★ 1 / 10
On Valentines Day in 2014, Universal released the
wizzardss
On Valentines Day in 2014, Universal released the second adaptation of Endless Love, Scott Spencer's 1979 National Book Award nominated novel. The 1981 film…
On Valentines Day in 2014, Universal released the second adaptation of Endless Love, Scott Spencer's 1979 National Book Award nominated novel. The 1981 film adaptation received 6 Golden Raspberry nominations, so it is fair to say that Spencer's novel didn't lend itself well to screen the first time around.
The 2014 tells the story of when 17-year-old Jade (Gabriella Wilde) graduates high school with high hopes for an impressive scholarship, she looks back with some regret at having neglected her social life. Classmate David (Alex Pettyfer) has had a crush on Jade throughout high school, but never acted on it. A chance meeting between the two sets in motion a deep summer love, much to the disapproval of Jade's father (Bruce Greenwood), who determines David to be a bad influence on his daughter.
Time is a valuable asset in filmmaking, especially when setting the scene for a movie. Back stories must be set out, and then fleshed out, so that it's clear what drives the characters to make the choices they do. _Endless Love_ doesn't feel the need to worry the audience with any of that, starting on Graduation Day with two protagonists who it is admitted have never spoken to each other, and having them fall straight in love.
Jade, who has precious few friends, implying her classmates know very little about her personality, is idolised by David, presumably for being a blonde bombshell. When given the smallest amount of attention from David, Jade then is willing to drop everything that her father has coerced her into working for.
When Daddy shows his disapproval, because he projects expectations of Jade's dead brother onto her, Jade becomes little more than a pawn between her father and David. While Jade's mother appears to be softer towards the relationship, her viewpoint is completely undermined when we learn that her husband is cheating on her (a plot point that seemingly is to further the animosity between David and Jade's father, but becomes completely forgotten about later on).
The acting is passable, but when working with a cardboard screenplay there is very little point.
Endless Love is the worst type of film. Promoting itself as a young woman's choice to leave the clutches of her evil father is both disingenuous, dangerous and damaging to the young women it is aimed at. There is no plot, no backstory, no personality, no point. It is misogynistic, shallow and degrading.
Don't watch this.
★ 7 / 10
Enjoyable movie
aaaad-74847
I really enjoyed it, it's like old time movies. Good to see happy ending movie.
I really enjoyed it, it's like old time movies. Good to see happy ending movie.
★ 5 / 10
Remakes CAN be worthwhile - this one...not so much
mharah
There are plenty of reasons to remake a movie. Even the movies which were good in the first place. Would we say that no one can revive a Broadway play because…
There are plenty of reasons to remake a movie. Even the movies which were good in the first place. Would we say that no one can revive a Broadway play because it was so good the first time? Should a Beethoven symphony never be replayed because we have Bernstein's magnificent recording? We remake originals because we feel we have a new take on them. (Shakespeare thrives on that.) If the original was forgettable (or even forgotten), a remake will probably be easy (although not necessarily any better). But if the original was very good - or at least very memorable - a remake will be quite a challenge. The original Endless Love was controversial - either good or bad, depending on who is describing it - but it certainly was memorable. It was melodramatic and very much a soap opera - but it made the most of what it was. This remake fails the challenge. It remodels the guts of the narrative without retaining its bite. The original was dark, even risky. This is just sort of vanilla, if a bit anxious. I like Alex Pettyfer's work a lot, but he shouldn't have been cast as David, not because he couldn't act the role (he did well with it) but because he was too old. David is supposed to be just graduating high school and too shy to approach fellow senior Jade. Alex was coming off his very buff role in Magic Mike. He looks tall, dark and handsome. No way he wouldn't have had girls - and boys, too - all over him. Jade would hardly not have noticed him. The original - with David being 17 and Jade 15 - didn't face that problem. When producers secure the remake rights to a film, they pretty much can do whatever they want. But that doesn't mean it will work. This remake doesn't make it as a feature film. As TV movie which wasn't titled Endless Love, it might have fared better.
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· 92 reviews
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· 25K ratings
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