I would like to meet the woman who broke Nicholas Sparks. In two of his novels which have been adapted to screen, the male lead finds his true love and then loses her no less than twice, the last time because of death. I haven't seen any other movies or read any of the books, but I have seen the book covers, which are rendered in misty watercolor and nostalgic serif fonts. I can only imagine they are similarly themed.
I saw A Walk to Remember a few years ago. I TiVo'd it because I love Mandy Moore. I knew it would be a bit cheesy, though I didn't expect the overt religious themes. The kid from ER plays a "bad boy" who falls in love with über-religious goody-goody Mandy Moore inexplicably. They rehearse for a school play together, and she tells him "Don't fall in love with me", which of course means he falls in love with her. What he doesn't know is that she is suffering from leukemia and doesn't have long to live. Predictably, the kid from ER is angry, but then in a grand romantic gesture, wins her back by building her a telescope. Against all odds, they convince their parents they are in love; they get married, and Mandy Moore dies at the end. If it weren't for the choir-girl themes shoved down my throat, I probably would have cried more than once, which I did at the end.
Last night after after finishing my TiVo and discovering that there was nothing on TV, I raided my sister's DVD collection and found The Notebook.
I didn't cry this much during Steel Magnolias. In this one, Noah Calhoun, the blue-collar lumberyard worker played by the delectable Ryan Gosling, falls in love with wealthy, WASP-y Allie Hamilton (played by the surprisingly likable Rachel McAdams). They spend the summer together, which of course her parents don't approve of, so one day her folks abruptly move her to New York, where she will go to college. Noah writes Allie everyday for a year, and Allie's mother intercepts every letter. Noah enlists in the Army for WWII, where his best friend dies, and when he is released, fixes up an old house and pines away for Allie; Allie accepts a marriage proposal from an old-money Southern gentleman. Then she sees Noah's picture in the paper with the house. Allie races down to see Noah, they fall in love all over again and live happily ever after.
The twist is, this story is being narrated by an old man with a bad heart who lives in a rest home. He reads this same book to an old woman with Alzheimer's who also lives there. As you've probably already guessed, this is Noah and Allie. Allie has moments where she remembers Noah and their love, but ultimately there are more good days than bad. After Noah has a third heart attack, he comes to see Allie after he is released from the hospital, and for a few moments, she does remember. That night, they fall asleep holding hands. The nurse comes in the morning and finds that they have passed away together.
I mean, Jesus. I was weeping like a baby while watching The Notebook. I knew it was sad, but I wasn't expecting that. I've considered it, but I don't know that I have the will to actually read either novel.
Do people even experience this kind of love and devotion anymore?