A Sentimental Patriotic Melodrama
Set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, “Young Hearts” (originally titled “Love and Honor”) tells the story of Dalton Joiner, a fresh-faced American soldier who receives a Dear John letter from his sweetheart, Jenny. Heartbroken, Dalton uses his first leave to embark on a week-long journey back to his hometown in Michigan, defying military regulations in a desperate attempt to win her back. Accompanied by his loyal and equally handsome army buddy, Mickey, the two soldiers find themselves amidst the burgeoning hippie culture. Mickey falls for a passionate anti-war activist, while Dalton grapples with Jenny’s rejection as their time before returning to the war dwindles.
Danny Mooney’s directorial debut uses a love story as a mere vehicle. In reality, every detail and plot point feels like a collection of cinematic clichés, so saturated with patriotism that it’s hard to believe the director isn’t being intentionally ironic. The pairing of Austin Stowell and Liam Hemsworth could easily serve as the visual definition of “the all-American boy” in a dictionary (even though Hemsworth isn’t American). It feels like Hollywood should have made a pact a decade ago to cast Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett in every patriotic film about honor and love, because frankly, it’s hard to imagine anyone doing it better.
Trailer
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It’s as if the screenwriters were half-jokingly crafting the most bombastic and sentimental lines, delivering them every ten minutes through each of the film’s virtuous characters. They probably chuckled as they concocted this almost parodic tale of two upstanding American soldiers, one even more honorable and patriotic than the other, and two equally wholesome American girls, one more virtuous than the other. However, any lingering doubts about the filmmakers’ intentions vanish when the film delivers the line: “I’ll always remember where I was when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon.” This blatant and unironic sentimentality, seemingly borrowed from forgettable films of Hollywood’s golden age, makes it impossible to find any trace of satire. It seems that the young Danny Mooney is completely serious in his approach, creating a film where every character is as simple as a five-dollar bill, and the protagonist spends most of his screen time gazing intensely into the American distance with his beautiful blue eyes. By the end, you can’t help but wish that “Young Hearts” was a parody, or at least that Ben Affleck would make a cameo.