatley

Cobie Smulders-Jo

David Lyons-Detective Kevin Tierney

Noah Lomax-Josh Wheatley

Mimi Kirkland-Lexie Wheatley

Red West-Roger

Robin Mullins-Maddie

Irene Ziegler-Mrs. Feldman

Juan Carlos Piedrahita-Detective Ramirez

Ric Reitz-Police Chief Mulligan

Cullen Moss-Police Officer Bass

Mike Pniewski-Lieutenant Robinson

Directed by Lasse Hallström

Nothing like watching two sad white people fall in love!

Note: Screened on Tuesday, February 5, 2013, at AMC Loews Orpheum 7.

Hollywood has always used Valentine's Day to churn out another in a long line of generic, clichéd romance films and this year is no different with the release of "Safe Haven," based on the 2010 novel of the same name from Nicholas Sparks starring Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel. With already seventeen novels to his name since his debut in 1996, Sparks has turned himself into a worldwide literary phenomenon but that success is built on him recycling the same soppy love story over and over again. He knows how to push the emotional buttons of young woman and exploits this mercilessly while laughing all the way to the bank. In his own (delusional) mind, Sparks sees himself as the next Ernest Hemingway, a sentiment that would make the Nobel Prize-winning author turn in his grave. The seven films already adapted from Sparks' novels have grossed over $600 million worldwide yet none of them have been able to receive favorable reviews from critics (2004's "The Notebook" came close with 52% on Rotten Tomatoes; the rest fall into the 20 to 30% range). It doesn't seem like the target audience really cares though as they eat up the author's schmaltzy melodrama like cheap movie popcorn. Hough and Duhamel manage to deliver charming enough performances in their respective lead roles but "Safe Haven" does little to deviate from the now-tired formula set forth by Sparks. After all, why fix something that isn't broken? 

Fleeing a violent domestic situation in Boston, Katie Feldman (Julianne Hough) boards a bus bound for Atlanta, Georgia but during a brief layover in Southport, North Carolina, she decides to stay behind and start a new life for herself in this small American town. Katie quickly finds work as a waitress at the local diner and rents a small cabin out in the woods, away from prying eyes. She later befriends her neighbor, a lonely woman with a mysterious past named Jo (Cobie Smulders). Although determined to keep a low-profile, Katie soon catches the attention of small grocery store owner Alex Wheatley (Josh Duhamel), a widower struggling to raise his two children, Lexie (Mimi Kirkland) and Josh (Noah Lomax), after losing his wife to cancer. Initially wary of Alex, Katie soon finds herself falling in love with him (thanks to a little prodding from Jo), and slowly bonds with not only his children but also with Southport's close-knit community. However, Katie's past soon catches up with her when a persistent Boston detective, Kevin Tierney (David Lyons), comes looking for her as she is a suspect for murder. 

With its soulful looks, swooning gazes, and perpetual sunsets, "Safe Haven" has all the hallmarks of a Nicholas Sparks film. What's really amazing is that Sparks started writing the novel back in February, 2010 and he finished in a mere seven months, with the rights to the film adaptation being sold to Relativity Media a year later. If only George R.R. Martin wrote this fast but that's the difference between quality and quantity. Not only is "Safe Haven" a copy-and-paste job from director Lasse Hallström (who also helmed 2010's "Dear John" and yes, it's based on a Nicholas Sparks novel too), it also blatantly plagiarizes from 1991's "Sleeping with the Enemy" starring Julia Roberts, but with all the edge stripped away. It's an attempt to add a few wrinkles to the Nicholas Sparks formula yet the resulting script from Leslie Bohem and Dana Stevens remains uninspired, bereft of any suspense or drama because everything that happens is telegraphed well in advance. This lack of effort stems from laziness; the film is already guaranteed to sell tickets so why even bother trying? There's also a decidedly television-like quality to the film as the opening scene finds our young heroine Katie running for her life while a generic score that absolutely fails to build any tension plays in the background. Once Katie arrives in Southport, North Carolina (the setting of every Nicholas Sparks novel), she's immediately able to find a job without any background check whatsoever and is somehow able to rent a picturesque cabin out in the woods on a waitress' salary. The actual romance kicks off when Katie shares 'the look' with grocery store owner Alex. Of course, she's reluctant to fall in love again yet succumbs to her feelings anyway. Apparently, Alex's idea of courtship means driving out to Katie's cabin in the middle of the night to leave her a gift (which happens to be a bicycle), because that's not creepy at all. There is also a canoeing scene as nothing screams romance better like canoeing. "Safe Haven" hits all these beats like clockwork and yes, someone dies but right at the end, the film throws a 'twist' that comes so far out of left field that it would make even M. Night Shyamalan cringe. It introduces a whole host of plot holes and calls into question Katie's mental state yet the audience reacted as if this was Hitchcock. 

The only saving grace (besides Terry Stacey's naturalistic cinematography) is Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel. Obviously, they were cast more for their looks but their onscreen chemistry manages to feel genuine enough, allowing their characters' romance and affection for each other to resonate with sincerity despite the sixteen-year age gap between Hough and Duhamel. Cobie Smulders is largely extraneous to the plot until the ending tries to clumsily justify her presence with the aforementioned twist while David Lyons goes way over-the-top as the villain. Lyons' role is not as cookie-cutter compared to previous Nicholas Sparks films but that's not exactly saying much. 

"Safe Haven" will be released on February 14, 2013 and has been screening quite aggressively for the last two weeks. There are no reviews yet on Rotten Tomatoes but it's safe to say that it'll land in the 20 to 30% range, in line with previous Nicholas Sparks films. The advance screening I attended this past Tuesday was, not surprisingly, made up of women and couples. Being the only male not with a woman made me feel a little self-conscious and yet I soldiered on. For all its clichés and the head-scratching twist at the end, "Safe Haven" is not a terrible film, just a really mediocre one. Still, I recommend passing on it unless your significant other really loves Nicholas Sparks. Even then, you should just dump her in the theater while you go see a more worthy film deserving of your attention.

Final Rating: 2.5 out of 5

"If you're in some kind of trouble we can fix it. I love you and I can't let you go. There's no safer place for you than here with me."