I am not against schmaltzy fairy tale romance novels and films. There is a legitimate need for them. But for my tastes, you have to spice it up a bit with more edgy characters. Because real life is populated by them.
First let's get some of the unrealistic inconsistencies out of the way. They don't bother me much, but I feel obligated to mention them. North Carolina is a wide state. Wake Forest university is nowhere near the mountains of Western North Carolina, where the bull rider guy is obviously from.
The characters are seen at the beach, in Charlotte, in the Raleigh area, and the western mountains, as if these places are all easily accessible. They are not. Where do the characters sleep when they go to all these places? There were no scenes at Best Western motels.
Where does the guy actually live? They show a barn, but it's not at his family ranch. Is it close to the college? Why? Are there a lot of rodeos near the Raleigh area? We only see him competing locally and once in Tennessee, so how does he move up the ranks to one of the best in the world? Aren't most guys competing in Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Montana? Wouldn't you have to travel there frequently? What does he do for a living during the week if he does not live on the ranch? When you have a barbecue meal at a lake, your mouth will be covered in beef particles and sauce, and you will have to go to the bathroom within an hour and a quarter. But in these movies, everyone's mouth is fresh and they don't need a bathroom.
Alan Alda is too young to have been in World War 2. He is also Italian. The girl is actually from the Carolinas in real life, not Jersey, and the guy is from Hawaii. Neither speak with an accent, nor did characters in other Sparks' movies.
It would have been more interesting if the Jewish character was a bull rider, but couldn't compete on the Sabbath. The main girl looks like she weighs about 90 pounds. The Eastwood guy is only 5'11, but the girl is so short, that he appears as tall as his dad.
Kudos to Sparks or the screenwriter for pointing out that modern art is complete B.S. Yet we are still expected to respect the women's love for it.
The music is too much. Too manipulative. Come on.
At one point the Austrian lady goes to some hillbillies' house. They should have made those characters lash out at her with some primitive anti-Semitism. That's what was going on in real life at the time.
The best thing in this picture is the photography. That includes the landscapes and the bull riding. Nice use of slow motion. At one point we see copious amounts of bull spittle flying through the air.
I really got a sense of how bull riders both fear and respect the bull. I had no idea that there is a drawing to see which bull you ride.
Go into this one expecting clichés, obligatory exploitation of hunky men, and a tidy ending. Accept it for what it is and deal with it. But be prepared for a fairly sterile tear jerker that goes on endlessly.
First let's get some of the unrealistic inconsistencies out of the way. They don't bother me much, but I feel obligated to mention them. North Carolina is a wide state. Wake Forest university is nowhere near the mountains of Western North Carolina, where the bull rider guy is obviously from.
The characters are seen at the beach, in Charlotte, in the Raleigh area, and the western mountains, as if these places are all easily accessible. They are not. Where do the characters sleep when they go to all these places? There were no scenes at Best Western motels.
Where does the guy actually live? They show a barn, but it's not at his family ranch. Is it close to the college? Why? Are there a lot of rodeos near the Raleigh area? We only see him competing locally and once in Tennessee, so how does he move up the ranks to one of the best in the world? Aren't most guys competing in Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Montana? Wouldn't you have to travel there frequently? What does he do for a living during the week if he does not live on the ranch? When you have a barbecue meal at a lake, your mouth will be covered in beef particles and sauce, and you will have to go to the bathroom within an hour and a quarter. But in these movies, everyone's mouth is fresh and they don't need a bathroom.
Alan Alda is too young to have been in World War 2. He is also Italian. The girl is actually from the Carolinas in real life, not Jersey, and the guy is from Hawaii. Neither speak with an accent, nor did characters in other Sparks' movies.
It would have been more interesting if the Jewish character was a bull rider, but couldn't compete on the Sabbath. The main girl looks like she weighs about 90 pounds. The Eastwood guy is only 5'11, but the girl is so short, that he appears as tall as his dad.
Kudos to Sparks or the screenwriter for pointing out that modern art is complete B.S. Yet we are still expected to respect the women's love for it.
The music is too much. Too manipulative. Come on.
At one point the Austrian lady goes to some hillbillies' house. They should have made those characters lash out at her with some primitive anti-Semitism. That's what was going on in real life at the time.
The best thing in this picture is the photography. That includes the landscapes and the bull riding. Nice use of slow motion. At one point we see copious amounts of bull spittle flying through the air.
I really got a sense of how bull riders both fear and respect the bull. I had no idea that there is a drawing to see which bull you ride.
Go into this one expecting clichés, obligatory exploitation of hunky men, and a tidy ending. Accept it for what it is and deal with it. But be prepared for a fairly sterile tear jerker that goes on endlessly.