Sunday Lists: Nicholas Sparks Adaptations Best to Worst

Its Valentine’s Marathon season here so it makes sense to do a romantic themed list post. A few years ago I reviewed the Nicholas Sparks adaptation films and then proceeded in the next few years catching up as the newer films wer released and now I have watched all of them so it seems like a good idea to rank them from best to worst.

I know these films are pretty formulaic and get hates on a lot but somehow the romantic in me who used to read Nicholas Sparks novels has a rather higher tolerance than most for these films. With that said, here are my rankings from best to worst!

1. A Walk to Remember (review)

A Walk to Remember is hands down the best Nicholas Sparks novel that I read and then the movie delivered with the believable roles by Mandy Moore and Shane West. Its sweet and cute and so very heartfelt and for all those reasons, this movie is great and surpasses what any of the other adaptations were able to achieve.

2. The Longest Ride (review)

Call this a bit of a bias. The Longest Ride gets a lot of points for having these two leads. Brit Robertson and Scott Eastwood are two incredible actors and with that said, I thought that their chemistry is fantastic here and the story with the rodeo and everything fits well together here. I was invested into their romance and it ticked all the boxes I liked to see in a romance.

3. The Best of Me (review)

I’m going to be honest that this choice and the next is fairly neck to neck. The Best of Me scores a little higher very much thanks to how they decided to structure the story here. Plus Michelle Monaghan and James Marsden is really nice to watch here. The chemistry works with the parallel of the older and young couple here and it just works pretty well.

4. The Choice (review)

The Choice falls into the 4th spot. To be honest, I actually enjoy rewatching this one quite a bit. Some factors here is that it has nice ending in comparison to the different varying bittersweet endings in the other movies. There are a great many scenes that I love about this one that is a lot of fun to watch mostly because there are some funny moments here and mixed in with some nice romantic ones. The supporting characters and the side stories here also work well here. There are some frustrating moments but my main issue on why this falls short from the previous one because of the final section which felt forced to be longer. Perhaps I am missing the point but it just didn’t work too well for me.

5. The Notebook (review)

For many people, The Notebook is a phenomenal and possibly the adaptation that works the best for Nicholas Sparks adaptations. However, its never been particularly outstanding to me. The only story I love the most is the elderly couple and the ending which is very memorable. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams are very good. Its no doubt that The Notebook is well done and very romantic and for that it gets into the top 5.

6. Message in a Bottle (review)

The first Nicholas Sparks adaptation, Message in a Bottle falls in the 7th spot. My deal with this one is that while it is a pretty good romantic story however also shows off the nature of how Sparks stories are generally structured. Its really a decent one and the main credit goes to Kevin Costner and Robin Wright but then theres always been something that holds me back from going back to watch this one.

7. Safe Haven (review)

As we start heading out of the Top 5, Safe Haven just misses because its chemistry works great and lots of elements work however, as great as Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel works here and theres more than enough cheesy romantic lines to go around, the secret works well enough as the danger element but the twist element here just feels so incredibly out of the blue that is too random for myself and works less and less every time I think about it.

8. Dear John (review)

And then we get to Dear John. Channing Tatum back when this was released was in this cookie cutter roles and for that, I made fun of it so much. While I get the story here and I like the chemistry between Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried. The book worked so much better than this adaptation and because of that, it was disappointing and plus, not a big fan of this ending.

9. The Lucky One (review)

I like Taylor Schilling okay from Orange is the New Black (less and less with every season) and Zac Efron is okay as well in my book. And because of that, I remember liking The Lucky One but remember absolutely nothing about this film except maybe some dog training backplot. For its forgettable story, its bagged a lower spot.

10. Nights in Rodanthe (review)

And then we start hitting the last two. Nights of Rodanthe honestly is just not my cup of tea. I have no problem with Diane Lane or Richard Gere. With what they have, its charming to watch but this movie is just fairly boring. It is as simple as that.

11. The Last Song (review)

The Last Song is the worst of the Nicholas Sparks adaptations. It really has to do with the young cast here that I didn’t enjoy. I liked the father daughter story here more than the romance and the latter has a lot of focus.

Thats it for this best to worst list! How would your rankings be different from mine?

Valentine’s Marathon: The Best of Me (2014)

A year or two ago, I went on a mission to watch all the available Nicholas Sparks movie adaptations.  I wanted it to be a torture fest.  What it turned out to be wasn’t half as bad as I’d expect.  Maybe I grew numb or accustomed to it.  Some of them weren’t so good but I managed to pull something from a good few of them.  Its really not all that surprising, considering that I’m a romantic. My best friends know it, my husband knows it and it makes me highly tolerant of super sappy movies that people criticize.  I acknowledge movie tropes and cliches but I don’t quite mind so much when its in a romance. That is just me. Nicholas Sparks is formulaic, I also acknowledge that.  We’re finally at the next one continuing in this year’s (really sad) Valentine’s marathon (that I didn’t even bother to peg in the title of the few posts).  We’re at The Best of Me.  I really don’t even know what to expect for this one.

Let’s check it out! 🙂

The Best of Me (2014)

Director: Michael Hoffman

Cast: James Marsden, Michelle Monaghan, Luke Bracey, Liana Liberato, Gerald McRaney, Sean Bridgers, Sebastian Arcelus

A pair of former high school sweethearts reunite after many years when they return to visit their small hometown. – IMDB

When I started up The Best of Me, it gave me a prompt to choose between the theatrical version and the “Tears of Joy” edition with alternate ending.  I couldn’t help but laugh a little at it.  I ended up watching the theatrical release and then going back to check out the alternate ending.  I mean, its pretty obvious how it was going to go for both the endings.  I’m going to be reviewing the theatrical release below but let me say that I’m a little disappointed by having the two endings.  Nicholas Sparks adaptations were always formulaic, cheesy, sappy, cliche and anything you can peg onto it but you know what it has for itself.  It owns up all that and I respect it for that.  But, when you give me two endings, that is just trying to be a crowd pleaser when you know, people who don’t like these movies, won’t like it anyways, not just because its a happy or sad ending. Now that I have this rant off my chest, let’s move on!

When we look at Nicholas Sparks, you can’t help but wonder if he is running out of ideas.  The Best of Me is kind of like The Notebook just a lot more natural.  I’m on the record to not be the biggest fan of The Notebook. I feel like The Notebook isn’t really that natural of a romance.  Its hard not to compare because The Best of Me takes the same route.  We pan between the teen and the mature version that had to let go because of whatever reason and then meet again and heal and they are still actually in love with each other but circumstances provide hurdles for them to be together now. Either way, what I’m saying is that (nothing against Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams) but The Best of Me is a smooth romance.  It could be my bias of loving guys like Luke Bracey’s character Dawson, the quiet and mysterious type who just opens up to be the most genuine sort of guy but frustrating because he also has his troubles and makes the stupid decisions of letting go.  Okay, its not that stupid.  On terms of which being more emotionally-manipulative, I actually think The Notebook is since every single one of these gets a comment about how manipulative it is.

I really need to stop comparing the two.  The Best of Me has a really amazing cast.  I love all of them a lot, especially James Marsden.  That man makes any movie better and he’s just so great.  Him and Michelle Monaghan as Amanda had a crazy chemistry.  Those longing gazes and the look.  It works so well together. As much as I like the current rekindling of their romance, I think I actually liked the younger couple more. Luke Bracey and Liana Liberato playing young Dawson and Amanda respectively have this out of the world chemistry.  It took me about two seconds to fall in love with young Dawson and they were just so sweet and cute and funny.  You know, the typical teenage romance before things go awry and out of proportion and all dramatic-like.  There are some pretty groundbreaking romance that just sweeps you away with its originality like In Your Eyes (review HERE) but most of us don’t live in a world where sci-fi rules our life so this is the simple person’s romance and as much as we all desire something different from romance and sure its sappy and all that but deep down, don’t you want to be with that guy who just really loves you.  Its true though, when you find that right person, you do give them the best of you and that is what this is about.  Dawson and Amanda gave each other the best of themselves in their first love when everything was about being happy and all that lovely fluttering butterflies bit before we realize what being hurt from heartbreak feels like and just how long it takes to heal from it. And its not even just the romance.  The part I liked a lot was the supporting actor playing Tuck, an older man that takes in Dawson because he knew that he needed a home and someone to lead him in the right path and a chance of having a future.

 I’m going to be honest here and say that when I watch Nicholas Sparks movies, its not about the story anymore.  Its not even about the romantic-sappy dialogue.  I sometimes even laugh at it a little.  I watch it for the cast and their chemistry.  No storyline beats A Walk to Remember (to me) and none has (so far) chemistry and striking a perfect balance between the two. The Best of Me actually doesn’t rank too low in the adaptations.  I’d say my feelings for it are slightly above Safe Haven and The Lucky One, which is kind of pretty high on my list.  I actually had moments of getting misty in this one because I grew to love the characters so much and its not even just Amanda and Dawson but even the supporting characters.

Overall, The Best of Me is a decent romance.  You just need to know why you are going to see this and have the expectations what these movies embody.  Nicholas Sparks stories iare formulaic as heck and its obvious.  There’s even a little inconsistency between Amanda if that was a criticism there with her accent between being young and older self but you know what, this movie had chemistry that just exploded out of the characters.  It gets a little melodramatic and some dialogue is sappy and cheesy but if you already know what to expect (like I did), this is a decent one.  The Best of Me is not Sparks best adaptation but its also far from the worst.  It created some wonderful characters and the cast was great with the script they had. Plus, it wasn’t just about romance,  But then, I guess you have to be a little like me: a romantic and going into this with low expectations and ready to accept anything that happens. Point is, you know if you’re a person that likes this, if you don’t like Sparks, don’t bother with this one but if you do and tolerate them, then this one is pretty decent.

Have you seen The Best of Me? What do you think of James Marsden (and the rest of the cast)?

This Valentine’s Marathon hasn’t been quite plentiful but we’re wrapping up this weekend with the next Nicholas Sparks movie, The Longest Ride!
I won’t be doing The Choice until I get access to it eventually (but I’m not looking forward to it).
I’ll see if I can do something special on February 14th.  I’m still thinking about it! 🙂

Happy Friday, my lovelies!