Endless Love (2014)

There's no doubt that some viewers, especially teen girls interested in romance, will enjoy the wish-fulfillment aspects of a gorgeous guy from the wrong side of town (with a heart of gold, of course) falling for a beautiful bookish girl with no relationship experience. And of course, the actors sure are pretty, what with both of them being British models. But as sweet and soapy as this teen romance is compared to the downright over-the-top (and trashy) original, there are way too many laughably predictable and unrealistic aspects to make it a good movie.

The adults are all fine actors (Joely Richardson plays Jade's understanding mother Anne, and David's supportive dad is Robert Patrick), but Greenwood's doctor is so villainous he nearly takes a bat to David's head. In this adaptation, it's the father's obsession -- not David's -- that's the problem. The upper-crust father's focus on his lovely daughter's every move and her blossoming relationship borders on disturbing. On the bright side, a couple of the supporting players, especially David's best friend Mace (Dayo Okeniyi) and Jade's brother Keith (Rhys Wakefield) add much-needed levity to the story, and there's one undeniably funny moment from David when Pettyfer gets to use his native English accent. Otherwise, viewers who crave star-crossed "instalove" will get their fill, while everyone else will be only mildly amused.