Product ReviewsThe Notebook (DVD, 2005)

Chick flick that is more realistic than most.

I purchased it, because I had seen it previously. Found it to be heart warming and wonderful scenes that were eye candy.

As a writer, the storyline is in reality 'a modern guidebook for dating' in disguise. It shows to men, that even though the woman you love is with another man. Keep your distance and if it is meant to be it will work out. Additionally, notice how the guy never asks/suggests/tempts the woman into having sex? It was not until the woman (in the very affectionate couple) mentions the desire to have sex. By the way they were acting, I thought they were already having sex. It is just something that a guy would not be reading (out loud) where nurses and others can hear. Besides the woman has Alzheimer's he would not want to offend the woman that may not see him as some pervert.

It is obvious that the writer is a guy. What the storyline also does as a result of it being written by a guy, makes it seem that the guy seems to do everything to make the relationship work. All the woman ever did, was miss him. Or forget him.

The visit with the children seems out of place. The kids asking dad to come home, because it would be wasting his time to continue to expect any improvement in mom. It is almost like the kids were saying forget her, like she forgot us.

Of course, I ask what is the ulterior motive of the kids asking the old man to come home. Dad has had a (mild) heart attack already, then had another shortly thereafter. Presumably died in his sleep from what? Love? It seems that the kids want dad to be the live-in babysitter. After dad had the heart attack, the kids never reappeared to even check on him. The kids never seemed to learn to have love, like mom & dad.

Then there is the implausibility that Alzheimer's patients, and common everyday senior citizens are housed together in the same hospital. If that was so, why couldn't they share the same room? Of course, there was no mention of any subsequent weddings that involved them both. Even though they had kids.

I forget the leading actresses name, but her clothes was outstanding. Something I would expect from a retired actress, not from some wife of a working stiff, as her husband is supposed to be.

Otherwise, if one ignores the glaring flaws in the storyline. It shows a love that stands the test of time. If it could only be that way in life that both members of a couple simultaneously die in each others arms.

If you liked this, I would recommend the movie Hope Floats. Even with the wild antics of many of the characters, it it seems a much better (and more realistic) love story. Now, if they did a "The Notebook" style sequel love story of Hope Floats, it might be more interesting.Read full review...

Sappy Romance Anyone?

A thoughtful, emotionally rich film in which we see that great love, like deep faith, is forged on doubt, trials, and hardships. Only then does it deliver its deepest rewards.
A young woman comes to the coastal town of Seabrook, North Carolina in the 1940's to spend the summer with her family. Still in her teens, Allie Hamilton meets local boy Noah Calhoun at a Carnival. Though she is wealth and he a poor mill worker, during the course of one passionate and carefree summer in the South, the two fall deeply in love. Circumstances drive them apart but both continue to be haunted by memories of each other. When Noah returns home from the war years later, Allie is irrevocably gone from his life, but not from his heart.Read full review...

Amazing and Heartfelt Love Story

I really enjoy this movie. It is an amazing and heartfelt love story of a couple Noah and Allie who met as young teenagers and fell in love. They were separated by the young woman Allie and her parents moving. The young man Noah wrote her letters everyday for a year. However, she didn't receive them because her mother kept them from her. Later on they reunite their love and passion and end up together. Such a great movie!Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: koco_inc

Get a hankie

First off, I am 40 and I am the father of a 22 year old daughter. She is always a good sport about watching movies with me and only complains a little about my taste in dvds because she knows that I will choke down any chick flick she wants me to see to return the favor. I just knew that an evening with "The Notebook" was going to be another ho-hum night for me while she got to cry about how romantic it all was and talk to me about the hot guy in the beard like I was her girlfriend or something. That said,I found myself enjoying the way this film was put together. Don't get me wrong. The back story is common and except for the authorship of the notebook, there are really no surprises, so it is right there with most of the silly romance movies in that respect. But, the interaction between the two older folks is worth every moment spent wondering when would be a good time for a bathroom break. Gina Rowlands was a convincing Alzheimer's patient who made you feel her confusion. James Garner was absolutely wonderful and, don't tell anybody,but, when he cried, so did I. Of course I got up to get a soda and mumbled something to my daughter about silly love stories, wiping my eyes the whole time.Read full review...

Great love story

I bought this because I love a good love story. It appealed to me. I had seen his movie many years ago and enjoyed it then. I didnt realize that I had seen it till the very end when the last scene was shown. I wont say what the scene is so as not to spoil it for the reviewer in case they have not seen the movie yet. The movie is a heart warming tale of a couple that is meant to be together. A love that stands the test of time and the world. I only wish this movie could have been done without the curse words used. Although, they were few by todays movies standards, still did they have to use them? I think it should have gotten a R rating as I would not let my small children watch it because of the sexual situations throughout the movie. Other than that it is a wonderful movie and a good Love Story. Enjoy!Read full review...

BEHIND EVERY GREAT LOVE IS THE STORY BEHIND IT!

Features Actors: Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, Joan Allen, James Gardner & Gina Rowlands.
Running Time:124 Min.
Rating: PG-13

For Allie (Rachel McAdams) and Noah (Ryan Gosling), their love story is one fraught with heartache, passion, time, and destiny. But before we can get to that, flash forward decades to an older gentleman named Duke (James Garner) visits an elderly woman (Gina Rowlands) suffering from Alzheimer's in a nursing home. In the midst of her debilitating disease, he begins to read her a story, the story of Allie and Noah and how they met, fell in love, and discovered all the complications that go along with romance.

Noah is a mill worker still living with his father (playwright Sam Shepard) in a rundown house, while Allie comes from a long line of wealth and deals with her snobbish mother (Joan Allen, The Contender) who thinks that Noah isn't worthy of her status. When the summer comes to an end, Noah and Allie are forced to go their separate ways, yet never leaving each other's thoughts. Seven years later finds Allie engaged to a wealthy southern socialite (James Marsden) and Noah putting the finishing touches on a plantation farmhouse that he promised Allie he'd restore for her during their summer of love. Through a series of chance encounters, Allie and Noah meet once more and find the spark of their previous romance is still very much alive. This forces Allie to make a decision that will alter both her and Noah's lives…forever.

Love story of our time!Tear-jerker! Something for everyone lust, love, love lost, love found, love lost again, trials and tribulations, sweeping music, upper-class parents, a lower class lover, romantic nostalgia of a time since forgotten, a fiancé that isn't right for one of the romantic leads, reminiscences, old people in love.

Hope this helps you deicde!Would recommend to buy or rent!Thanks for reading! :)Read full review...

The Notebook (DVD, 2005)

Love the movie!

"For Allie (Rachel McAdams) and Noah (Ryan Gosling), their love story is one fraught with heartache, passion, time, and destiny. But before we can get to that, flash forward decades to an older gentleman named Duke (James Garner) visits an elderly woman (Gina Rowlands) suffering from Alzheimer's in a nursing home. In the midst of her debilitating disease, he begins to read her a story, the story of Allie and Noah and how they met, fell in love, and discovered all the complications that go along with romance.

Noah is a mill worker still living with his father (playwright Sam Shepard) in a rundown house, while Allie comes from a long line of wealth and deals with her snobbish mother (Joan Allen, The Contender) who thinks that Noah isn't worthy of her status. When the summer comes to an end, Noah and Allie are forced to go their separate ways, yet never leaving each other's thoughts. Seven years later finds Allie engaged to a wealthy southern socialite (James Marsden) and Noah putting the finishing touches on a plantation farmhouse that he promised Allie he'd restore for her during their summer of love. Through a series of chance encounters, Allie and Noah meet once more and find the spark of their previous romance is still very much alive. This forces Allie to make a decision that will alter both her and Noah's lives…forever.

Love story of our time!Tear-jerker! Something for everyone lust, love, love lost, love found, love lost again, trials and tribulations, sweeping music, upper-class parents, a lower class lover, romantic nostalgia of a time since forgotten, a fiancé that isn't right for one of the romantic leads, reminiscences, old people in love."Read full review...

OH this move is the BEST !!!

OH this move is the BEST !!! This has been one of my favorites forever...If you have never seen this move DO, you wont regret it...Its one I had to get into my collection and you should too. I received my movie fast and in great condition.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: new | Sold by: remixusa

Awesome move! A must see!

This movie is not just any love story, it is a tale of lost love because of lifestyles, time and endurance. The characters are awesome and transport you back in time and keep you there until its time to come home.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: cut2clear

Wrong Face Put on Alzheimer's Disease

This movie is a nice story, but the face they put on Alzheimer's Disease is all wrong! This women wears designer suits, has her hair and makeup done, and speaks with interest about her husband's story that she has forgotten. That is not Alzheimer's! An alzheimer's patient that does not remember this much of their life would be in mid-stages of alzheimer's and would be subdued or withdrawn in social or mentally challenging situations. Yes, she is probably dressed at the facility that she is living in, but no Alzheimer patient looks that good. They don't care how they look, what they wear, or if they bathe! They are argumentative and paranoid. None of these symptoms are shown in this movie! She also would have difficulty with communication and she has none in this movie. In fact she is quite articulate! BOGUS!Read full review...