The Last Song (PG)

The novels of Nicholas Sparks have inspired some of the most repellent movies – Message in a Bottle, The Notebook – ever to besmirch the name of romance.

The standard of mawkishness has been resolutely maintained in this story of filial reconciliation. Miley Cyrus plays a sulky teen who's been parked with her estranged Dad (Greg Kinnear) for the summer and wastes no time in spelling out her resentment of the old man for divorcing her mum (Kelly Preston). But everything's OK, really, because she a) is a musical prodigy who's got a place at Juilliard and b) wins the heart of the local hunk, who just happens to be scion of a millionaire. It's all as bland as a milkshake, and notable only for the pouty non-acting of Cyrus herself: think of a junior version of Katie Price without the boob job and tiara.