Hot Take: At this point, it feels like these Nicholas Sparks romance novel adaptions are mass produced Mad Libs style. Another Caucasian couple, another “other guy”, more rain and some oddball twist. Fortunately, the formula works. Unfortunately, The Choice doesn’t.

If you choose to see The Choice and you’re upset by the fact it features a Caucasian couple — a beautiful Southern girl with a silver spoon in her mouth initially annoyed by the rugged, self-made Southern guy but then full of love and passion — involved in a love triangle along the Carolina coast featuring boats and letters and rain and cheesy dialogue then I’m trying to figure out why you went to see The Choice in the first place. Following along perfectly with all of the other Nicholas Sparks adaptions of the past, the first half of The Choice is almost exactly like the first half of the previous films. There are subtle differences (maybe a different (adjective) here or a different (object) there) but it’s pretty much the same. And that’s the watchable part of the film.

As the movie enters the third act (typically where the Sparks’ formula calls for an unexpected tragic twist), The Choice disintegrates into a long, drawn out mess. You might have figured out how the third act shapes up minutes into the first act — thanks to a flash forward — especially if you paid attention during the trailer but there’s a good chance with the way the final 30 minutes drag on endlessly, you’ll choose not to care by the time the movie reaches it’s conclusion.

Unless you are a die hard Nicholas Sparks fan, the best choice would be to stay home.

“Spoiler Free” Pros

  • It’s Familiar (If That’s What You’re Looking For)
    The South, the mature version of playground hair pulling, the rich girl, the rugged guy, rain, a boat, dogs, a small town carnival… I’m pretty sure there was absolutely nothing new in the setting of The Choice. This really isn’t a bad thing because you’ve probably seen most of the last 10 Nicholas Sparks’ adaptions and were hoping for more of the same.

“Spoiler Free” Cons

  • The Third Act
    The third act is torturous and not in an emotional way. It’s just painful to watch.
  • The Parents Don’t Even Bother to Be Disapproving Assholes In This One
    What’s up with that?
  • If You’ve Seen One…
    You’ve seen ’em all.