Charly

If this is not a 'Date Night' movie, nothing else is.

A typical romantic movie, touching all bases, boy meet girl, girl reject boy, boy jealous an eternal triangle, girl marries boy, girl get cancer, the here after.

So so many done it. Ryan O'Neal, a love story is the original .

Maybe only a Latter-day Saint would understand everything here, but for lovers, young and old, I think you'll like it, even though religion is a major theme. Having each other forever is THE main theme. A real tear-jerker.

CHARLY is one of those movies that really don't care if it's seen as being too sugary. It is what it is, and those who enjoys its positive message of faith will certainly enjoy it, while those who shuns such feelings will certainly continue to shun it. Your enjoyment of the film depends on your level of awareness with yourself. Do you mock people who have faith? If so, then CHARLY is not for you.

As a standalone movie, CHARLY is a worthwhile film, with terrific performances by the two young leads. Although the female lead's unnatural-sounding dialogue gets a bit tedious in the beginning, her transformation from carefree city girl to worthwhile human being also makes her more affable. A good thing too, because her "city girl" dialogue is really, to put it mildly, atrocious.

A good movie, with a heartfelt message it wants to tell, and does. The ending is like many films with religious themes, so those familiar with the genre won't be surprised. Those who haven't delved into the genre, though, may be a bit shocked.

7 out of 10

(go to www.nixflix.com for a more detailed review of this movie and reviews of other genre and Indie films)

I have not read any of Jack Weyland's work, even though I found a lecture he gave quite entertaining. My wife had to coax me into watching this movie. She hasn't read the book, either. I thought the movie was a little long and slow, but also thought provoking and well made for an LDS film.

"Charly" seemed like two separate stories to me. The first half of the movie is about Charly's internal struggle. She resolves it, and the movie could end there, happily ever after. I'm not sure I would watch the sequel, however. The second half of the movie is more poignant. In this story, Sam struggles with his own beliefs, and his struggle seems more intense than Charly's. The second half of this movie is better than the first, but it takes a long time to get there!

The movie makes you think about your own beliefs and the important things in life. Personally, I enjoy movies that make me think or make me want to be better.

The quality is better than most LDS films to date. The lead actors do a fairly good job, despite their lack of experience. Many of the supporting actors leave something to be desired, however.

"Charly" is a top-notch film for the LDS genre. It ranks up there with "The Other Side of Heaven" and "Roots and Wings." Such movies don't require you to be a Mormon to enjoy the story they tell. The love story in "Charly" could happen to a person of any faith. This one just happens to take place in Salt Lake City.

Cynics may say that the movie intends to tell everyone to join the Mormon Church. The main character's decision to join or not only occurs in the first half of the movie. The rest deals with the relationship between Charly and Sam, including the arguments, hardships and tragedies that happen IN SPITE OF their faith. To me, that's what makes the movie such a good idea: sure, the main characters talk about baptism, but they do it with personality, and they never turn to the camera and say that the Mormon church is for everyone. I call that tasteful. I was especially impressed with the supporting characters, like Charly's grandmother and the fiancée. The parts were well-acted, and fleshed out the story nicely. The questions and ideas this movie proposes about life are just as difficult and commonly asked today as they were when the original book was written. While you watch the movie be sure to accept that some people actually choose to believe in something.