Since Titanic and The Notebook set the bar high for chick flicks, Hollywood has searched for the next blockbuster Valentine’s Day movie. 2010’s Valentine’s Day failed miserably, as it was met with terrible critical reception, and low box office numbers. However, 2012’s The Vow seems to have risen to the challenge.

As a guy, it is somewhat difficult for me to write this story, as it seems somewhat out of my place to commentate on romantic films. However, I believe I provide an interesting and unique viewpoint to the table. Personally, I thought The Vow was a good movie. I know there is a social stigma against guys liking chick flicks (maybe because guys are supposed to be simple creatures who only like super-masculine action movies), but all-in-all The Vow had all the components of an entertaining Hollywood blockbuster. Rachel McAdams performance was great (unfortunately I can’t quite say the same for Channing Tatum’s), the plot was interesting, and there was a happy ending that left everyone in the theater feeling better about life. And that’s how all chick flicks should be.

Overall, the acting in The Vow was decent. The supporting cast was fine. Nobody stole the spotlight with their acting ability, but then again, nobody was supposed to: all the focus was on McAdams and Tatum. I personally am a fan of Rachel McAdams, because I think she delivers in every movie she’s in, from The Notebook to Midnight in Paris. The Vow is no different; McAdams plays a psychologically damaged and confused wife very well. Channing Tatum, on the other hand, was not quite as believable as the husband of said damaged individual. You could tell he was trying to act; that being said, he wasn’t a bad actor, just not a good one. Of course, one can safely assume he was hired to the post for his looks, and not acting ability.

SPOILER ALERT!!

The plot of The Vow was fairly original, but original within the constraints of a chick flick. Of course, the movie began with the main couple being happy, then a major conflict drove them apart, only for them to get back together again at the end of the movie. In the story, Leo Collins (Tatum) marries Paige Collins (McAdams), and they live happily together for the next five years in downtown Chicago, he as a record producer, and she as an artist with a degree for the Chicago Art Institute. However, one day during a snow storm, they get into a car accident, and she receives a traumatic brain injury, and completely forgets the past five years (and only the past five years, which is kinda weird, but I think they call that a plot device). Leo spends the majority of the rest of the movie struggling to regain Paige’s love, only to discover that the new Paige is not the Paige he fell in love with, but more like her parents, who live in a rich Chicago suburb. However, after Paige begins to remember why she left her past life behind, she moves back into the city, and, at the very end of the movie, she and Leo begin to date again. During the final credits, we are informed that, although Paige never regains her memory, she and Leo end up getting remarried, and live happily ever after. The end. Apparently, Rachel McAdams is just really good in chick flicks where she loses all her memory (The Notebook).

So if you need something to do today, or really at any point in the future (although today is probably the best day to see a chick flick), I recommend seeing The Vow. It doesn’t pretend to be anything other than a semi-cheesy chick flick, and it delivers.