Well, I, for one, rather enjoyed it

The criticisms that others have made of the film are legitimate. The lack of facial growth for the male characters requires more than a little suspension of disbelief -- but then again, major Hollywood movies (Cast Away excepted) have employed this convention too.

But there are a lot of good things about the film too.

Above all, the main actress (as is often the case in Mormon movies) is extraordinarily beautiful. What's more, she's the most talented member of the cast, and all of her scenes ring true. Very convincing performance, regardless of how one feels about the material. Furthermore, her character is very believably written, a good person who is realistically flawed, but whose flaws only make her more appealing.

The two major male actors, by contrast, aren't nearly as good. Adequate, I'd say. Their roles aren't as dimensionally written as Megan's, either; in a sense, they're more symbolic than naturalistic: Mark representing The World and its values, and Chris representing The Church and its values.

The basic premise of the movie -- nerd vs. jock for the heart of the head cheerleader -- is a staple of cinema, but it often works, and it certainly works here, for a very interesting reason:

*SPOILERS FOLLOW*

On the island, Chris does seem rather judgmental, socially awkward, bitter, and difficult to get along with, while Mark is smoother and seemingly sincere. Chris's good qualities -- his determinedness, his ingenuity, his work ethic, in contrast to Mark's laziness and defeatism -- aren't so easily appreciated. Therefore, it's quite believable that Megan would initially choose Mark and only later realize that she was wrong and choose Chris.

And while Chis may be uncompromising in his beliefs, at the end he shows the sincerity of his love in the fact that even though he recognizes that he is Megan's second choice, he doesn't hold that against her -- doesn't resort to a puerile "sour grapes" reaction or an "I told you so" -- but welcomes her into his heart.

I do wish that the final scene, where Megan finds Chris at the beach, had been played for a bigger emotion from his part, though. As soon as he saw her, his heart should have leaped. Then again, the way it was played was probably more naturalistic.

Also, I wish that Chris and Megan had shared at least one warmer scene on the island, to better establish their future relationship. Then again, here too one might say that having them fight more often than not does show an underlying caring for the other person's opinion but without being on-the-nose about it, and is also more realistic of relationships in general.

As for the religious angle, it's not as heavy-handed as it is in some non-Mormon Christian films. Megan's initial wariness about exhibiting her religious affiliation is something that, presumably, many people brought up in a faith-based community who then inhabit a secular world (where no one else shares their background) experience.

One more thing: the island scenery (especially the waterfall) is quite beautiful.

For a film with presumably a very limited budged, it was altogether enjoyable.

PS: Another actress in movie, Kristen Marie Jensen, is also stupendously beautiful (with appealingly longer hair than she currently possesses) -- so much so that I wish the movie had done more with her character.