2007 December 05 archive at Poshdeluxe

in addition to celebrating kc at girlie night on monday, we also watched… “the notebook.”

ok, let me just say that not only had i never seen this movie before, but i also actively resisted seeing it for several reasons. one, my “competitor” on chemistry 101, nicole (the massage therapist from arkansas) loved loved LOVED this movie. after we discussed her distaste for subtitles (my favorite movie choice was “amelie”), she went OFF about “the notebook” and how AMAZING it was and how the old couple dies in each other’s arms because they totally have TRUE LOVE and her speech ended with the repetitive shrieking of, “i want that. I… WANT… THAT!”

that was a big reason.

the other main obstacle between me and a viewing of “the notebook” is the fact that it’s based on a book by nicholas sparks.

i hate nicholas sparks. he’s like the thomas kinkade of best-selling authors.

and yes, i *have* read one of his books, so this is actually an informed opinion. and no, i will never, ever, ever get those three hours of my life back.

in the winter of 2002, i was traveling with seth e. and ryan to celebrate NYE with our dear friend, amber, in boston. at the airport, i decided to pick up a paperback, and you know, why do i always think this is a good idea at the time and then realize that this has never, ever, EVER been a good idea? ok, with the exception of that allison krausse book i bought. and victoria beckham’s autobiography.

ok so maybe it works out sometimes. anyway, i saw a book with mandy moore on the cover and–

yes, mandy moore was on the cover.

and yes, this is the reason i purchased the book.

and yes, i realize that i’m not really in a place to judge something like “the notebook” when i love mandy moore and will see any movie that she makes, with the exception of that one with robin williams.

but i think you already knew that you can’t *really* trust my judgement when it comes to film (see: my thousand of “you’ve got mail” references on this blog).

ANYWAY

the point is, i bought the nicholas sparks book, “a walk to remember,” cos it was going to be a mandy moore movie, and i was curious about the story.

well, guess what. the book was terrible. thanks for NOTHING, MANDY MOORE!

it was one of those gushy, over-the-top, hyper emotional teen romance stories where there’s a good girl and a rebel boy, and GASP the good girl has cancer, omgggg, AND YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE THIS BUT THE REBEL BOY FALLS IN LOVE WITH HER and then she changes his life and then she DIES but it’s ok, cos she has given him the power of love and her memory will LIVE ON FOREVER.

even worse, nicholas sparks has about the same writing ability as i did when i was the co-editor-in-chief of our high school’s literary magazine, “graffiti.” i know, AWESOME name. seriously, though, this man cannot write. and he makes all kinds of grammatical errors– aren’t there people out there paid to check this kind of stuff? or did spell check not exist in 2002? it just makes me SO MAD that nicholas spark can make millions of dollars from stories JUST LIKE the ones i sent to merlin’s pen magazine in 1996. stories merlin’s pen REJECTED, btw.

honestly, i was disgusted. i almost threw the book into the trash cos i wanted to make a symbolic gesture so badly. but then i realized i might get a dollar for it at half price books, and hey, it’s a dollar!

so yeah, you can see why i never wanted to watch “the notebook.”

but… it was girlie night. and erica and selina kept saying how much they loved it, even though they admitted that it was cheesy.

AND it has ryan gosling in it, who is hot. PLUS, i love rachael mcadams. not only did she totally rule in “mean girls” (”OMG, i love yr bracelet! where’d you get it?”), but she also wore her hair like this for a while:

anyone who can pull off pink hair *better* than jem DEMANDS RESPECT.

so i settled into erica’s couch and told myself to put away my hatred of nicholas sparks and enjoy the movie for what it is: a sweet, old fashioned romance.

and you know what? i actually did enjoy it. well, mostly.

the chemistry between rachel and ryan is AMAZING. honestly, whenever they kissed, i was glad i wasn’t anywhere in the near vicinity cos i’m pretty sure i would’ve been tazed.

also, rachel’s outfits in the film are exquisite. maybe one day h&m will come out with a line called, “rich girl from the 1940s” so i can dress like this:

the hat! the gloves! the curls!

the “old people in love” part of the movie was nice, too. when i lived over on bull creek, i’d see the same little old couple every morning, walking down the street and holdings hands. it was almost always the best thing i’d see all day.

and holla, gena rowlands looks FANTASTIC! and she’s like seventy-four!

if gena rowlands wrote a book about “how to look like a stone cold fox when you’re seventy-four” i would soooo buy it. especially if mandy moore was on the cover.

so yes, all of these things were fun and great in the movie.

but still, it was just too sappy for me (and that is saying a lot, cos i still tear up during “love, actually” when that guy holds up the signs for kiera knightley to read). i mean, there was the whole war thing and her nurse’s outfit and that scene where they were surrounded by swans in the lake (what WAS that) and this line, “Q: do you think our love can take us away together? A: i think our love can do anything we want it to” and COME ON.

plus, james marsden is never, ever a convincing love interest.

i knew from the minute i saw him in the film that she would choose ryan instead. why? oh, maybe because james marsden NEVER gets picked. like when he was cyclops. or when he was the prince in “enchanted.” i’m sure people in hollywood automatically call his agent any time there is a “guy who seems awesome and attractive but… yeah… i like this other guy better” role in a script.

my personal theory on james marsden is that his face is annoying. but anyway, if they had actually cast someone like, say, timothy olyphant in this role, i might have actually *cared* when rachel mcadams was so “torn” between her two loves and it was such a HARD, GUT-WRENCHING DECISION and blah blah blah. whatever, lady. you’re choosing between annoying face and hottie mchottington. give me a break.

in the end, the movie did make me tear up a little… but only because i was thinking about how rachel and ryan used to date in real life and how they were totally my favorite celebrity couple and seemed so adorable and happy together. and then they broke up.