Filmdom has, once again, turned to one of its favorite author’s for romantic source material. The Choice is based on the Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name and features a lot of love triangle goodness with an extra dose of adorable puppies and wise old narrators. And now there's a new trailer for you to check out.
The story takes place in a small coastal town in North Carolina, where Travis Parker (Benjamin Walker) enjoys the good pleasures of a simple, single life. He believes that settling down will only cramp his style, but when Gaby Holland (Teresa Palmer) moves in next door, things get more complicated than he ever imagined. Things get pretty ooey-gooey and lovey-dovey, along with a heavy dose of heightened, soap opera level relationship twists, which, as you can see from the trailer, are at least partially given away in less than three minutes.
The movie is the based on Nicholas Sparks’ twelfth novel, and this will be the the eleventh adaptation of one of his books to hit the screen. Sparks’ first literary effort was published in 1996 when he was just 26-years-old, and he’s published one or two books in almost every year since then. He's sold over 100 million copies worldwide in over 50 languages, each of his books have been New York Times bestsellers, and his eighteenth novel, will be published this month.
It’s hard to dispute the unmistakable pull of cash registers ringing for filmmakers and studios looking for a sure investment. It’s also hard to deny that his work has been accused of showing a repetitive and overly saccharine view of life and relationships. Just taking a look at the posters and casts for each of the films based on his books tells you that they’re all about star-crossed lovers in a small town finding each other against the odds or coming together for the first time.
At this point, even though I’ve only ever watched one Nicholas Sparks inspired movie in my whole life (I couldn’t resist the glorious schmaltz of The Notebook, either), I think I speak for a lot of movie lovers when I say that it almost doesn’t feel like a new year until we get another Sparks treatment on screen.
These films have become so ubiquitous that you can pick the trailers for each new one out of a crowd of romantic drama previews. They're not so easy to tell apart, howver, as they usually feature more than a few similarities that are on display in The Choice. Pretty white people that, apparently, only know other white people, check. Views of the ocean at sunrise or sunset, check. Lovers kissing in the rain, on the beach, or in some other idyllic setting, check. Deep confessions of hot and steamy, yet still comfortably chaste, love, check. Some horrific accident or illness that comes out of nowhere, check.
Well, we won’t have to wait much longer for the next Nicholas Sparks creation to hit the big screen. The film debuts on February 5, 2016. You know, just in time for singles to feel extra alone on Valentine’s Day.
