Charlie St. Cloud [Blu-ray]

Charlie St. Cloud [Blu-ray] Review

Overview: Charlie and his younger brother, Sam, are enjoying the last few weeks of summer before Charlie goes to college on a sailing scholarship. Tragedy strikes and Sam's life is lost while a tormented Charlie's life is saved. Instead of going on with life, he lives alone in the woods and starts working at the cemetery. Why does he stay behind? Because he can see his dead brother and promises to meet him every day to practice baseball. Thus begins the story of Charlie St. Cloud, a young man who "stops living" because he can see dead people and does not want to let go of the memory of his brother.
Good Content: Charlie's dedication to Sam (alive and dead) is a good example of being a good brother. Even when Sam has died, Charlie keeps his promise to Sam. Later in the film Charlie turns out to be a rational young man as he makes a choice between "himself" and another person's life.
Spiritual Content: The fact that Charlie can see dead people is not necessarily creepy. It's more of a psychological thriller than anything. Charlie and Sam have a conversation about what would happen to Sam if Charlie broke his promise and stopped visiting him. Sam is concerned he will "cease to exist". Charlie's life was "saved" by a paramedic who is a strong Catholic. Later in life the two meet and the paramedic asks Charlie why he was "given a second chance to live" and if he will use this second chance for a good purpose. The paramedic believes saving Charlie was a heaven-sent act. He wears a pendant of St. Jude around his neck.
Sexual Content: Charlie and his girlfriend Tess spend a night together in the cemetery. Nothing is seen because the camera cuts out right before anything happens but cuts back in afterwards. Same tells a few crude jokes (I only got one of them because another audience member was laughing as if it was a dirty joke).
Violent Content: We see some aspects of the car crash that Charlie and Sam are in. We see them while they are in the ambulance-Charlie's face is somewhat bloody. Charlie gets in a fist fight with another young man.
Profanity: a total of about seven or eight profane words ranging from h-- to s--
Conclusion: Unnecessary elements (such as the cemetery scene, some language) make this a PG-13 film. While the idea of the plot seems "iffy"-a young man spending time with his dead brother-it doesn't really touch on anything spiritual in terms of life and death. Rather, it is more of a psychological, "think about it" film. Borderline tragedy, chic-flick, drama, this film is recommended for mature audiences who are not opposed to somewhat "unrealistic" stories.

Charlie St. Cloud [Blu-ray] Overview

Teen heartthrob Zac Efron (High School Musical, 17 Again) makes an appealing, and wise, choice as the star of Charlie St. Cloud. Efron is able to flex his dramatic acting abilities and can stretch, ever so slightly, into a more adult role, without alienating or being off-putting to his dedicated young fans. And Efron shows signs of being a terrific young actor, with nuanced skills that have perhaps been overlooked until now, because of his appealing pinup-boy looks. Efron is delicious eye candy in Charlie St. Cloud, no question (though he has to share some of that role with the beautiful British Columbia coastline where the film is set), but he also carries the entire film, which manages to be family drama, tragedy, adventure, and budding love story--with a good dose of "live your life to the fullest" advice built in. Efron plays the title character, a gifted student and sailor who gets a full scholarship to Stanford. But right after graduation, Charlie is involved in a life-changing tragedy--one that shatters his family and his own sense of his place in the world. Efron's Charlie is a lost young man, dedicated to the aftereffects of the tragic accident, and turns from promising young upstart to pitiable recluse--so reclusive that he lives and works at the local graveyard. The entire cast is wonderful, and they put their hearts into the sad, yet ultimately uplifting story. Young Charlie Tahan is winsome as Charlie's younger brother, Sam. Kim Basinger, too long away from the big screen, is grounded and believable as the boys' hard-working single mom. Ray Liotta plays a memorable cameo as a paramedic who helps save Charlie after the accident. And Amanda Crew is spunky and adorable as the independent young sailor with a secret crush on Charlie--the "old" Charlie, who was still interested in embracing life--and with possibly the only lifeline that Charlie might actually grab. The chemistry between Efron and Crew is sparkly, and Efron fans will enjoy seeing their idol in more mature love scenes. But not too mature--the raciest of the romance scenes involves Efron (not Crew) taking off his shirt--to fans' delight. If Charlie St. Cloud isn't too original in its plotting, nor especially crisp in its direction, it doesn't matter--Efron's screen appeal is plenty to propel both the story and the action. Efron fans of all ages will enjoy watching the young actor begin the process of growing up--just a bit--onscreen. --A.T. Hurley

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