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Michelle Monaghan’s Film, ‘The Best of Me,’ Slammed in ‘Good Morning America’ Review

Michelle Monaghan’s new film, The Best of Me, has been slammed by Good Morning America‘s movie critic David Blaustein. Blaustein didn’t seem to have too much to say about Monaghan...
Michelle Monaghan’s Film, ‘The Best of Me,’ Slammed in ‘Good Morning America’ Review
Written by Pam Wright
  • Michelle Monaghan’s new film, The Best of Me, has been slammed by Good Morning America‘s movie critic David Blaustein.

    Blaustein didn’t seem to have too much to say about Monaghan’s performance, but he had plenty to say about casting and the plot of the Nicholas Sparks’ tearjerker.

    The Best of Me, the latest film to be based on a Nicholas Sparks novel, is so embarrassingly bad, it hurts to write about it,” wrote Blaustein. “If you consider the bad casting, ham-handed dialogue, obvious digital manipulation of the film, sloppy sound mixing and far-fetched plot points, then you just might be able to enjoy what I believe to be one of the worst movies of the year.”

    The movie tells the story of high school sweethearts Dawson (James Marsden) and Amanda (Monaghan), who are reunited after a 21-year separation when their mutual friend, Tuck (Gerald McRaney), dies.

    Dawson has become a man who mostly keeps to himself and works on an oil rig, while Amanda, for her part, is now married to a jerk and spends her days as a dutiful wife and stay-at-home mom to her teenage son.

    Blaustein’s biggest beef with the acting seems to be with Luke Bracey, who plays the young Dawson alongside Liana Liberato, who plays young Amanda, in the film’s depiction of flashbacks to the characters’ younger days.

    “And here’s where the movie implodes,” said Blaustein. “There’s nothing wrong with Bracey as an actor, but this has to be one of the worst pieces of casting I’ve ever seen. He’s supposed to be the high school version of Dawson, but have you ever met a high school student with crow’s feet?”

    “In real life, Bracey couldn’t pass for an undercover cop in high school, never mind the fact there’s virtually no resemblance between him and Marsden. Bracey’s casting is such a distraction, it’s a cinematic disaster. Liberato is much more convincing as a young Monaghan,” Blaustein continues.

    “As for the plot: Dawson’s crazy, drug-running father and brothers, his relationship with Tuck, and his star-crossed relationship with Amanda past and present — it hardly matters. Other than the actors’ efforts to try to overcome this flaw-laden film, The Best of Me’s only other redeeming quality is that it finally ends.”

    Blaustein gave the film one out of five stars.

    What did you all think of the movie? Did Blaustein call it?

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