"The Notebook," which has been adapted from the Nicholas Sparks novel by Jan Sardi and Jeremy Leven, is the story of Allie Hamilton and Noah Calhoun, who meet as teenagers in 1940 in coastal South Carolina. It spoils nothing to divulge that all ends well, although director Nick Cassavetes does everything he can to milk the maximum amount of tragedy from what, properly understood, qualifies as a reasonably happy ending. It can also be filed under the heading "Wealthy People's Problems," as its female protagonist wrinkles her brow and worries whether to marry the guy with the waterfront property or the heir to the cotton fortune (and fiddle-dee-dee, which one will fetch her barbecue?). In other words, "The Notebook" is a chick flick. Indeed, it seems as though the genre of heavy-handed tearjerker has become as reliable a seasonal bonbon at the multiplex as the disaster picture and the comic-book blockbuster. Audiences craving big, gooey over-the-top romance have their must-see summer movie in "The Notebook," a confection syrupy enough to satisfy nearly every cinematic sweet tooth.
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