Remember Me

Yes, I do remember you. You're that pale mopey kid in those necrophilia movies right? Yeah that's right, I thought so. Trying to venture out of the fantasy genre and into a role that might actually require some acting? Well good luck man, I'm sure that loyal fan base of yours will follow you anywhere.

This is what I thought when I first heard about Remember Me. I figured leading man Robert Pattinson's name would be enough to release the hoards of Twi-hards into the theaters for this average love story. Apparently I was wrong (it only made $8m in its first weekend) and now after seeing the film, I have a good idea why.

The story takes place in New York during the summer of 2001. Tyler Hawkins (Pattinson) and Ally Craig (Emilie de Ravin) are both students at NYU who have daddy issues after tragically losing close family members. With an attempt to be a Good Samaritan and a run in with Ally's father, a police detective played by Cooper, Tyler finds himself in jail. This prompts the screenwriter to open up the animosity between Tyler and his asshole Wall Street tycoon father (Pierce Brosnan) who bails him out.

[gallery]When the heartthrob finds out the detective has a daughter, he starts dating her on a dare and (of course) falls in love. This inevitably leads to Ally finding out about it at the worst possible time (yawn) and the breakup. Throw in a school bully-related incident with Tyler's quirky little sister and the match made in heaven is reunited in the most predictable fashion. This is when the movie smacks you in the face with a dynamic twist ending that will attempt to pull at every heart string you have. It's a spoiler alert, but now might be a good time to remind you that the film takes place in 2001, a pretty significant year for NYC.

Director Allen Coulter presents his piece with a rough, gritty, indie film vibe. Audiences going to see a cute, smart little romance will be surprised to find the melancholy tone and emotional tragedies looming over the story. I figured landing a blood-sucking cash cow for your romantic drama would be a good call, but I was disappointed in the character Pattinson presented. His dialogue seemed forced and uncomfortable and I could never really connect with his struggle. I just couldn't buy into his awkward mood and delivery. The only time I did connect with him was in two scenes; the first when he gets really pissed off yelling at his father; and another where he throws a fire extinguisher through an elementary school window.

Remember Me is a film that audiences will either completely reject or accept it for what it is: a mediocre love story with a shameless twist ending. It's what you might expect from a 'made for television' movie, with a story that has been done dozens of times before. It was surprising that the legion of Twilight fans did not follow R-Patz here and accept it with open arms, but I suppose they just don't want to see their pale-faced hottie in a non-vampire scenario.

In the end, it's easy to forget Remember Me and the two hours you'll spend with it. To tell the truth, I was always kind of a Team Jacob fan anyway.