One of my favorite things to do is to compare and contrast things (it drives my sister crazy). It could be anything from books, tv shows, and movies to people, places, and ideas. As a self-professed film buff, I especially love to draw connections between movies I see.
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| Dear John (2010) |
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| The Notebook (2004) | | | | |
The other day, my sister and I watched the
Channing Tatum and
Amanda Seyfried movie
Dear John (2010). The film was based on the
Nicholas Sparks novel of the same title. It centers on the relationship of a young couple, torn apart by the war after 9/11. As the film progressed, I started noticing many similarities with another Nicholas Sparks novel-turned-film,
The Notebook (2004). Being a nerd, I made a chart.
Spoiler alert!!!
| Dear John (2010) | The Notebook (2004) |
| Location Setting | South Carolina | South Carolina |
| Time Setting | Right before 9/11 | Right before WWII |
| Girl's Social Status | Upper-middle class | Upper-middle class |
| Guy's Social Status | Lower-middle class | Lower-middle class |
| Length of Courtship | A couple of weeks | A summer |
| Girl Goes Away For | College | College |
| Guy Goes Away For | War | War |
| Mode of Communication | Letters | Letters |
| Time Apart | 5 years | 7 years |
| Complication | Another Guy | Another Guy |
In sum, there are a lot of similarities between the two story lines, they are after all, written by the same guy. I'm a sucker for romantic movies so I liked these both, but I still think The Notebook is the better of the two. The characters have more depth and the actors have much more chemistry (thanks to the then real-life romance between
Ryan Gosling and
Rachel McAdams). If you have nothing to do this New Year weekend, try cuddling up on the sofa and popping in one of these DVDs for a great afternoon in.
