The Last Song 2010

Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly: This is Miley's vehicle, but the strongest scenes are between Kinnear and Coleman. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: It's not a great film, with some edge Sparks put in the novel left out of the script. But there's real chemistry between the young lovers. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Sand dunes at sunset, summer lovin' (had me a blast!), a third-act medical crisis and a clutch of letters designed to be read aloud in voice-over: Another month, another adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks romance. Read more

Mary F. Pols, MSN Movies: It's like Dante and Beatrice all over again, with the Georgia coast standing in for Paradise. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: The movie moves Ms. Cyrus from where she was to more or less where she and her handlers wanted to be, and Mr. Kinnear's musician father, Steve, adds a generous measure of grace. Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: Huffing through the early scenes of The Last Song with black leather boots and a frozen pout, Miley Cyrus plays author Nicholas Sparks' idea of a rebel, which is to say Ned Flanders' idea of a rebel. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: The director, Julie Anne Robinson, makes sure that any scene that might culminate in thought or reflection instead becomes a montage set to music. Read more

Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader: Years on the Hannah Montana TV series have not adequately prepared Miley Cyrus for screen acting, even in a vehicle as unchallenging as this adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Here's the revelation: Miley Cyrus is a really interesting movie star in the making, with an intriguing echo-of-foghorn speaking voice, and a scuffed-up tomboyish physicality (in the Kristen Stewart mode) that sets her apart from daintier girls. Read more

Michael Ordona, Los Angeles Times: For those wondering if the continuing popularity of such exercises might make this one worth the ticket price, the same effect might be achieved by writing names and obstacles (make some tragic) on index cards and tossing them in the air. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The Original Nicholas Sparks Romance Factory accomplishes its goals. The New Miley Cyrus Acting Company falls a bit shorter. Read more

Glenn Whipp, Associated Press: Kinnear lends the movie a dignity it doesn't deserve and stands as the only cast member whose dramatic moments aren't propped up by soaring musical cues. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: It's hard to believe this bland starlet is the same spunky kid who bounced through the Hannah Montana movie just last year, but it's only fair to cut Cyrus some slack. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: It's the worst of both worlds as Disney cash cow Miley Cyrus makes the most dubious "dramatic" debut of any singer since Britney Spears. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: Robinson is a sympathetic director of actors, allowing almost everyone their dignity. For the most part, she keeps this emotionally charged story in the schmaltz-free zone. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: I like Miley Cyrus. I like her in spite of the fact that she's been packaged within an inch of her life. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: The predictable plot mechanics aren't what make it insufferable. The big problem is Miley Cyrus. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Cyrus is ghastly in The Last Song, bad not just in one or two ways, but in all kinds of ways. It was a disservice to the audience, to the material and to Cyrus herself that she was put in this position. Read more

Jon Bream, Minneapolis Star Tribune: [Cyrus is] believable as Ronnie partly because she, too, is 17 and at a crossroads in her life. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: It's not surprising that in the hands of a first-time director and first-time screenwriter, nobody in this movie behaves like a recognizable human being, but it is surprising that Cyrus comes across as such an unlikable sourpuss. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Perhaps feel-good tragedy doesn't quite capture it; feel-good sadism might be more like it. Read more

Bruce Demara, Toronto Star: Sadly, without a single note of originality, Last Song is an awfully long and tiresome tune. Read more

Anna Smith, Time Out: Anyone but Cyrus fans will find this one of the more inferior Sparks adaptations -- and yes, that includes Nights in Rodanthe. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: Maybe Douglas Sirk could have made something profound out of the pseudo-ennobling horsepucky. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: All the obvious elements combine to manipulate the audience into a weepy time at the movies -- again. Read more

Rob Nelson, Variety: Cyrus, alas, hasn't yet learned not to act with her eyebrows and overbite. But she does show off her considerable chops as a pianist and remains reasonably likable throughout. Read more

Dan Kois, Washington Post: Cyrus is game and appealing, but she's not nearly enough of a natural actress to pull off the emotional whip-cracks the story puts Ronnie through. Read more