Coming in fifth at the box office this Valentine’s weekend is this remake of the 1981 film starring Alex Pettyfer, of ‘Magic Mike’ fame, and Gabriella Wilde. ‘Endless Love’ tells the story of Jade Butterfield, the quiet girl from school whose brother passes from cancer, and David Elliot, the misunderstood tough guy with a past. They meet after graduation and develop a perfect whirlwind romance, with one exception: she leaves for a pre-med internship two weeks after they start dating. After a lovey montage of their last two weeks together, Jade declines the internship and amplifies her father’s disapproval for David. Hugh Butterfield (Bruce Greenwood) whisks her away to their lake house for the summer and digs into David’s past, stopping at nothing to split the two lovers apart.
‘Endless Love’ may have been sold out at our local Highland 12 on Valentine’s Day, but was not an impressive love story by any means. ‘Endless Love’ starts off with an unsettling campiness that continues for the entire movie. The initial romance is forced and unbelievable, and while the chemistry between Pettyfer and Wilde eventually improves, the plot only continues to worsen. The story takes weird twists and turns and doesn’t seem to have one true direction, steamrolling over every romantic movie cliché. ‘Endless Love’ also has the strangest resolution leaving audiences unsatisfied and largely disappointed. ‘Endless Love’ doesn’t even reach guilty pleasure status. It is not even so bad that it’s good.
A decent soundtrack makes the film tolerable but cannot save a bad story with poor execution. The production is unbelievable and silly. Even if I were less bitter and cynical, ‘Endless Love’ wouldn’t be considered a decent drama. Barely grossing $13.5 million on the most romantic weekend of the year, ‘Endless Love’ failed to draw in audiences or leave a good impression.
‘Endless Love’ is rated PG-13 for sexual content, brief partial nudity, some language, and teen partying.
