“The Vow”

Directed by: Michael Sucsy
Starring: Rachel McAdams,
Channing Tatum, Jessica
Lange, Sam Neill
MPAA rating: PG-13 for an
accident scene, partial nudity,
sexual content and some language Running time: 104 minutes
Best suited for: the romanceminded who give bouquets of
forget-me-nots.
Least suited for: those who
believe love is just another plot
developed by Hallmark Cards.
Acorn rating:

Rachel McAdams tends to play women who are light and likable. Channing Tatum gravitates toward characters who are “ hunky” and honorable. Put them together and what you get is a couple that is charming and attractive and a movie that may be more engaging than you expect.

Of course “ The Vow” is predictable— it’s a romantic comedy— but the plot stays focused on its message, with enough moments that are touching without becoming maudlin.

The female characters are more fully written than are their male counterparts, and McAdams has a greater repertoire of expressions than Tatum’s singular basset-hound look, but Michael Sucsy directs with a firm hand and a light touch.

The film is based on the true story of Kim and Krickitt Carpenter, a newly married couple who were in an accident that caused Krickitt to lose her memory. She was unable to recognize her husband, and he had to court her all over again.

While I was apprehensive about seeing any story about a woman named Krickitt, this one feels real enough, if only because it stays relatively true to the touchpoints in the Carpenters’ adventures.

We begin on a snowy evening in Chicago. Recently wed Paige ( McAdams) and Leo (Tatum) are on their way home, pausing at a stop sign. When Paige initiates a romantic interlude, they’re hit from behind by a sliding truck. Their car is hurled into a pole, Paige is catapulted through the window, and the couple’s life is thrown into turmoil.

Paige awakens from a coma with her long-term memory intact, but her short-term memory gone. The last five years have disappeared. She remembers being in law school, being engaged to Jeremy (Scott Speedman). She has no recollection of her career as a successful sculptor or her marriage to Leo.

The film takes us back four years, to explore Paige’s yesterdays. Leo delivers the voice-over narration, all about the “moments that define us.” The moments of their meeting, courting and marriage are all too cute. But there are enough close-ups of McAdams’ expressive face—and Tatum’s impressive abs—to keep us watching.

They are so smitten with each other that when Paige no longer recognizes him, Leo begins the grieving process. He denies she’s “gone,” gets angry at her condition, becomes depressed and eventually decides he can do nothing but accept the situation.

Paige has moved in with Leo but is wary of his intentions, oblivious to what they had together. Her parents (Jessica Lange and Sam Neill) complicate the situation. They want to take her home, care for her, let her help plan her sister’s wedding.

Leo knows more than he chooses to tell, but he’s willing to let her go. He’s not even sure she wants to regain her memory. But for his part: “How do you look at the girl you love and tell yourself it’s time to walk away?”

More humor would have added to the enjoyment of “The Vow,” but at least there are no overwrought moments. The young actors have good chemistry as they work together to try to find what they once had.

There are some hard- tobelieve characters in here—the parents’ roles seem especially one-dimensional. But there’s a basic scenario at the heart of this movie that gives it relevance beyond the story it’s telling.

Yes, this is about a woman with a traumatic brain injury, but couldn’t it also be about any couple who’ve fallen out of love over time? Couldn’t some of the stages Leo goes through apply to others grieving about the loss of love in their relationship? Couldn’t some of things he learns along the way also provide ideas for those who want to recapture what they’ve lost, who want to fall in love all over again?

Could rediscovering love— in any situation—be “like reading your favorite book for the first time”?