'Notebook' just another clichéd romance

There seems to be a formula that every dramatic romance follows with little deviation. Boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, but one or both sets of parents disapprove. They separate, but never forget their wild romance. Girl moves on and hooks up with someone else, while boy lives alone. Suddenly, they meet again and hook up for a night of hot sex. But what is the girl to do? Who will she choose? Gee, I wonder!\n"The Notebook" takes almost no liberties with this formula. The boy is Noah (Ryan Gosling), a poor lumberyard worker. The girl is Allie (Rachel McAdams), from a wealthy Southern family. They fall in love, but Allie's parents, of course, disapprove, and she leaves. Noah writes letters (one every day for a year), but Allie never responds. Noah fights in World War II, and Allie becomes a nurse on the home front, where she meets Lon (James Marsden). Noah comes home and fixes up a house by the sea. Lon and Allie get engaged. But, suddenly, Allie sees a picture of Noah in the paper, and she goes to see him before her wedding. A steamy sex scene ensues. But who do you suppose Allie will choose?\nThe only slight deviation from the romantic formula is the fact that the entire story is being told to a woman (Gena Rowlands) with Alzheimer's by a man (James Garner). Though the film tries to be sneaky about it, it's pretty obvious who the man and the woman are.\nThis movie was highly irritating and predictable. Every romantic movie cliché was there: for example, there was the obligatory scene where the lovers get caught in the rain. The music swells, their eyes meet and next thing we know they're copulating like animals. There was the moment when the audience is supposed to wonder which man the woman is going to choose: a stable, rich, handsome man or her one true love: rugged and manly but desperately poor. If you have to wonder which one she will pick in this highly predictable flick, I'm sorry, but you have a problem.\nThe ending, I'll admit, was touching, but hardly a surprise like I believe the filmmakers intended. Had it been a surprise, I probably would have shed a few tears, but considering that I predicted the ending at the beginning of the movie, I was more than prepared for what would happen.\nIf you're in the mood for romance, don't waste your time and money on this stupid and predictable movie. Stay home and watch "Casablanca" instead.