Nothing but a pretty picture full of clichés

Rating: 3/10 (14 January 2009)

To be honest I'm quite amazed to see this movie so highly rated. In many ways it's just as bad as those Paris Hilton films and should be rated accordingly. Yes I do realize that "Notebook" is a chick flick and being a chick myself, I do like to watch romantic, "heart-warming" films from time to time. But to enjoy such a film I need to be able to connect with the story and sympathize with the characters, and I absolutely couldn't do that in "The Notebook." It's so pathetic, made up of clichés, mediocre acting and entirely predictable plot twists, that it feels like a soap-opera squeezed into a couple of hours. Rich girl falls for poor boy (could as well be poor girl - rich boy, but that would be Cinderella). They are having a summer romance with dances and kisses in the breaking waves. Then the summer's over - real life begins, and the lovebirds are being separated by the evil rich parents (how unexpected). The boy then writes the girl letter a day for a whole year (no kidding), but the evil mom keeps the mail to herself, and in the end he gives up. By the way, the story is set in 1930s-40s, however the historical aspect has little impact on the story, merely allowing the heroine to wear red lipstick, curly retro hairdos and dresses - this is basically the only element adding color to the story. Oh, yeah, there is war in the film too. But it doesn't seem to be a big deal. The main hero enlists and there is a quick glimpse of him on the battlefield as he watches his best friend die, but the next moment he's back home and never mentions war or his friend again. The pretty red-haired heroine, gets compassionate and is once seen helping out at a hospital for the wounded in the war - her spotless nurse's dress and hat look so picture perfect, as if she's about to pose for a magazine. No wonder she catches the eye of a certain heavily bandaged soldier. In a short while he's miraculously healed - not even a scratch left, and turns out to be a super rich-super handsome guy (what a coincidence) - a perfect candidate for a fiancé. In the meantime the poor guy is still unable to like another woman and instead gets busy restoring the old house, secretly hoping that his dream girl will be back once more in his arms. The finished house looks so impressive (and absolutely impossible to have been built by one single carpenter) that it attracts the press. When the girl see the picture of the guy and his house she faints immediately (is it a comedy after all?) and decides to take a ride to ask the guy if "he's OK." To be honest, till the last moment I had hoped that the movie will have at least one surprise in store. None. The story was getting cheesier with every minute. The fact there is a sub-plot - showing an old man reading the love story to an old woman, doesn't make the film any more original, as everything in it is as predictable as the rest.