Will Cyrus Keep Sparks’ Streak Alive?
“Hannah Montana” challenged to go deeper than Disney in The Last Song
Over Valentine’s Day weekend, Nicholas Sparks briefly owned the box office, scoring a major hit with the big-screen adaptation of his best-seller Dear John. Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum elegantly brought Sparks’ prose to life, causing a sudden spike in tissue sales as even hardened criminals wept at the bittersweet love story.
Now, trying to sustain a winning streak that began with The Notebook, Sparks transfers The Last Song from bookstore to box office, bringing with him Disney ‘tween star Mylie Cyrus. Sparks has proven that his writing can make the leap. Hollywood critics wonder whether Cyrus can, too.
In The Last Song, Cyrus plays 17-year-old Ronnie Miller, angry teen, alienated from parents and exiled to her father’s house for the summer. Of course, in keeping with the Sparks formula, Ronnie is supposed to reconcile with her father as she experiences her first big romance; count the beachside setting as a plus for background and chemistry. Veteran actor Greg Kinnear plays the father immersed in his art and devoted to his own pain. Book reviewers praised Sparks for the depth and complexity he brought to his fifteenth book. Movie reviewers hope that Cyrus can bring the same depth, subtlety, and poignancy to her portrayal of Ronnie and especially to recreation of the intricate relationship between father and teen-age daughter.
Sparks fly off-screen, too.
Rumours had flown around the set and among the cool girls since the film wrapped: Mylie’s on-screen romance had spilled off the screen and into real life, they said. Speaking with CNN’s Brooke Anderson earlier this week, both Cyrus and co-star Liam Hemsworth admitted that they are seriously in-like. The little extra buzz cannot hurt the film’s pre-lease publicity, and it certainly adds to The Last Song’s serious teen appeal. Disney executives are counting on legions of Hannah Montana fans to line-up at the box office, tissues in hand. And the Disney promotional works are revved-up into high gear in anticipation of the film’s nationwide release March 31. The trailers clearly show how Cyrus can model the summer fashions and play the girlfriend part par excellence. The jury is still out on whether or not she really can act.
