Nights in Rodanthe (2008)
Directed by George C. Wolfe
Adrienne is trying to decide whether to stay in her unhappy marriage or not, and her life changes when Paul, a doctor who is travelling to reconcile with his estranged son, checks into an inn where she is staying.
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What critics compared Nights in Rodanthe to
With “The Notebook,” “Nights in Rodanthe,” “Message in a Bottle,” “A Walk to Remember,” and the recent “Dear John,” Sparks has hit pay dirt, and it’s hard to blame the guy for essentially recycling the same elements of romance and doomsday to make millions from readers all over the world.
Playing to a natural glumness that passes for Deep Feelings, she takes the part of rebellious Ronnie Miller in this adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' ( "Nights in Rodanthe" ) book by him and debuting screenwriter Jeff Van Wie about a first heartbreak brought about by a nasty rebellious attitude and sour rejection of all in her path.
With "The Last Song," Sparks - the bestselling novelist whose books, including "The Notebook," "Nights in Rodanthe" and, most recently, "Dear John" have become Hollywood's go-to source for soapy melodrama - sticks to the formula that got him this far: a tale brimming with secrets, lies, regret, longing, misunderstandings, heartbreak, reconciliation, romance set to an obligatory musical montage, the inevitable subplot involving a building in need of construction, all played out in a gorgeous Southern coastal community (this time, it's Georgia's Tybee Island) populated by mostly gorgeous citizens.
His other tearjerking adaptations (The Notebook, A Walk To Remember, Nights In Rodanthe, Dear John) have experienced varying degrees of success, but The Last Song is bound to be a box office hit, due to the popularity of its young star, tween sensation Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana).
Screenwriters Ann Peacock and John Romano based their screenplay for the movie on a novel by best-selling author Nicholas Sparks, who previously provided Hollywood with "Message in a Bottle," "A Walk to Remember," and "The Notebook."
The actors, who’ve been paired before (Unfaithful), have chemistry, and they give their characters complexity beyond the made-for-TV direction by George C. Wolfe and the weepy material adapted from the Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook) novel.
I will admit a certain fondness for two previous Sparks' adaptations, Message in a Bottle and The Notebook , but this isn't in the same league.
However, the film version is far from the moving and heartfelt tugs Sparks’ The Notebook created when brought to the screen.
“Nights in Rodanthe” is the latest big screen adaptation of the sub-Erich Segal stylings of best-selling hack Nicholas Sparks, who was also responsible for such cloying crapola as “Message in a Bottle, “ “A Walk to Remember” and the monstrous “The Notebook.,“…
Brie Larson (2010's " Greenberg "), an eye-catcher as Envy Adams; Aubrey Plaza (2009's " Funny People "), hilarious as the acerbic Julie Powers; Mae Whitman (2008's " Nights in Rodanthe "), comically inspired by giving Roxy Richter a southern drawl; Jason Schwartzman (2007's " The Darjeeling Limited ") and Chris Evans (2010's " The Losers "), capturing the different sides of pomposity as evil exes Gideon Gordon Graves and Lucas Leereally, the name-drops and compliments could go on and on for one of the strongest ensemble casts of the year.If the romantic showcase at its center is more a base hit after two strikes rather than a home run, then everything else in "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" is like a World Series victory.
The buzz: If you love nothing but action movies, dramas based on Nicholas Sparks books (“The Notebook,” “Nights in Rodanthe”) probably aren’t for you.
All one has to be is familiar with other adaptations of Sparks' oeuvre - "Message in a Bottle" (letters, the ocean, death), "A Walk to Remember" (young love, a single dad, cancer), "The Notebook" (poor troubled young man and young woman with wealthy parents, young love separated by a second man, house building) and even "Nights in Rodanthe" (letter writing, the ocean, death).
But if you’ve seen any other big-screen adaptations of Sparks’s novels - “Message in a Bottle,’’ “A Walk to Remember,’’ “The Notebook,’’ “Nights in Rodanthe’’ - you won’t be too shocked by the road “Dear John’’ travels, or where it winds up.
This time, the author of "The Notebook," "Message in a Bottle," "Nights in Rodanthe," "A Walk to Remember" and this spring's "The Last Song" (starring Miley Cyrus) gives us John (Channing Tatum) and Savannah (Amanda Seyfried of "Mamma Mia!" and "Big Love").
The author of the “The Notebook,” “Message in a Bottle,” and “Nights in Rodanthe” is notorious for his taste in romantic tragedy, which has gifted him a legion of devoted fans, but only a mediocre multiplex output.
But the flaccid backbone of the piece, the sappy story by Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook; Nights in Rodanthe), can't hold up the picture, which melts into a gooey, directionless puddle before the first reel is out.
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It’s an effective, get-out-your-Kleenex model, and the number of books it has powered has been nearly matched by the movie adaptations — “Message in a Bottle,” “Nights in Rodanthe” and “The Notebook” among them — it has inspired.
But I suppose it also should be noted that “The Lucky One” — like “The Notebook,” “Dear John,” “Nights in Rodanthe” and “A Walk to Remember” before it — is based on a Nicholas Sparks novel, and plays like a straight-faced parody of everything you’d expect from a Sparks adaptation.
Yet here we are again after The Last Song, Dear John and Nights in Rodanthe with another romance so predictable you can use it to time three-minute eggs.
The author of such swoon-inducing pop favorites as "Message in a Bottle," "The Notebook" and "Nights in Rodanthe," Sparks gives readers the same warm-fuzzy appeal as a Thomas Kinkade painting, and numerous shots in the film seem to bear the late artist's touch.
Those who can appreciate it on either or both levels will find plenty to adore in the movie, just as in the Sparks movies Message in a Bottle , A Walk to Remember , The Notebook , Nights in Rodanthe , Dear John and The Last Song .
There have been a few strong page-to-cinema Sparks translations in the past (2004's " The Notebook " and 2008's " Nights in Rodanthe ," for example), but there have been even more mediocre ones, like 1999's " Message in a Bottle " and 2010's " The Last Song ."
Diane Lane and Richard Gere worked so well together in 2002's "Unfaithful" that Warner Bros. decided to pair them up in 2008's "Nights in Rodanthe."
The actors, who’ve been paired before (Unfaithful), have chemistry, and they give their characters complexity beyond the made-for-TV direction by George C. Wolfe and the weepy material adapted from the Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook) novel.
The chemistry between Diane Lane and Richard Gere has been proven before (see Unfaithful) so there are definitely some sparks thrown.
This is the third pairing of Richard Gere and Diane Lane, following The Cotton Club and Unfaithful .
"The Lincoln Lawyer" was written by John Romano (2008's " Nights in Rodanthe ") and directed by Brad Furman (whose only previous effort was 2007's direct-to-DVD "The Take") with a seemingly stringent adherence to Michael Connelly's mass-market crime novel of the same name.
What he does do is both clever and plausible, thanks to Connelly’s cunning plotting and John Romano’s sure-handed script (a great leap forward after “Nights in Rodanthe” and “Intolerable Cruelty”).
Based on an airport page turner by Michael Connelly, this is a slickly entertaining if not especially memorable movie filled with twists that director Brad Furman ("The Take") and screenwriter John Romano (his rap sheets includes "L.A. Law" and "Monk," as well as "Nights in Rodanthe") sometimes telegraph well in advance.
But the picture — adapted by John Romano, who wrote episodes of Hill Street Blues, as well as the straightforward and satisfying romance Nights in Rodanthe — finds its groove before long, and it’s a darker one.
Adapted by screenwriter John Romano (whose anemic earlier credits include the Richard Gere-Diane Lane sudser Nights in Rodanthe and the Coen brothers’ aptly titled Intolerable Cruelty), the movie has a revved-up narrative engine and the snappy banter to go with it.
Granted, 2004’s The Notebook established the author’s romantic-drama credentials and created a cinematic subgenre unto itself (Nights in Rodanthe, The Last Song, etc.) but The Choice, scripted by Bryan Sipe, is so patently obvious in its attempts to manipulate emotions that it becomes as bland and cookie-cutter as background static.
Movies based on the author's best-sellers have historically been made with varying degrees of success (some of the best include 2002's " A Walk to Remember ," 2004's " The Notebook ," and 2008's " Nights in Rodanthe "), but at this point they have become so prevalent and their plots so derivative it is easy to guess where each one is headed.
If you like this, try: other Nicholas Sparks films like “Nights in Rodanthe” and “The Lucky One”…
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They do range in quality, but even the best of them, like The Notebook and Nights in Rodanthe, are only mediocre.
Sparks also throws in two saintly seniors, Mrs. Feldman (Irene Ziegler, "Nights in Rodanthe"), a protector, and Alex's Uncle Roger (Red West, "Goodbye Solo"), the twinkly sidekick who doesn't do anything.
I liked Message in a Bottle, Nights in Rodanthe and The Lucky One.
The film is one of the dopiest Sparks-based entries in a list featuring such titles as “The Notebook,” “Message in a Bottle,” “A Walk to Remember,” “Nights in Rodanthe” and “Dear John.”