Last Song, Movie Review Example

There are many movies that have a picture perfect story line where all is well and perfect. However, that fairy tale story line does not portray life in a real manner. When children come from a broken home, typically they have to find a way to cope with having two different family structures. This movie shows how a teenager and young boy deal with not only reuniting with their father they hadn’t seen in three years, but how they adapt to devastating events that transpire. Their family values and processes are not that different than other families, and their ability to adapt to necessary changes draws the viewer in. The Last Song represents a family and their struggle to stay together even though they are apart.

The story begins with the children traveling from New York, where they live with their mother to spend the summer with their estranged father. The father lives in a house on the beach in North Carolina. Ronnie, a teenage girl who has been in some trouble and has a major attitude that accompanies her. The younger brother Jonah was far too young to understand the tension, and is extremely excited about the time he gets to spend with his father. Being forced to spend their summer with their father caused additional turmoil between Ronnie and her father. The common connection they had of music, playing the piano, went by the wayside and after her father left. Ronnie then refuse to play. Their differences seemed to fade as the new love interest Will comes around more and more. As they learn of their father’s illness, Ronnie’s hatred fades and she strives to spend the last days making up for their lost time.

The family processes in this movie add to the realism and value. The sociocultural process is within this film is present in many different ways. Jonah was working on the stain glass window with his father and he inquired about him and his mother getting back together. The father stated that his mother was engaged so that was no longer an option. Jonah pointed out that they were married first and have children, giving him history and the first choice. Another example was how Ronnie was led to believe Will was a player. When she was told that he takes all girls to the aquarium and they all fall in love with him. Ronnie quickly came to the conclusion that the attractive popular male only had one intention with her and ended it before it began. The family process environment was typical of a split family. The mother has the kids for the majority of the time, and the kids are forced to spend the summer reconnecting with their father who they hadn’t seen in three years. The father lacked the authority and Ronnie was able to do pretty much whatever she wanted to do.

The communication within the entire family process was broken. The mother knew of the father’s terminal illness, so they continued communication after the separation. The father also had written Ronnie many letters that knew of her activities, and they were returned back to him. Jonah, being so young he was a little out of the loop in what was going on, so his involvement with communication was more on a need to know basis. Ronnie seemed to have the majority of the power and decision making roles within the movie. Perhaps it was because she was the most outspoken or visible character. For example, she decided to stay with her father against his will until he passed away. Even her mother felt that was not the best idea, but she did anyway. The parents didn’t really have an opportunity or a need to exert their power and need to make decisions. Lastly, is the roles within the family process. It almost seemed that mother and father role was not as visible as the angry, rebellious teenager. Even the young, manipulating brother had a more prominent role than the parents within this family structure. Perhaps that was more realistically portrayed within the normal separated family dynamic.

The family values were shown many times in this movie. The father had thought he burned the church down.  Ronnie’s peers even harassed her about it. When he found out the young trouble-making boy did it, he didn’t want him to turn himself in. Even to clear his name before dying, he felt is more relevant to protect the teenage boy. Another example was when Ronnie was tempted to shoplift. She declined because she had always been caught and didn’t want to be looked at as a thief. When her “friend” dropped something in her bag to get revenge, she was forced to defend herself. She clearly took ownership of her past digressions and was very insulted of the idea that she would act in the same manner again. Finally, Jonah in his little brother antics would blackmail his sister every time she did something that she was not allowed to do something. In order to keep him from tattling, she would pay him off. When she gave her dress money away, Jonah gave her money to help her out.

The family dynamic was not really present. The parental role did not really seem present, the kids essentially were doing what they wanted to do. The children never appeared to be in danger, and the visible child rearing was minimal as well. The healthcare practices were not apparent in this movie as well. When the father got sick, he was hospitalized. He asked for the pain medicine to be reduced so he could focus on spending time with his kids.  The father didn’t want anything standing in the way of his last days and his memories with his children. Adaption of the family was not as quick. When the parents got divorced, the father had such a hard time adapting he moved far away. Ronnie arriving at her father’s took off immediately to avoid interacting with him. The communication was minimal and she was very rude at first. Once she adapted, things went a lot better for the family.

The Beaver System Model is another important factor in understanding the family dynamic of this movie. The family structure could be considered competent. Whereas the function was not traditional, but the parents were adequately involved on separate levels. The methodology consisted of primarily observation. The goal directed negotiation was based on the outcome of the father dying. The autonomy of this movie was clearly highlighting Ronnie. She was a self-sufficient individual void of rules. The family affect showed primarily on the father and son relationship. The other members were not as involved to affect the family dynamic. The global appraisal of the family would be considered mid-ranged adequate.

Summarizing this movie can be done very easily. A broken home, creates a broken family structure. Overcoming the obstacles that inevitably come when parents separate is never easy. This movie portrayed hurt, and anger from the teenage child who was able to overcome and create a great relationship with her father. However unideal this may be, the movie allowed the viewers to see the family reconnect and build off of what was broken. The love story that took place within the movie aided in its overall enjoyment, but was not really relevant to the overall family dynamic. It was great to see a movie that wasn’t the picture perfect happy ending and portrayed things in a much more realistic manner.