When you hear the name “Nicholas Sparks,” you either cheer or groan, there’s no in between. The sappy, cliché romance novel- turned blockbusters have been turning teenage girls into pools of tears for years. In honor of the latest of these films, “The Choice,” hitting theatres on February 5th of this year, here is my top 5 countdown to the best Sparks movie, but warning: Spoiler alert!
5. “The Last Song”
This film centers around Miley Cyrus’s character Ronnie. The typical angsty and emotional teen is only broken down by the love and attention of the good-natured Will and we follow their whirlwind romance until it’s shattered by tragedy. Unsurprisingly Ronnie’s father is ripped from this world by stomach cancer just as she is starting to love him. They re-unite in the most romantic way… at her father’s funeral. The movie ends when Will reveals that he is going to upend his entire life and move to New York to be closer to the girl that he just got back together with. This movie made the top five because of its killer cast (aka Liam Hemsworth).
4. “Dear John”
“Dear John” is a tale of bad timing. John, the male protagonist, is home on leave from the army. He meets a girl named Savannah and they fall in love. When he has to go back to the army, they promise each other that they will wait. He finally returns from his tour and 9/11 happens so they are separated again. After the first hour of the film has built up their relationship, it ends because Savannah marries her childhood best friend. In the ultimate act of selflessness, he donates his entire inheritance (from his recently deceased dad) to save Savannah’s husband who is dying from Melanoma and then never sees her again. I liked this movie because of how selfless John is at the end.
3. “Safe Haven”
A young woman named Katie runs away from her abusive, alcoholic husband, Kevin, and ends up in (surprise, surprise) a small town. She reluctantly enters into a relationship with Alex, a store owner and widower. Her husband manages to track her down by abusing his power as a detective and appears to take Katie back. The movie goes up in flames (literally) as Kevin, her husband, tries to burn Alex’s house down. There’s a struggle but Katie manages to kill him. The movie ends with Katie and Alex even more in love after the harrowing ordeal. This movie is one of my favorites because it’s almost a thriller. You are on the edge of your seat the entire time, worrying about whether or not Katie’s husband will find her.
2. “A Walk To Remember”
Landon Carter, the bad boy of his high school, is forced to do community service after a prank gone wrong lands a boy in the hospital. He is thrown together with Jamie Sullivan, the reverend’s daughter and exact opposite of Landon. They begin to spend more and more time together and fall in love, but the honeymoon phase doesn’t last long because Landon finds out that Jamie is dying of cancer. He spends the second half of the movie fulfilling her far-fetched (and slightly depressing) “before I die” wishlist. The movie ends with the end of one life (Jamie’s) but the beginning of another; Landon turns his life around and decides to go to medical school. This movie is number two on my list because of how much Landon changes within a two hour time span.
1. “The Notebook”
What Sparks movie ranking would be complete without “The Notebook”? It is considered a classic amongst romantics and teenage girls alike. It begins with a pair of starcrossed lovers, the rich, society girl (Allie), and the poor, blue-collar boy (Noah) falling in love during one “magical” summer. They are forced apart when Allie’s parents decide that this boy isn’t good enough for their daughter. He writes her 365 letters but somehow Allie’s mother intercepts every single one, so they lose touch. They reconnect just in time to ruin Allie’s engagement. Allie runs back to Noah to find that he has built her dream home down to the last detail (creepy!) and finally discovers the (365) letters and they live happily ever after, which is surprising for a sparks movie. “The Notebook” is number one because how could it not be? It is the epitome of Sparks movies and never gets old.
