'Tis the month for endless chick-flick marathons, excessive chocolate eating and harboring resentments against men not being any male character from Nicholas Sparks' novels.
"Endless Love" totally fits this February formula.
This remake of the Brooke Shields' 1981 film is getting better reviews than the original. However, why would producers want to remake the original? Roger Ebert would probably turn over in his grave if he knew "Endless Love" was remade after all the blundering mistakes that earned a 2 out of 5 stars on his scale. "Endless Love" became a movie after successful book, yet even the second adaptation couldn't get it right.
This remake cast Alex Pettyfer ("I am Number Four," "Magic Mike") as David Elliot. David is a charismatic, handsome valet who has a bad-boy edge. He instantly falls in love with Jade Butterfield, portrayed by Gabriella Wilde ("Carrie," "The Three Musketeers"). Jade, on the other hand, is a privileged girl who spends most of her time reading books and abiding her parents' rules.
Jade and David's love seems almost picturesque as they spend every waking moment with each other. It isn't until Jade begins to lose herself in love and transforms into a loose, immoral girl that her father, Hugh, checks into David's past. Hugh learns of David's bleak past complete with police reports, and hastily decides David isn't a suitable boyfriend for Jade. Hugh forbids Jade to see David, but will that stop the couple?
There are numerous differences between the "Endless Love" novel and the original film and this remake. A major difference between 2014 "Endless Love" and both the 1981 version and the novel is the 2014 version doesn't portray David as an obsessive sociopath like the novel or the original movie.
This version of "Endless Love" seems tailor-made for the all-too-clich?© Sparks crowd. The target audience is young girls who either never had a boyfriend before or are in the "single and miserable" stage. Don't waste your money or time. Re-watch the some classic love stories if you want to shed some tears.
Gloryeanne Lindenmuth can be reached at gloryeanne.lindemuth@student.shu.edu.
