A lot of people enjoy a good love story and it’s not hard to see that it’s a very big-money idea that’s been pushed throughout the years by many a studio. The Notebook seems to be one of those that’s been held up as an industry standard for quite a while and honestly has seen its fair share of success and criticism. There are a lot of love stories out there and some that are similar to this movie but also have their own unique story lines that are set within very formulaic plots. In other words if you liked The Notebook then there a great many other movies you’ll probably like since they deal with love, loss, and a very big grab bag of issues that tend to go with the territory. While some people might want to argue that no one love story is like another there are plenty of folks that tend to cling to these kinds of stories simply because they ARE inherently similar. It’s a comfort zone kind of thing after all.
Here are a few movies that are like The Notebook.
5. Safe Haven
This movie is part survivor story, part love story, and a small part ghost story. Erin flees an abusive relationship after stabbing her husband in self defense and running without any real destination in mind. When she makes her way to Southport, North Caroline she starts a new life and begins to fall in love with a store owner that has two kids. Eventually her husband does come looking for her and attempts to get her to come home with him. In the end the store burns down and her husband is killed. Near the end of the movie however Erin reads a letter that was left behind by the store keeper’s deceased wife to the next woman he would come to love, and Erin realizes that the neighbor that she came to know was actually the woman’s ghost watching over her.
4. The Longest Ride
It’s tough to give up what you love in order to go after the one you love since it forces a choice that a lot of people just aren’t ready to make. When Luke and Sophia meet it seems like the most natural thing in the world for them to get together, but when she expresses concerns about his bull-riding career it becomes a difficult choice as to whether he’ll go ahead and quit since it does happen to be dangerous, or if he’ll simply let her go. Well, any fan of love movies knows that it can go either way, but when given a choice most movies seem to end with the couple getting together and staying together.
3. A Walk to Remember
According to Melissa Locker of Southern Living there are a great many things that made this movie worth watching, not the least of which is due to the fact that it was based on a true story. Jamie and Landon have known each other all their lives but never hung before due to the difference in their social status. When Landon is assigned community service however after getting in trouble at school he and Jamie begin to bond and a strange thing happens, they fall in love. But when Jamie reveals that she has leukemia and hasn’t been responding positively to her treatments it becomes obvious why she’s so against Landon falling in love with her.
2. Dear John
It’s kind of surprising that this didn’t that great on Rotten Tomatoes as far as the critics or the audience since love movies tend to be the type that get everyone on their side no matter if they’re that great or not. But then again some of those like romance are a bit discerning. This story focuses around John and Savannah and their time spent together and the massive amount of time they spend apart since John isn’t one to shirk his duty and keeps re-enlisting in order to serve his country. When he does come it seems that it’s usually to tragedy and loss until finally the day happens that he becomes a citizen and he and Savannah are finally reunited.
1. The Best of Me
Justin Chang of Variety points out that this movie like others seems to rely pretty heavily on class prejudice and one person not being right for the other thanks to social status. Sometimes you can’t go back to the way things were when you were younger, but you can still remember them fondly and share them with the people you were with back then. Dawson and Amanda can’t be together at first due to her being married, but when she breaks out of her unhappy marriage it’s still not enough as Dawson is shot by his vengeful father. It’s a shocking love story that ends in tragedy but it’s also one that speaks of hope and a love that continues to last.
Love stories are more diverse than some people think.
Follow Us
