The Choice (D+ or 1/4 stars)
'The Choice' is the bland title of the latest blannnnnd Nicholas Sparks film adaptation. Benjamin Walker (from Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) plays the role of Travis Shaw, a big, tall, strapping North Carolina ladies' man who flirts with a plentitude of young women and loves to party hearty on his boat. When his attractive new neighbor, Gabby (Teresa Palmer), a feisty/cranky medical student, moves in next door - quelle surprise - he starts to fall for her. See, Travis had always believed that a serious relationship would cramp his smarmy style, while Gabby is content to settle down with her long-term boyfriend. Really, Travis/Gabby are opposites in nearly every way. He's a down home country boy, she is the 'rich' girl. He believes in family & friends, she believes in the moon & the stars, yadayadayada.
Having said all of that, even though they argue, bicker, & fight, an irresistible attraction btwn. Travis & Gabby upends both of their lives and the direction(s) they thought they were going in. With time, Travis is revealed to be a pretty solid guy. How? Well, he's the local veterinarian {aw, how cute}. He has a good heart {aw, how sweet}. He loves animals {yay} nature {sweet!}, the list goes on & on & on -- gag me. When Gabby's boyfriend leaves town, she & Travis enter into quite the love affair that, is eventually interrupted by said boyfriend's untimely return. Travis declares his love {what ensues is one of the WORST proposal scenes I've ever witnessed in a movie}, a decade-spanning whirlwind romance evolves ... but tragedy {enter grief montages} brings their seemingly perfect union to a screeching halt.
My, oh my. Though not awful, 'The Choice' is pretty darn bad. It panders to a built-in audience. It's contrived. It contains nutty coincidences. It's a cliched tearjerker. And it contains such lines of dialogue as: "Most precautions aren't necessary ... that's why we call 'em precautions" OR "Life just keeps unfolding. If you sit still, it will pass you by". I mean ... those are poor lines. How did the screenwriter(s) get away with that!? You know, I actually thought that last year's Sparks film adaptation, The Longest Ride (with Scott Eastwood), was one of the better (damning with faint praise) offerings since '04's The Notebook. But boy did the level drop again, here. Even the supernatural conclusion is ludicrous. From top to bottom, 'The Choice' is just cookie-cutter, cornball, Lifetime Channel-quality drivel.
Acting-wise, no one is negligible. Benjamin Walker looks the part and tries to convey emotion to the dialogue he's forced to speak. Ditto that for the pretty Aussie actress, Teresa Palmer. Tom Welling is around only in the caricature role of Gabby's boyfriend'. And somehow, even Tom Wilkinson plays a character in this mess; Travis' veterinarian widowed dad. In all seriousness, 'The Choice' is just WEAK sauce. There's not a single moment of emotional honesty conveyed onscreen. We know the Nick Sparks shtick by now. The North Carolina locales are pretty to look at; dreamy sunsets, starry nights, rippling waters, tall grasses swaying in the wind -- but, so what? There's no movie magic to coincide with the syrupy visuals. Skip this, unless you're fine with eating-up some low-hanging cinematic fruit.
Having said all of that, even though they argue, bicker, & fight, an irresistible attraction btwn. Travis & Gabby upends both of their lives and the direction(s) they thought they were going in. With time, Travis is revealed to be a pretty solid guy. How? Well, he's the local veterinarian {aw, how cute}. He has a good heart {aw, how sweet}. He loves animals {yay} nature {sweet!}, the list goes on & on & on -- gag me. When Gabby's boyfriend leaves town, she & Travis enter into quite the love affair that, is eventually interrupted by said boyfriend's untimely return. Travis declares his love {what ensues is one of the WORST proposal scenes I've ever witnessed in a movie}, a decade-spanning whirlwind romance evolves ... but tragedy {enter grief montages} brings their seemingly perfect union to a screeching halt.
My, oh my. Though not awful, 'The Choice' is pretty darn bad. It panders to a built-in audience. It's contrived. It contains nutty coincidences. It's a cliched tearjerker. And it contains such lines of dialogue as: "Most precautions aren't necessary ... that's why we call 'em precautions" OR "Life just keeps unfolding. If you sit still, it will pass you by". I mean ... those are poor lines. How did the screenwriter(s) get away with that!? You know, I actually thought that last year's Sparks film adaptation, The Longest Ride (with Scott Eastwood), was one of the better (damning with faint praise) offerings since '04's The Notebook. But boy did the level drop again, here. Even the supernatural conclusion is ludicrous. From top to bottom, 'The Choice' is just cookie-cutter, cornball, Lifetime Channel-quality drivel.
Acting-wise, no one is negligible. Benjamin Walker looks the part and tries to convey emotion to the dialogue he's forced to speak. Ditto that for the pretty Aussie actress, Teresa Palmer. Tom Welling is around only in the caricature role of Gabby's boyfriend'. And somehow, even Tom Wilkinson plays a character in this mess; Travis' veterinarian widowed dad. In all seriousness, 'The Choice' is just WEAK sauce. There's not a single moment of emotional honesty conveyed onscreen. We know the Nick Sparks shtick by now. The North Carolina locales are pretty to look at; dreamy sunsets, starry nights, rippling waters, tall grasses swaying in the wind -- but, so what? There's no movie magic to coincide with the syrupy visuals. Skip this, unless you're fine with eating-up some low-hanging cinematic fruit.