Reviewed by Hannah Sarney
The Last Song: Hannah Montana meets The Notebook? Ah, no. Take that all-too-easy-to-assume thought right out of your head. Okay, now put Miley Cyrus back in with a bitter scowl locked on her face and call her Ronnie.
Ronnie and her little brother Jonah are children of divorce. As their mother prepares to marry another man, the kids are sent to spend their summer by the beach with their seemingly hapless father.
It is a tale of teenage frustration - feelings of rejection, sickness and heartbreak - as it grates against the anxieties that come with impending adulthood. It is, in every sense, The Worst Summer Ever.
On a higher note, the goofy intensity of first love is portrayed ably by Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth. Who wouldn’t swoon over a volleyball champion who works part-time as a mechanic and at the aquarium, saves sea turtles and comes from a family of billionaires?
I suspect a fair few members of the audience will be drawn into the cinemas only by the promise of Hemsworth swanning around on screen with his shirt off. Well, they’ll be pleased.
The soundtrack is predominantly a cringe-inducing display of Cyrus’ lack of taste, but there is the odd gem slipped in as a surprise. Vampire Weekend side-project, anyone?
Will this movie change your life? No.
Will you totally watch it again with friends once it comes out on DVD? Probably.
Prepare to have all of your heart strings tugged (leaving a few of them torn) from beginning to end. If anything, The Last Song is worth a good - albeit slightly embarrassing - cry.
Three stars.
The Last Song
:: Director: Julie Anne Robinson
:: Starring: Miley Cyrus, Greg Kinnear, Bobby Coleman, Liam Hemsworth
:: Running Time: 107 mins
:: Rating: PG - Contains Violence
:: Release Date: April 1, 2010
:: Trailer: Click here
