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Is it worth $10? No
If looks were everything, Zac Efron would have it all. But even a dreamy heartthrob such as he will wilt under the strain of a sappy tearjerker story that’s predictable and goes nowhere, as is the case with “Charlie St. Cloud.”
Efron plays Charlie, who on the eve of his high school graduation has a perfect life. He’s planning to go to Stanford in the fall on a sailing scholarship, but when his 11 year-old brother Sam (Charlie Tahan) dies in a car accident, Charlie’s well-laid plans go out the door.
Suffering from a big case of survivor’s guilt, Charlie – who was driving the car when Sam died, and was miraculously revived by a paramedic (Ray Liotta) – starts seeing Sam’s ghost, and promises the ghost he’ll play catch with him/it every day at Sunset. Forget Stanford – a job at the cemetery will suffice. After five years of doing this Charlie meets a girl (Amanda Crew) who brings him out of his shell and gets him sailing again. They fall in love. But now it’s harder to see Sam. Tears flow. And it’s all so sappy and melodramatic that I never took it seriously enough to care.
Efron has some nice moments, especially one scene in which he awkwardly tries to talk to girls (as if Zac Efron needs to worry about being awkward), but overall director Burr Steers’ movie asks him to do little besides look cute and mope. For the women who were crying during and after the screening I attended, maybe that’s enough. But it sure wasn’t enough for me.
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