Just had to say something...

Rating: Null/10 (23 July 2002)

I read the book by Nicholas Sparks right before the movie came out on video. When it did, I had to go to the video store three times before I got to rent it, cuz it was always sold out. But, I finally got it and at first I was so stunned at how diffrent the movie and the book was that I did'nt give it much of a chance. But it had an effect on me.
So I watched it again. And there was a lot I missed. So I watched it again, and still more I had missed. I found the movie to be beautiful and touching and while I still prefer the book (of course) the movie has sooo many attributes.
Yes, I think it is possible for people to fall in love the way the two do in the story. I don't think it was any more filled with cliche's than the cliche's that most teenagers are living with everyday. When your young, some worry more about the way they are appear than who they actually are. And it often takes a lot of time and a few more years of life experiance to realize what being a mature, rational, loving human being, really means. I thought the way the teenage boy morphs into a young man was well written and wonderfully acted. I could gush all day about the job Mandy Moore and Shane West did in this movie.
My only gripe with this movie was that the screenplay so obviously skimmed over the religous aspect of the book. Those who've complained that the movie was too preachy, would be shocked at how the book was actually written in comparison.
I understand that in todays society of political correctness, the screenwriter, most likely, thought it would alienate too much of the audiance to leave in all the spiritual and religious aspects, but that was the biggest part of the book, and at first I felt cheated by the re-write. I think the movie would have been better, in fact, if it had stood by the original story. But, the powers that be have more control over these things than I, so be it.
But, had I never read the book, I would have no complaints. It is a very beautiful movie. I wish I had seen it when I was 17 instead of 27.