The Notebook, or as I like to call it Weepfest 2004

I watched The Notebook last night with my wife. We had a free pay per view coming because our cable provider screwed something up and so we've been occasionally looking at the PPV offerings to see if there's something we wanted to see. Since we are not at all interested in Alien vs. Predator or Stripper Bowl 2005 we had to choose between I, Robot and The Notebook. I had heard good things about The Notebook. The divine Mrs. L, knowing me as she does, was hesitant to agree to see this movie with me because historically, romantic comedies make me fall asleep. I assured her I would watch it with her and my fate was sealed.

This is a beautiful movie. It's a love story. It's being read by an old man to an old woman in an assisted living facility. The woman clearly has lost her memory, we find out late in the movie that it's senile dementia. The man is patient, gentle, loving... all the things a woman wants in a man. The magic of this story is not it's diaphanous disguise of the old couple but the juxtaposition of the old couple and the young lovers.

The story being read is classic... rich girl, poor boy, parents opposed to their love. The girl is haunted. The boy is haunted. Fate pushes them to opposite ends of the world. Suddenly (deus ex machina) they are reunited and the hurt of the separation is bathed in the sweetness of true love rediscovered.

The young lovers are fun to watch. They are beautiful, young and vibrant. They fight. They kiss. They talk. But being past 30 and knowing more than I used to know the real love story is the old man and the old woman. The word love is often misused to mean lust and more often misused to mean a passing infatuation. This movie is truly a love story.

Now, I don't know what exactly happened to me but I used to be pretty tough. Not anymore. I cried like a baby when I watched Cold Mountain and I wept last night as I watched The Notebook. If you're like me and you find that suddenly you're a big, blubbering softy... have some Kleenex and some Gatorade handy. You don't want to have to wipe your nose on your sleeve and you don't want to get dehydrated. Also, pay attention to the way that old man talks to that old woman 'cause I bet your wife will want you to talk to her the same way.