A Journal For Jordan – A Dull and Lifeless Romance

Once the first teaser trailer for A Journal For Jordan was released, one could not help but make the comparison to something more akin to a Lifetime movie which made for quite the conundrum considering the film is a major theatrical studio Christmas day release. Maybe that trailer was just badly cut but this unfortunately was not the case as that first suspicion was indeed confirmed upon watching the film. This drama, directed by Denzel Washington and based on a true story, essentially plays out as a mediocre Lifetime romance for better or worse more so than that of the titular journal. That being said, this is merely one opinion as the film will surely still find an audience among fans of romance films. Though parading around a pair of good-looking people for 2+ hours will be enough for a large portion of audiences, an incredibly dull, lifeless, and chemistry-less story riddled with cheesy melodrama and wooden emotion. In what is likely to lose some audiences fairly early on, it’s simply hard to care even if the film is based on a true story that is deserving to be told.

A Journal For Jordan tells the story of First Sergeant Charles Monroe King (Jordan), a soldier while deployed to Iraq wrote a journal offering wisdom an guidance for his infant son Jordan. But before that happened, the film jumped back in time to chronicles the relationship between King and senior New York Times editor Dana Canedy (Adams), eventually leading to Jordan. Two people that couldn’t be more opposite from one another, they hit it off almost immediately as that attraction grew over the course of the film. Using that contrast to create awkward moments undoubtedly meant to be endearing, one can’t help but roll their eyes at their lifeless nature. King and Canedy were just so dull to watch that the film was over before it even started thus making the rest of it that much more painful to watch.

Suffice it to say that things do not get better as the film goes on. The non-linear nature of the film as it tried to force the relationship between King and Canedy hurt each character individually as the choice to frame the journal through the lens of their relationship rather than that of King and Jordan was nowhere near as compelling as there was little in the way of story beyond that relationship. The latter angle had much more potential compared to the former which has more or less been done countless times before in countless other better films. What truly let the film down here was how utterly lifeless it was as it the film essentially went nowhere, keeping King and Canedy at a distance for seemingly the whole time, something their lack of chemistry hurt. Though the film did eventually get to the journal, by then it was pretty much too late.

At the end of the day, the performances can only go as far as the material and direction take them. In the case of A Journal For Jordan, was particularly baffling as both appeared to be asleep at the wheel, counting on chemistry that simply wasn’t there. The writing was mediocre at best, generating more eye rolls than endearing moments in trying to force a relationship that wasn’t there. It was painful to watch Jordan sleepwalk his way through the role of King while missing his trademark charisma. Adams fared marginally better but there was only so much she can do as the film was better with them apart than together.

In the end, A Journal For Jordan won’t be for everyone though non-fans will have already stayed away from it. It’s a story that deserves to be told but maybe this was not the best way to do it.