‘The Secret’ might make you believe in love again
Once you start this film, you might not want it to end.
“The Secret: Dare to Dream” is a classic romantic movie based on the bestselling self-help book “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne. The book explores the law of attraction, a belief that thoughts — positive or negative — can impact your life.
The film is directed by Andy Tennant, best known for romance movies “Hitch,” “Ever After: A Cinderella Story” and “Sweet Home Alabama,” and stars
‘The Secret: Dare to Dream’
Great
Fair
Andy Tennant
Katie Holmes, Josh Lucas, Sarah Hoffmeister, Celia Weston, Jerry O’Connell.
Rated PG
Bad
Good
Bomb
Katie Holmes, who portrays Miranda Wells, a widow and mother of three
struggling to make ends meet.
The film opens with Miranda doing something many of us can relate to — calling a bill collector to work out a payment plan.
Struggling to make ends meet, the single mom works at a busy seafood restaurant. On top of all that, she needs a root canal that will cost her more money because she doesn’t have health insurance.
As if things can’t get any worse, a storm is brewing in the sky above.
She picks up her kids from school but encounters yet another obstacle before she can get dinner on the table.
Miranda crashes into the back of a stranger’s truck causing her front bumper to fall off.
What she doesn’t realize is the stranger, Bray Johnson (Josh Lucas), knows who she is. In fact, he had been looking for her earlier that day, carrying a large yellow envelope in his hand.
At this point, we can only assume it’s yet another bill Miranda has to pay.
It’s ironic that Miranda hits the truck of her possibly creepy mystery man, but then she invites him back to her place so he can fix her van.
Nothing else can go wrong, right? Wrong.
The storm comes in the middle of the night, and Miranda wakes up to find a tree in her kitchen and a hole in her roof.
At this point, all you really want is for this woman to have a good day. So you’ll notice that things only seem to go well for her when Bray is around. He comes back the next afternoon to check on the family and offers to fix the hole in the roof for free.
The film is a bit predictable, sure. But things get complicated when we learn that Miranda has a wealthy boyfriend, who is also her boss at the restaurant, and Bray seems to have a wife at home awaiting his return.
The plot thickens further when Miranda’s boyfriend becomes her fiance.
Between her bad luck and Bray’s will to save her, the three children grow an attachment to the guy who’s always there to help. He and Miranda begin to form an unspoken romance they can’t act on, even though something always brings them together.
Later, a secret that ties the two together is revealed — and it’s also the reason Bray’s in town.
That revelation fills Miranda with anger and a lot to think about. She banishes Bray from her home. But she can’t go back to the way her life was without him.
The viewer is left to answer their own questions as to what happens to the couple next. It’s safe to say that in the end, Miranda’s mindset has changed.
Byrne’s book “The Secret” had worldwide success when it was released in 2006 and has been translated into 50 languages.
The film, not nearly as impactful as the book, will be available to rent for $19.99 through streaming services including Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video,
VUDU and cable providers starting July 31.