Before any of my followers threaten to burn me at the stake for having seen a movie that stars Zac Efron, please consider that I am trying to review a diverse amount of summer movies. I’ll admit that I was initially hesitant to see a film whose lead actor was made famous by Disney’s High School Musical franchise, but early reviews of Efron’s performance were surprisingly positive. Based on previews, Charlie St. Cloud seemed to be a pretty emotional drama, and since it didn’t look like Efron was going to start singing or dancing spontaneously, I figured that Charlie St. Cloud could at least be bearable on some level.
In retrospect, Zac Efron’s performance was actually the strongest part of Charlie St. Cloud. He was more than capable as the haunted protagonist, bringing a pleasant amount of charm and humor to the serious role…unfortunately the rest of the film isn’t as praiseworthy. The plot was an interesting concept, but I feel like the writers completely fumbled the execution. Charlie St. Cloud was sold to audiences as the story of a grief-stricken young man who is granted the ability to communicate with his recently-deceased brother, a relationship that is threatened when he finds an engaging new love interest; it seemed like it was going to be an interesting blend of fantasy and romance. Unfortunately, by it’s conclusion, Charlie St. Cloud comes off more like a supernatural film, with a plot twist that reeks of The Sixth Sense and is a little too confusing and creepy for audiences to ignore. To clarify, I would have been more forgiving of the story if Charlie St. Cloud had been promoted as more of a fantasy, but I feel that the script sacrificed more of the expected drama and romance, all in the name of fantasy, than was really necessary. Fans of Zac Efron will enjoy his performance, and I have seen far worse chick-flicks over the years, but I was still disappointed by the poor execution of a potentially strong summer drama.
For more information, please read the full review.
Overall Recommendation: Low
