Safe Haven

Safe Haven (2013)
Directed by: Lasse Hallström
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 14%

Hello Film Fans!

Every once and a while, my girlfriend lures me in to watching a romantic movie. I have seen almost every Nicholas Sparks adaptation (something I am not proud of), and I have seen both of Garry Marshall's romantic-movie-that-takes-place-over-one-day movies (in the theater). So when a friend of ours mentioned that Cobie Smulders was in Safe Haven I expressed interest in seeing it (because come on, it's Robin). I had no idea it was a Nicholas Sparks movie. I saw that Josh Duhamel was in it so that made things a little better (Life As We Know It was actually pretty great), but I was determined to hate it. So sit back, open up a bottle of red wine, and enjoy my review of Another White People Kissing Movie by Nicholas Sparks: Part 8.

Katie (Julianne Hough) is on the run from an unknown assailant. We see her stumbling around her neighborhood until she reaches a place where she knows she'll be safe. We then see her leaving the neighbor's house and head to the bus station. Meanwhile, we see Detective Kevin Tierney working to find an unknown murder suspect that bears a resemblance to Katie. He follows leads to the bus station where he attempts to find her. Luckily for Katie, she had boarded a bus and left right before the police began searching every bus. As the bus travels to an unknown destination, Det. Tierney continues to hunt for his suspect. He even hassles the neighbors and reads their mail in an effort to find the girl. The bus stops for fuel at a small town located on a river in North Carolina. Katie likes the town so much that she decides to stay and let the bus continue without her. She secures a job waitressing at a local restaurant and manages to find a small cabin within her budget (what luck!). Katie meets her only neighbor, Jo (Cobie Smulders), while walking around outside. Jo says she understands the desire for privacy and won't bother her if she doesn't want her to. Katie accepts Jo's friendship and things begin to fall into place. Alex (Josh Duhamel) is a widower with two children. He owns and operates the local convenience store and he immediately becomes smitten with Katie. He fixes a bike for her to use so she doesn't have to walk everywhere, and he makes her feel welcome in the town. Things don't stay perfect for Katie when Det. Tierney discovers where she is hiding.


As far as Romance films go, this one wasn't terrible. I like Josh Duhamel and Cobie Smulders so I could justify the time spent watching it. There was nothing truly significant, film wise, to make it stand out. It is an easy to digest film with pretty likable characters. If Nicholas Sparks is your cup of tea, then you can't pass this up. Also, if you don't have enough How I Met Your Mother in your life (I don't) then here is this:


My Score: 6.5/10