Safe Haven

Nicholas Sparks and his bookshelf full of tear jerking romance novels have become a mainstay film genre it would seem. Whenever I think they’ve adapted all of his books, another one hits the big screen and I’m proven wrong. But to be honest, I’m not following his career too closely. The new one is called Safe Haven. The story has Julianne Hough playing a mysterious young woman on the run from something. When her bus stops in a coastal North Carolina town, she decides to stay for a fresh start. Josh Duhamel’s presence there probably didn’t have anything to do with it… probably.

At some point in the last year or so, Hough has established herself as a lead actress. After singing and dancing roles in Footloose and Rock of Ages, this marks her entrance into dramatic acting without a big soundtrack. Her performance is adequate, but to pair this film with all Nicholas Sparks films, the characters are rarely that exciting or interesting. Duhamel is more likeable as a widowed father and all around good guy. The plot deals too heavily with the question of what Hough’s character did and who is chasing her, but the mystery isn’t compelling enough to play such a major role.

The release of Safe Haven was pushed up to Valentine’s Day to capitalize on the heightened box office numbers for such films on the date night holiday. In fact, this is what the film really works as. The two leads have chemistry and carry the film well. On a personal note, I happen to have family in Southport, North Carolina, the setting and where it was filmed. It’s not quite the hole in the wall they’d have you believe. During my annual visits there, I am yet to encounter the dirt roads Hough frequents that lead to nowhere. That’s Hollywood for you.

Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.