I took my daughter to see “The Last Song” a few days ago, mainly because I wanted to see it. I had been asking her for days, “Has anybody at school talked about seeing the new Miley Cyrus movie?” but she said all they’re talking about is Letters to God, which was produced by the same people who gave us “Facing the Giants” and “Fireproof.” OK, so that one’s next on my list.
But I had to see Miley in The Last Song — for two reasons. First, it was filmed in my home state, Georgia! On top of that, in one of my favorite places, on the beaches of beautiful Tybee Island. From what I’ve read, Georgia fought long and hard against North Carolina to be the setting for this movie — so I can’t help but give a little rebel yell at our victory (though you can see here that I love North Carolina too!).
The second reason I wanted to see “The Last Song” is because I’m intrigued by the whole Nicholas Sparks’ aspect. Here’s a best-selling author who wrote a screenplay first with a specific actress in mind, then turned the script into a novel. This seems backwards to the way most films work, so I found that interesting. It reminds me of the rumor I heard that John Grisham wrote “The Pelican Brief” with actress Julia Roberts in mind. You can read more of the story here and on Nicholas Sparks’ website.
I can honestly say we weren’t disappointed. Although critics have poked fun at Miley’s acting, I thought she was wonderful. Give her a break — she’s only 17! She made me laugh — the first half of the movie has some hilarious scenes, especially when Miley/Ronnie meets her beach beau’s parents for the first time.
I think Nicholas Sparks must have had fun writing this scene. Miley and co-star Liam Hemsworth have been slinging mud at each other trying to get his truck out of the marsh. They’re filthy and run back to his house to hose off. Except … his house is a GIGANTIC southern plantation, recognizable to those of us from Georgia; it was filmed at Wormsloe Historic site, in Savannah.
Miley stares up at the live oaks, dripping in Spanish moss, as they pull into his “driveway.” She’s shocked. After all, this guy has been bugging her the whole movie, until he finally convinces her to go out with him.
When she gets out of the truck, her mouth drops open and she says something like, “I didn’t know you were so rich!” This line surprised me and struck me as absolutely hilarious because one of my kids said that recently to a classmate, when we visited her large home for a swim party. The movie is full of good lines like this that make it fun to watch.
And there are baby loggerhead sea turtles, oh so cute! Miley is trying to protect a nest of turtle eggs from an evil lurking raccoon, and she gets a little help from Liam, who just happens to be a volunteer with the nearby aquarium. (aw, sweet. Yes, you girls will think that when you see him in his uniform.) We happen to be big Georgia sea turtle fans and look forward to visiting the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island every year.
The title of the movie comes from a classical piano piece Miley’s father is composing for her. (Don’t think about this too much, or it will spoil the plot.) When the film begins, Miley is an angry teenager, coming down from New York to spend the summer with her dad, who left the family. She’s a former child piano prodigy — we see newspaper clippings of her playing as a youngster. Moreover, she’s been accepted to Juilliard, if she chooses to go. But in the beginning of the movie, she’s too rebellious and mad at the world. She won’t even go anywhere near the piano.
As the film continues, Miley/Ronnie begins to connect again with the piano as an instrument of healing. Since I’m the mom of two daughters taking piano lessons, I enjoyed this aspect. My daughter and I both found Miley’s piano performances to be inspiring. In fact, after watching the movie, my daughter came home and right away sat down at the piano to practice. The music is really beautiful in this movie.
In the opening credits, I knew I was in for a treat, when I saw that Miley’s mother, Tish Cyrus, was the executive producer. Wow. How many actresses star in a film produced by their mom? Go Tish! In this article, I read that the plot of the film is similar in many ways to the life of Tish Cyrus, so Miley’s acting allowed her to experience many of the same painful emotions her mom had been through.
If you go anywhere near a Wal-mart, which I must do frequently to keep our supplies of stuff replenished, you will be familiar with Miley’s autobiography, Miles to Go.
Read it. I enjoyed it. It’s well-written and full of hope. She has a great voice. I don’t know if she had help writing the book (the title page says “with Hilary Liftin”), but it takes you into the mind of a teenager, one who is trying desperately to find her place in the world and not lose track of her rural Tennessee roots. In fact, she asked Nicholas Sparks to name his novel’s main character Ronnie after her grandfather (whom she calls “Pappy” in her book).
Miley Cyrus is not too much older than my daughters, and I guess I don’t want her to grow up. I want her to still act in films that I can take my children to see. We all enjoyed the “Hannah Montana” movie, though “The Last Song” is not appropriate for kids under 9, I feel, because there are some romantic scenes, and the plot is too heavy for the hearts of little ones.
Although she doesn’t sing any during the movie (except for a brief sing-a-long in the car where Liam’s awful crowing drowns her out), Miley Cyrus’ song, “When I Look at You” does play a part at the end. As I listened to it, watching the credits, I had to wipe away my tears, like the other moms around me.
We walked out of the dark theater and back into the Georgia sun, which was just beginning to set. Without a word, I searched around until I found our Miley CD, tuned to that song, and drove off with a sigh. I wish we could have driven straight to Tybee Island, but I had to head home to cook supper and oversee the bedtime routines of five kids.
You can hear her sing it here, with these opening lyrics, which tie in perfectly to the plot of the movie.
Everybody needs inspiration
Everybody needs a song
A beautiful melody
When the nights are long’cause there is no guarantee
That this life is easyYea when my world is falling apart
When there’s no light
To break up the dark
That’s when I
I look at you
After seeing the movie, I’m already plotting a trip to Tybee. I must see the church which was built on-site for the movie. Any of my Georgia friends up for a summer road trip?
