The Secret: Dare to Dream

Adapted from Rhonda Byrne's 2006 bestseller The Secret. The book was not fiction but a self-help text arguing that thought attracts reality; the film tries to extract a love story from it. Miranda is a widow with three children and a pile of debt. Her roof leaks, her car is broken and a hurricane is coming. Then a man called Bray appears: he hits her car, then offers to fix the roof, then solves every problem in her life in turn. He also has a letter he is supposed to give her. The film's problem is its source: the idea that thinking well brings good things loses its credibility the moment it is laid over things as concrete as debt and grief. Bray's ability to fix everything is the script taking the easy road. Katie Holmes plays Miranda and Josh Lucas plays Bray. Andy Tennant directed. A soft, harmless romantic drama. Familiar for anyone who liked the book, and empty for anyone looking for tension or realism in the plot.