Purple Hearts

Purple Hearts

An aspiring musician agrees to a marriage of convenience with a soon-to-deploy Marine, but a tragedy soon turns their fake relationship all too real.

  • Released:
  • Runtime: 120 minutes
  • Genre: Drama, Music, Romance
  • Stars: Sofia Carson, Nicholas Galitzine, John Harlan Kim, Chosen Jacobs, Anthony Ippolito, Linden Ashby, Kat Cunning, Nicholas Duvernay, Scott Deckert, Kendall Chappell, Sarah Rich, Jordan Drake, Rand Guerrero, Leroy Edwards III, Sean Berube, Asante Jones, Debbie Fan, Kaitlin Huwe, A.J. Tannen, Theo Breaux, Breana Raquel, Josh Cruze, Cat Kaylin, Jeremiah Ripley, Loren Escandon, Lancaster Duplechin, Reeko Brooks, Rebecca Marie Sanchez, Frank Lui Geo, Kevin Shannon, Lucas Paz, Daniel Merino, Ryan Jack Singleton, Michael C. Bradford, Henry L Burdette, Anna Marusich, Frank Scozzari, Madeleine Smith, Alex Wexo
  • Director: Ben Lewin, Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum
 Comments
  • snipermm - 2 June 2024
    Nice movie, and a lesson about love bringing out the best in us
    I have watched the movie because I lost a bet with my wife :) She said I couldn't resist watching a romantic comedy from the beginning to the end... Well, I did it, and I must admit I liked the movie.

    First of all, Sofia Carson is gorgeous, and she had a good chemistry with her partner. I even liked the songs!

    Second, the story was somehow credible, at least for me - an Eastern European from Romania, who never visited United States. However, after reading several reviews and Youtube comments, it seems that the main premise was a little exaggerated (the "crime" of US soldiers marrying for benefits is not really something that military authorities are so keen to combat...). Also, the idea that a military court would take the word of a drug dealer over the one of a decorated-and-injured-in-combat vet is rather laughable.

    Last but not least, the quirks of US healthcare system are well known internationally, so the medical situation presented in the movie was credible (although rather hard to digest by European standards: in most of our countries, nothing and nobody could block a diabetic access to insulin).

    On the other hand, as I do follow closely the general state of affairs in US (my country is bordering Ukraine, so everybody here wants to know who will be the next American president...) I have recognized the ideological rift between liberals and conservatives (or, as in the movie, a feminist and an Army/USMC fan). I suspect that the quarrels between Luke and Cassie are inspired by real life situations, which is something that quite annoys me - because such trivial issues should not separate people. We are already living our lives with invisible walls erected between us (by religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, wealth and/or education etc.)... Do we need more obstacles?!

    I must confess that I am lucky because this kind of ideological tension doesn't exist in my country. Don't get me wrong, we have plenty of differences in opinions down here, at the outskirts of Europe, but not at such a deep, almost sectarian level (sorry for the word, but I think it fits the situation). And surely our quarrels are not about an institution as important as the national armed forces (maybe because we live close to Russia, and this always was a problem! :)))

    From this perspective, the movie struck a chord in me, because I come from a family with some military tradition (inasmuch that one of my brothers is an NCO in the Military Police, while the other one is an officer of the National Police). However, more than 25 years ago I married a girl who was a feminist (a colleague from the University). Although we amiable parted ways after couple years, this had nothing to do with political opinions.

    However, back to the movie, with some criticism: Luke's character seemed not enough developed - not as much as in the book (yes, I searched for the book and read it, because I liked the movie!). And I think that his monologue at Frankie's grave was a little flawed: he should have said something like "Cassie is my real wife!", instead of "Cassie is my best friend!". If not for the sake of clarifying Luke's feelings (to the viewers), then for the obvious reason that only a blind would live a week with Cassie and not realize that she is a strong-but-sensible, beautiful, extraordinary woman, the kind that any man would love to have at his side.

    And I say this because I count myself among the lucky ones: fifteen years ago, I have found my Cassie, whom I still love with all my heart, and I owe her for being a happy husband and man.

    PS: Hollywood, please do a sequel!!!
  • PerryAtTheMovies - 9 November 2023
    I want a Purple Heart just for watching this....
    5.1/10

    Ngl.... This review is about as good as this film, and read just about as well as the film should be watched.... Not at all.

    Please don't watch this film. Please.... I beg of you. While there are slivers of hope throughout the film to make it worth watching. They don't pile high enough to be actually so.

    There's no spark of chemistry between the actors, and even though the summary claims they start to fall in love, I don't feel the passion in the characters. Nicholas Galitzine doesn't feel like soldier much less a Marine, and if I didn't know any better I'd say this film was purely to give Sofia Carson a jump start on a music career. She's has amazing voice, and I don't even feel she's given her full spectrum in the film. Their chemistry, though fake for most of it, doesn't ever truly mesh up to the "in love" spectrum.

    This whole movie is fake, and I don't understand what the end goal was. The injuries shown were terrible for the incident that occurred. The stand in for Iraq was absolutely horrid and you could tell the actors were in a plywood town.

    I've been trying my hardest to stay away from this film as I knew it would be a bottom of the barrel film, but I caved because I just wanted to get out of the way. The sliver of anything worthwhile of love in this film was at the end, and by that point it's far too late.

    Overall... it's a hard pass on this film for me. Acting mediocre. Romance non-existent. Realism non-existent. A real, heartfelt story non-existent. If you want a cheesy romantic, mediocre acting film then this is one of those times that I recommend watching a Hallmark film. There's so much wrong with this movie that it's a joke, and I don't even care to elaborate at this point.

    That's all for now. Thank you for taking the time to read my review. Until next time.... Enjoy the show!
  • yuukachuukuroe - 9 August 2023
    Adorable and sweet
    First the good things,

    I really like that they both had different political views and in the end of the film neither of their political views change. It'd rare to see a story where neither of the main characters change their views for the other but instead come together through it. They understand why the other party thinks that way, sympathize but doesn't mean they just abandon their own belief as well. I love that and my favorite thing in this film. It's a good lesson for people who'll cut away important people in their life due to politics. Of course, doesn't mean if someone is believing in something evil you shouldn't cut them off but in the movie they both had justifiable reasons why they believe what they believe in.

    Bad things,

    Music was...it wasn't so horrible I need to burn my ears but it was really not good. I've heard Sofia sing before and she IS A GOOD SINGER. Like she really is. So when I hear her singing in the movie I was like...what happened?? Did her voice change or did they ask her to sound that way? Like when she sang Part of your world or rotten to the core she didn't sound that way? She sounded so breathy (more than her norm) and strained. I'm really sad cause she's a good singer

    Anyways those are the main points there's more but don't have time. It's good it's cute and don't think too hard or you won't enjoy it. It's a light hearted movie.
  • borar-20970 - 20 November 2022
    Man..i wasn't feeling it
    Thr fenale MC was doing too much. All the unecessary arguments were getting out of hand. I thought they'd actually have good chemistry, but the writing made it too hard to believe they'd fall for each other. Especially her for him - he was always belittling her beliefs and he was pretty self righteous for a recovered drug addict who used to mooch off his family. Their beliefs and world views were so diametrically opposed. It was also dumb to have them sleep together right away. The story would have made more sense if they hadn't. Don't get me started on the ML casually revealing the illegal scheme to his FORMER DRUG DEALER.
  • severe_lady - 9 October 2022
    Tried so hard to like it...
    ...but failed. The chemistry between the main characters was very bad, almost non existent. The female heroine, Cassie, had awful attitude and the "Be kind" bumper sticker had me LOL, such irony. The songs were okay, although there were some parts where the screeching was too much. The plot was interesting, but reading the comments I understood it had nothing to do with the military reality which is not unusual for a movie,but I am keen on movies who are as close to the real world as possible.

    All in all, it is not a complete waste of time, but surely there are other movies worth the two hour watch.
  • tkkz-07369 - 10 September 2022
    For assignment1
    The romantic Netflix drama «Purple Hearts» tries to make a touching story out of a situation that is utterly ludicrous. The movie, which is based on the Tess Wakefield novel, tells the story of a fake military union between Cassie (Sofia Carson), a singer-songwriter with Type 1 diabetes, and Luke (Nicholas Galitzine), a former addict who enlists in the Marines in an effort to earn back his father's acceptance.

    Cassie, a young immigrant girl who works as a waitress and occasionally writes music for her band, is the protagonist of the story. She was given a diabetes diagnosis six months ago, but because her insurance does not cover insulin, she must live paycheck to paycheck. One day, she meets Marine Luke two weeks before he starts his tour. Here, Cassie devises an ingenious scheme to enjoy all the benefits of being the wife of an American serviceman, but a fictitious union turns into something more.

    A musical performance in the bar where Cassie works serves as the film's opening scene, which is reminiscent of the prologue to every tale about the «American dream» and «the conquest of a conditional Olympus.» The counterargument is made before the viewer has a chance to roll their eyes by bringing out the deplorable state of US healthcare, exorbitant prescription costs, and inhumane treatment of immigration. Feminist lines are used to summarize everything, even though it is unlikely that the producers could have predicted that some states would outlaw abortion by the time the movie came out.

    Cassie is your untypical romantic novel heroine because she has a quick wit, is fair-minded, and is able to stand up for herself even when society tries to stifle her. And because the girl doesn't comprehend what it's like to be a top boss or a regular office plankton, she writes songs at her heart's whim. Marriage, a spouse, kids, and a family are all ideals that she just does not share, yet kismet brought her and Luke together.

    Here they are: current conditions in which marriages of convenience are frequent. Of course, this is often convenient, but for the spouse of an American service member, the outcome is much better. Cassie is eager to take advantage of all the options offered by the state she dislikes after marriage because she really needs insulin to live comfortably. Due to a significant debt from his former dysfunctional life, Luke also finds himself in a winning position in this situation. It appears to be your normal sweet melodrama, then. No, is our response.

    Here they are: current conditions in which marriages of convenience are frequent. Of course, this is often convenient, but for the spouse of an American service member, the outcome is much better. Cassie is eager to take advantage of all the options offered by the state she dislikes after marriage because she really needs insulin to live comfortably. Due to a significant debt from his former dysfunctional life, Luke also finds himself in a winning position in this situation. It appears to be your normal sweet melodrama, then. No, is our response.

    Here they are: current conditions in which marriages of convenience are frequent. Of course, this is often convenient, but for the spouse of an American service member, the outcome is much better. Cassie is eager to take advantage of all the options offered by the state she dislikes after marriage because she really needs insulin to live comfortably. Due to a significant debt from his former dysfunctional life, Luke also finds himself in a winning position in this situation. It appears to be your normal sweet melodrama, then. No, is our response.

    Astana IT University Ondassyn Aruzhan.