The most manipulative melodramatic P.O.S. since THE PASSION

Rating: Null/10 (8 June 2004)

Zero stars . . .
Okay, I too saw THE NOTEBOOK at the Seattle Film Festival,and while I heard the sniveling, I have to say this was the most manipulative piece of sh** I've probably ever seen . . . and I've watched independent and mainstream stuff for over 20 years. In fact, I've been to chiropractors who haven't manipulated me as much as this film tried to do.
First off, the dialogue is as original as a romance novel - trite and insipid. Second, the main characters get what they want in a very easy manner . . . dream houses virtually build themselves . . . war injuries appear most conveniently while adding atmospheric melodrama . . . everybody is so Hollywood gorgeous regardless of the circumstances and can spout cute non-sequitors endlessly as the tearducts warrant. The film just screams "LOVE ME . . . LOVE ME !!! . . . and check out the cute outfits I'm wearing in each scene . . . "
And this is just the young romance part of the film. Cut now to 50 years later wherein Altzheimers ravages one of the protagonists, and now you get to the REALLY sappy heart of the story. She can't remember ANYTHING about their love life or family, and James Garner courageously reads their love story to her on a daily . . . I said DAILY basis. . . .while candle-lit, 4-star dinners miraculously appear courtesy of the ultra-nurturing nursing staff of the Altzheimer facility. What is their hope . . . that this 70 or 80-something couple will get it on one last time?? Folks, I've just helped an aged auntie get "managed care" from a nursing home who couldn't care less whether she lived or died from her heart surgery. Am I expected to believe an aged care facility cares whether or not she gets romantically connected and laid??????????????
God, this is so trite and manipulative, I cannot continue with my complaints..
Yes, those wanting a Hollywood manipulative empty, cry-baby experience will get everything they want from this film - IF they haven't seen Ali McGraw in LOVE STORY or BRIAN'S SONG, neither of which are a better film - they're just older, exploitative films. And what really irks this film lover is that THE NOTEBOOK will most probably gross a truck-load of $$, while lesser-known foreign and independent films dealing with this subject matter in a more human, less manipulative fashion fall off the face of the earth.