Last month, the movie “The Notebook,” turned 15 years-old. One of the most heralded “chick-flicks” of the century, the movie centered around Allie falling for Noah, Allie and Noah breaking up, Allie falling for Lon, (the anti-Noah), and Allie finding her way back to Noah.
The movie was despicable when it was released 15 years ago, but somehow it was cast as a romantic tale of true love. It wasn’t then, and as so many women who swooned over the film at the time are now realizing, it isn’t now, either.
While it hasn’t exactly risen to the level of such viral challenges as “planking,” or even the “Tide Pod Challenge,” a writer last month penned her impression of what a “dumpster fire,” she now realizes the movie is, after once believing it was worthy of tears over the hope of ever finding such a love. Since her article, countless women have taken the pledge to watch the movie again and almost universally are having the same realization; it’s a disgusting movie that mirrors women who believe in all of the wrong lessons about what love is.
Noah is a creep; he is not nice to Allie, and even their very first interaction warrants the icks. He treats Allie like crap and, truthfully, they have almost nothing in common and don’t even really like each other.
Oh, but the passion! The passion is so real. But it isn’t. Either way; message sent: dysfunction and a total lack of respect and decency leads to a connection on such a deep level that no one can understand it.
Eventually, they break up and go their separate ways, during which time Noah shows what a true loser he is; pathetically pining over Allie who refuses to return his attempts at contact. A year after ending their relationship, Noah decides that he is so passionately in love with this woman he doesn’t even like and has nothing in common with, that he’s going to create an expression of his love in the form of a home restoration. From all perspectives, Noah is a narcissistic sociopath who also has zero balls.
Meanwhile, Allie meets Lon, a true man. After he heals and escapes a body cast, Lon and Allie embark on a relationship filled all the hallmarks of health; respect, friendship, trust, true love. Eventually, they get engaged…and yet, this entire story line is cast and presented as something wrong. And thus, Allie pines to get closure with Noah…vaulting her to the same level of pathetic human being as Noah; perhaps they really do deserve each other. Allie has it all in Lon; a man who treats her as she deserves and she reveres…and yet, she wants the swamp creature Noah that will spend his life ruining hers.
And in the end…she chooses the path of Noah, which Lon accepts with the grace and dignity you’d expect. The movie attempts to make us believe that everything turns out happily ever with its closing scenes of Noah and Allie in their elderly years. That may be the most despicable part to those of us who have ever been in both healthy and toxic relationships; the ultimate message that infidelity in the name of the pursuit of something toxic and abusive is the right path is sickening. It was in 2004, and it is in 2019.
As more and more women take the challenge, an interesting thread is emerging; women who have matured, grown, and found their way to being able to identify the difference between loving, respectful relationships, and toxic, abusive ones, loathe this movie. Those still stuck in the latter, find it to be romantic, sweet and a true love story.
The Notebook is not “Blazing Saddles,” or “Song of the south,” or even “There’s something about Mary,” movies which are being excoriated now for their political incorrectness by today’s standards, an asinine way to view history. “The Notebook,” was never right, never good, never correct, and never, ever healthy. From the moment it bowed in 2004, it was trash. If you want to know if your girlfriend, wife, best friend, or even mom, is a quality woman, ask her to take the notebook challenge. If she fails, run. Her views of life and love are more tainted than cheese that’s been fermenting inside a hibernating bear’s ass in a sauna.
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/11-reasons-notebook-worst
https://www.stereogum.com/1771923/the_hunt_for_the_worst_movie_o_83/vg-loc/videogum/
https://www.buzzfeed.com/benhenry/everybody-in-the-notebook-is-an-asshole
