The Notebook

A shameless tear-jerker and as corny as they come, this nevertheless pushes all the right emotional buttons. The movie opens in the present day with elderly James Garner reading to nursing-home resident Gena Rowlands from an old notebook. We then flash back 60 years to the events chronicled in the journal - an ill-starred teenage romance between poor country boy Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, the daughter of rich city folk. There are no prizes for guessing the connection between the two couples. Slickly made by Rowlands's son, Nick Cassavetes, the film benefits from uniformly excellent performances from a quality cast that includes Joan Allen and Sam Shepard. Cassavetes should have taken his foot off the slush pedal more often, but if you're in the mood for melodrama, this weepie could be just the ticket.