"Dear John" Opens today at Showcase, Quality 16, Brighton Review by Corey Hall of the Metro Times Grade: C-

With rays of golden sunset streaking through willows, and palmettos gently rustling in the breeze, "Dear John" is the latest adaptation of cheese-master Nicholas Sparks’ beach reading in a rustic setting; his affinity for soggy Southern beach scenes matches Stephen King’s love of Maine’s deep, haunted woods. Sparks has built a paperback empire by crafting homespun sentiment, Republican romance fables that push Wal-Mart values and drip of enough hokum and fake pathos to move millions of units. The formula worked wonders for 2004’s "The Notebook," but this grimly determined, earnest weeper takes a lot more effort. It’s like trying to sprint through wet sand.

Read the full review here