Review of The Choice (2016) by Ricky G — 07 May 2016

"The Leatherface of romantic weepies is back and this time he wants us to make a choice. I already made my choice, I'm giving this movie a thumbs down".

Movie Review: The Choice.

Date Viewed: February 6 2016.

Directed By Ross Katz.

Screenplay By Bryan Sipe, Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks.

Starring: Benjamin Walker, Teresa Palmer, Maggie Grace, Tom Welling, Alexandra Daddario, Tom Wilkinson, Noree Victoria, Anna Enger, Wilbur Fitzgerald, Callan White,.

Brett Rice, Jesse C. Boyd and Dianne Sellers.

Somebody please make him stop! The Leatherface of romantic weepies is back and this time he wants us to make a choice. I already made my choice, I'm giving this movie a thumbs down. "The Choice" is another awful Nicholas Sparks adaptation that doesn't have a single ounce of inspiration. As with previous Sparks adaptations, it is set in a small town where it has a nice beach, it features pretty people, the two main characters fall in love, they get through several obstacles in order to keep their love alive and then tragedy strikes.

Nicholas Sparks hasn't changed anything in his stories, does he really care about criticism at all? Okay, Sparks doesn't actually write or direct his own adaptations but his movies keep getting longer and suckier. Are his fans getting tired of hearing the same story over and over again? They have to be because his movies aren't as successful as they used to be. "The Choice" is the perfect choice to add on my list for the worst movies of the year.

Teresa Palmer stars as Gabby Holland, a medical student who moves in next door to veterinarian and handsome ladies' man Travis Shaw (Benjamin Walker). When she first meets Travis, she turns feisty and demands to turn off his loud music. Oh you silly kids, don't you realize your made for each other? Gabby and Travis both have cute dogs under their wing and what do you know! There's more cute dogs on the way because Gabby's dog, Molly is about to become a mother. AWWWW! AWWWWW! "The Choice" you are too cute and too sweet for your own good.

Travis is an irrestsiable Southerner who lives with his sister, Stephanie (Maggie Grace) and his father, Shep (Tom Wilkinson) who's also a vet. Travis and Gabby first made themselves feuding neighbors and now their starting to know each other. When Gabby's doctor boyfriend, Ryan McCarthy (Tom Welling) takes off for a few weeks, she has plenty of time to hang out with Travis. When Gabby and Travis finally hit it off, they face serious obstacles, how is Gabby going to explain this to Ryan and will Travis finally shred his playboy image? They have one argument and they break-up but Travis isn't going to give up on Gabby. Eventually they do reconcile, they get married and have two kids.

Then we get to the tragedy sequence, Gabby and Travis were supposed to have a special night but Travis got stuck taking care of an old cat who was getting sick. After only having a glass of wine, Gabby leaves the restaurant in frustration and suddenly, she gets into a terrible car accident. With Gabby now in a coma, she is now at risk of dying. Travis has tremendous guilt over not being there with Gabby and he will do everything he can to save Gabby. Spoiler Alert! Gabby miraculously wakes up from her coma and she and Travis live happily ever after, there I saved you $10.00 bucks. That's right folks, "The Choice" is the first Nicholas Sparks movie to not have a single death.

Oh movie, please play the violin. "The Choice" is a terrible choice for your date this upcoming Valentine's Day and it is also a terrible choice for everyone involved. What is Tom Wilkinson even doing in this movie? I know he probably had some bills to pay but he can do so much better than a Nicholas Sparks movie. Benjamin Walker and Teresa Palmer give irritating performances as Travis and Gabby who are the dullest Nicholas Sparks couple yet. Walker if you remember was vampire hunter Abraham Lincoln in "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" which I liked more than other people did. Teresa Palmer has been good in other films but this sappy movie was not the brightest move for her.

Bryan Sipe's screenplay is so mushy and full of cuddily moments, it made me beg for barf bags. This movie is not about making choices it's another predictable story about a womanizer who changes his ways and falls in love with a smart woman. There are far better choices in theaters right now than this dreadful love story.