All the elements in this movie that was released in time for Valentine are aimed to make lovers of chick flicks like this to swoon. The lovers meet cute: they just happen to exchange glances and this leads to a spontaneous date. They also wed cute: it was held illegally at the Chicago Art Institute with a friend presiding and their vows written on the back of the menu of a café called Mnemonic, which turns out to be a foreshadowing of sorts since Paige loses her memory.
Leo courts her and dates her again but she can’t let go of the past she’s more familiar with, including her previous fiancé (Scott Speedman), so he eventually gives up. Then she discovers a secret deliberately withheld from her by her family, from which she’s been estranged for years, and so we have the obligatory happy ending.
As a sentimental romance-drama, no doubt it’d work for those who enjoy “The Notebook”, Harlequin Romances and its local counterpart, Precious Hearts Romances. If you’re not a sucker for this kind of love drama, you’d better avoid it. But the movie does work because the leads, Tatum and McAdams, are both appealing on screen and they’re adequately assisted by most of the supporting players. This is the film debut of Michael Sucsy, best known for the acclaimed HBO drama “Grey Gardens”, and he knows the limitations of the basically mushy material so he tries to avoid too much sudsiness. Still and all, we’d prefer to have Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler in “50 First Dates”, another amnesia-themed movie.
