Bearing the “inspired by true events” warning during its opening credits, The Vow is high-concept romance as blunt instrument, one framed by voiceover musings about the importance of life’s emotional “moments of impact.”
A literal moment of impact sets the story in motion. Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams are Leo and Paige, a North Side Chicago couple whose lives are altered when they are rear-ended by a tow truck. Leo recovers quickly, but Paige isn't so fortunate, having been sent through the windshield (in gratuitous slo-mo).
To Leo’s dismay, Paige awakens from her induced coma with no recollection of her life with her husband, nor of her career as a sculptor or having attended art school. She does, however, recall everything prior, which gives her rich, estranged parents (Sam Neill and Jessica Lange) all the excuse they need to bring her back into the family fold and set her back on the path to law school.
A film about Paige’s struggles to deal with her memory loss and re-establish her own identity would have been more welcome and interesting than this treacle. Instead, The Vow focuses on Leo’s relentless, selfish quest to make his wife remember who she is so he can regain the life they once had together. The film repeats the same basic scenario over and over to grating effect — Leo tries to recreate what they had, Paige breaks down, and Leo becomes sulky and exasperated. Abiding by this behavior, The Vow establishes their perfectly happy life before the accident in flashback — including the noxious meet-cute moment and exchange of nuptials in an art gallery.
As Leo, Tatum is a hunky, sensitive bro who inexplicably hangs with a hipster crowd and runs his own music studio. Both he and McAdams share a couple of honest moments, particularly when both express their frustration with each other. But they lack the spark and chemistry that might have made makes the movie’s flaws easier to take.
The film needed to have another character give Leo some perspective on his behavior. But The Vow shares his view that Paige’s memory loss is little more than an annoying inconvenience, and both treat her as essentially the same person she was before the accident — an object that can be manipulated into behaving as she once did. A risible plot development toward the end confirms that The Vow has little interest in Paige as a character apart from her function as romantic lead.
