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A ruggedly hunky guy toiling on a Louisiana oil rig decides to cuddle up with a thick Stephen Hawking book on his lunch break. We will soon hear him in a voiceover pondering his “destined path” in life while the stars sparkle in the sky as if a Swavorski crystal display exploded at the mall.

“Yeah, right,” I found myself saying out loud. Little did I know that I should have saved that remark for the truly ridiculous situations that were lying in wait during the rest of “The Best of Me.”

Besides, at this point, there is little use going against the tide of tears wept in the name of the shamelessly swoony sob-a-paloozas based on the best-selling romantic novels of the wealthier-than-thou Nicholas Sparks .

As a moviegoer, however, you do have a choice. Either weep with them–or laugh at them. Or stay far, far away.

“The Best of Me,” the ninth Sparks-based film, falls squarely in the mediocre category and makes 2004’s “The Notebook” seem like “ Casablanca .” It revolves around a second chance at true love as high-school sweethearts are reunited after 20 years following the death of a mutual friend. The aforementioned hunk is Dawson ( James Marsden ), a loner of few words who scored 1520 on his SATs yet settled into a blue-collar job. At least it is an excuse to see what Marsden would look like as the construction worker in the Village People.

Amanda ( Michelle Monaghan ) is an upper-class housewife who dotes on her teen son and bitterly weeps over her crumbling marriage to a self-involved twerp who is an alcoholic, workaholic and all-around jerkaholic. She and Dawson both return to their hometown for the reading of a will of a man named Tuck. Soon they are riffling through the goodies of a fairy-tale cottage they have jointly inherited that is straight out of a Thomas Kincade painting, complete with oaks draped in Spanish moss, fields of rosy posies ripe for the picking and an old-fashioned swimming hole.

Cue the flashback to 1992, even though it seems more like an Ozzie and Harriet episode, with its soda shop named Squeals, than the year when Nirvana’s “Nevermind” topped the album charts and “ Reservoir Dogs ” was released. The teen Amanda (played by Liana Liberato ) is an outspoken lawyer-wannabe rich girl with a very strange penchant for backless attire who pursues the withdrawn Dawson ( Luke Bracey ) in the most wholesome way possible. Sparks sparks eventually fly, including a requisite smooch in the rain, despite their desperate backgrounds and personalities.

Time for another “Yeah, right!” Complicating matters is that Dawson is a member of a notorious Cole clan of white-trash swamp-rat outlaws. They, too, appear to be from discordant time periods. Dawson’s nasty redneck daddy, who can’t keep his fists to himself, could be trying out as a member of the Barrow gang in Bonnie and Clyde. Meanwhile, his gap-toothed, mullet-headed hench brothers might be related to the meth-lab backwoods lowlifes in "Winter’s Bone" by way of " Deliverance ." Basically, these portions feel like an old SCTV skit that never made it on air.

However, the most distracting and near-fatal incongruity is the choice of Bracey as the younger Dawson. There is no way and no how that this actor would ever grow up to be Marsden. For one thing, he actually looks older. Not only that, he doesn’t look, act or sound like him. What is even sillier is when Monaghan’s Amanda makes the observation to Marsden’s Dawson, as they find themselves falling for each other again, that “somehow you’ve gotten better looking.” And she is, of course, right.

The one pleasant respite is whenever Gerald McRaney shows up in the flashbacks as Tuck, a gruff yet caring former military man and widower who becomes a second father to Dawson after he runs away from home. And pros that they are, Marsden and Monaghan make for a very pretty couple as they manage to stay committed to their characters, no matter what trite nonsense trickles out of their mouths.

At a certain point, though, the coincidences and tragic incidents start to pile up at a startling rate and nothing can be taken seriously. Not that you don’t see these developments coming from miles away.

If a pediatric cancer charity is mentioned, a kid will end up having cancer.

If a parent hosting a fancy party asks his daughter’s dirt-poor suitor to check out his collection of vintage cars, the door will soon be shown.

If someone is told to be careful behind the wheel, a car crash is not far behind

If a vehicle waits as the lights start to flash at a train crossing, something bad is about to occur.

And if a character reveals that they once had a drinking problem that is now under control, they will be shown popping a cork on a wine bottle for a cozy dinner for two in the very next scene and downing Budweisers (the official beer of rekindled affairs, apparently) while on a picnic.

No, that last bit doesn’t make sense. But little of “The Best of Me” does.

Susan Wloszczyna

Susan Wloszczyna spent much of her nearly thirty years at USA TODAY as a senior entertainment reporter. Now unchained from the grind of daily journalism, she is ready to view the world of movies with fresh eyes.

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Film credits.

The Best of Me (2014)

Rated PG-13

117 minutes

Michelle Monaghan

James Marsden

Liana Liberato

Luke Bracey

Michael Hoffman
Will Fetters
J. Mills Goodloe
Nicholas Sparks

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The Best of Me Reviews

Sparks' devoted following knows what it wants, and The Best of Me does not relent until it has delivered every last longing look, lovelorn lunge and lachrymose loss of luck.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 26, 2020

I actually kind of enjoyed it.

Full Review | May 27, 2020

It's achieving exactly what it set out to accomplish... but also it's very bad.

Full Review | Original Score: 6.5/10 | Mar 26, 2020

The waterworks will flow with The Best of Me. The best Nicholas Sparks adaptation to date.

Full Review | Dec 14, 2019

Predictable. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 17, 2019

There isn't anything breathtaking about it and a lot of it feels like we're following the same beaten path, but James Marsden and Michelle Monaghan seem to make the best of their cheesy lines and talk about destiny.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 14, 2018

Regardless of the improbabilities that the plot will pose... there is a problem in the casting. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Dec 4, 2017

Anyone who hides behind the "chick flick" defense on this one is kidding themselves. The Best of Me is a contrived manipulation and an insult to female sensibilities.

Full Review | Nov 28, 2017

The film has a lot of hidden messages like these, which unfortunately get overshadowed by an overdose of mush and superficial love scenes that get massive footage.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 11, 2017

You know what to expect: a star-crossed romance for lovers from different worlds, kisses in the rain, moonlight swims, fateful separations and the tragic death of at least one leading character.

Full Review | Feb 28, 2015

The Best of Me's chemistry lives in the idea of a second chance at first love - would you take it if you could? - but not between the actors, unfortunately.

Full Review | Original Score: D+ | Jan 9, 2015

I would be amazed to hear even the most ardent Sparks fan defend it as anything more than rubbish.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Nov 1, 2014

The Best of Me turns into a half-baked dramatic thriller, with violent confrontations, gunfights, plenty of nasty characters and one big scary action scene.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 31, 2014

This film could be a real tearjerker for Sparks fans; everyone else may find it tough to stomach.

Full Review | Oct 31, 2014

There's something heavy-handed, even for Sparks, in the telling of the couple's story, particularly when it comes to Dawson's family: they are leering, brutal embodiments of evil who function as handy plot devices.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 29, 2014

A rather typical Nicholas Sparks adaptation...

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Oct 28, 2014

Grab a tissue and get ready to have your heartstrings tugged in this Nicholas Sparks melodrama, replete with its elements of love and loss....The perfect date movie, the film is romantic in the purest sense

Full Review | Oct 24, 2014

The Best Of Me, like all Sparks' work, would rather kill his characters and leave a beautiful corpse than have them continue a real, scarred relationship.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 22, 2014

Dawson is called a "white trash piece of (poo)" by his own daddy, which is rich, because daddy -- a low-rent bayou criminal with a mean dog on a chain, a shanty tramp on his lap and jet-black dye on his hair -- actually is a white trash piece of (poo).

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 20, 2014

Welcome the latest Nicholas Sparks adaptation: always the same, always a bit different (but mostly the same).

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 20, 2014

Cast & crew
User reviews

The Best of Me

A pair of former high school sweethearts reunite after many years when they return to visit their small hometown. A pair of former high school sweethearts reunite after many years when they return to visit their small hometown. A pair of former high school sweethearts reunite after many years when they return to visit their small hometown.

Michael Hoffman
Nicholas Sparks
Will Fetters
J. Mills Goodloe
James Marsden
Michelle Monaghan
Luke Bracey
202 User reviews
91 Critic reviews
29 Metascore

Younger Dawson

Young Amanda

Morgan Dupree

Harvey Collier

(as Robert William Mello)

Young April

All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

Trivia Paul Walker was initially cast in the lead role but after his sudden death from a car accident on November 30, 2013, the role was given to James Marsden . Additionally, both actors were born in September 1973 (along with rapper Nas ) but were only in six days apart from each other. Nas was born in two days after Walker and was born in four days before Marsden.
Goofs When Dawson is repairing Amanda's car, he puts his physic book on the motor, then closes the engine hood but without taking the book.

Amanda : You want me to fall back in love with you? How do I do that if I haven't ever stopped?

Connections Featured in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Derek Jeter/James Marsden/5 Seconds of Summer (2014)
Soundtracks Down by the Riverside Arranged by Jay Weigel Performed by Allstar Quartet+1 Courtesy of Music of Melpomene

User reviews 202

postmaster-40175
Feb 16, 2015
October 17, 2014 (United States)
United States
Official Blog
Official Facebook
Điều Tuyệt Vời Nhất Với Anh
Pearl River, Louisiana, USA (Off Military Rd & Hwy 3081)
DiNovi Pictures
Relativity Media
See more company credits at IMDbPro
$26,000,000 (estimated)
$26,766,213
$10,003,827
Oct 19, 2014
$38,609,668

Technical specs

Runtime 1 hour 58 minutes
Dolby Digital

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DVD & Streaming

The Best of Me

Drama , Romance

Content Caution

In Theaters

October 17, 2014
Michelle Monaghan as Amanda; James Marsden as Dawson; Luke Bracey as Young Dawson; Liana Liberato as Young Amanda; Gerald McRaney as Tuck; Caroline Goodall as Evelyn; Clarke Peters as Morgan Dupree; Sebastian Arcelus as Frank; Jon Tenney as Harvey Collier; Sean Bridgers as Tommy Cole; Rob Mello as Ted Cole; Robby Rasmussen as Bobby/Aaron

Home Release Date

February 3, 2015
Michael Hoffman

Distributor

Relativity Media

Movie Review

Some things just go together. Like LeBron and Cleveland. Combustion engines and grease. Bacon and cholesterol medicine.

Amanda and Dawson are, it would seem, two of those things. At least they were. Back in the day, when there had been just one Iraq War and grunge was still cool, the two were sweet on each other. Never mind that they hailed from two different Breakfast Club stereotypes—she a pretty rich thing, he a roughhewn kid from the town’s “white trash” side. They loved each other with a passion and verve typically only found in Nicholas Sparks books.

But then disaster struck. The two Southern lovers were ripped apart as their lives were thrown to the bitter wind of circumstance. She went on to Tulane University, got pregnant and settled down as a dutiful wife and affectionate mother. He eventually landed on an oil rig, doing whatever it is roughhewn roughnecks do on oil rigs.

But then disaster struck. Dawson’s oil rig exploded one night, sending flying debris everywhere and chucking him right into the icy ocean 100 feet blow. He could’ve died. “The fall alone should’ve killed you,” his doctor cheerfully tells him. But he didn’t. And he wonders whether he owes his survival, in some mystical way, to Amanda: When he was bobbing around in the cold, cold water for a few hours, he had a vision of the girl he loved so long ago, the girl he’d not seen for 21 years.

But then disaster struck. Tuck, a mutual friend of Dawson and Amanda, dies—mentioning both of the one-time lovebirds in his will. Seems they’re to pack up his house (taking whatever they want) and spread his ashes in Tuck’s beloved garden. And by doing so, perhaps reacquaint themselves with each other. Heal old wounds. Patch old fences. Maybe remember why they once went together so well—just like pockets and lint.

Positive Elements

When someone’s car breaks down, Dawson fixes it. When Tuck needs a hand in the garden, Dawson turns a spade. And when he and Amanda are anywhere near a rose bush, he will always, always pluck one of its flowers and give it to his favorite girl. He doesn’t always do the right thing (he crowds in on a guy’s wife, after all) but his heart does ultimately end up in the right place.

Amanda is just as nice. She encourages Dawson to go to college. She stood by her beau back in the day. Meanwhile, Tuck has been a great friend to them both. He gives Dawson a place to sleep when the guy runs away from his abusive family. He defends Dawson when his slimy pops tries to take the boy back home. And even when he dies, Tuck is still thinking of others—donating his entire estate (minus what Dawson and Amanda would like to keep) to a children’s cancer fund that’s deeply important to Amanda.

Spiritual Elements

There’s a mystical sense of meaning fused to this story—the idea of a plan behind all the randomness we see. Dawson, for example, begins to ponder that plan after he’s blown off the oil rig. “I stared wondering if there was a purpose, even if I couldn’t see it,” he tells us. And Tuck tells him, “You were meant to be here.” Throughout, the movie seems to be encouraging us to see some sort of divine hand in Dawson and Amanda’s relationship. (We hear about how cultures have sought their destiny in the stars—musings interspersed with Dawson and Amanda both looking intently upwards at the twinkling canopy.)

Tuck has his own metaphysical story to relate. He recalls how he was blown from his ship during World War II and, despite his injuries, began to sing the Irving Berlin song “What’ll I Do” as he floated in the water—somehow knowing he’d be OK. Later, when he made it home, Tuck heard his wife humming that same song, which came to her that very same day thousands of miles away.

Dawson’s best friend Bobby talks about giving a baby a Bible name. Tuck expresses a belief that he and his wife will reunite in heaven. A funeral is presided over by a priest.

Sexual Content

As teens, Dawson and Amanda have sex. She sneaks into a room and sits naked underneath a blanket (exposing her shoulders, cleavage and legs). It’s implied that he pulls off the towel he’s wearing. (We don’t see underneath it.) The two kiss and lie in bed, caressing and moving suggestively. (Amanda’s bare breasts are hidden from the camera by Dawson’s arm.)

Two decades later, Dawson and Amanda (who is now married to someone else, remember) have sex again. She slips off her dress (we see her panties and the side of her exposed breast), and the two go at it on the same bed they used the first time. Again there are sexual movements and sensual shots. Later, the two jump into a swimming hole wearing very little. (It’s obvious Amanda’s not wearing a bra under her soaked T-shirt.)

[ Spoiler Warning ] Neither regret this out-of-wedlock encounter. Amanda seems to feel no real guilt about cheating on her husband. She merely tells him she’s just spent time with a guy she still loves (maybe in part to push their relationship toward divorce).

We see Dawson’s father, Tommy, with a woman straddling his lap. Dawson will use any excuse, it seems, to take off his shirt. Amanda wears dresses that reveal much of her back (and, again, the fact that she doesn’t wear a bra). Amanda’s son talks about going to the beach to see what the girls “might or might not” be wearing. Sex results in pregnancy for Bobby and his girlfriend, April.

Violent Content

Tommy hits Dawson repeatedly in the face on one occasion and then pummels him again (causing a bloody nose) as “encouragement” to come home. Later, the two wrestle on the ground, punching and grabbing and choking each other. Dawson shows Amanda some of the scars his father inflicted.

Tuck runs afoul of Tommy and his extended clan when he runs them off with a rifle—shooting up Tommy’s truck and sending a bullet speeding past Tommy’s fingers (to keep him from plucking one of his late wife’s flowers). Wreaking revenge, Tommy and Co. smash Tuck’s face repeatedly (leaving a bleeding wound on his forehead) and tear up the garden.

Two men are shot and killed. One is shot in the forehead, a visible entry wound oozing blood. Another is plugged in the chest, blood soaking into the guy’s shirt. A third man is shot a couple of times in the leg. A car crash (offscreen) sends someone to the hospital. As mentioned, the oil rig explodes, propelling people through the air and setting one worker on fire. Someone’s (occupied) truck is nearly pushed into the path of a train.

Crude or Profane Language

One f-word and a half-dozen or more s-words. We hear a smattering of “a–,” “b–ch” and “h—.” God’s name is abused more than a dozen times (sometimes with “d–n”), and Jesus’ name is profaned three or four times.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Characters drink wine and beer frequently. Amanda’s husband drinks to excess. (He asks his son to fetch him a beer, swigs from a flask as he pulls out of a driveway and staggers into a hospital.) Amanda says that when their daughter died, both of them started drinking too much. “I quit,” she says. “He never did.” Amanda’s father gives a young Dawson a slug of whiskey in a shot glass. (Dawson downs it in a gulp and smashes the glass on the floor.) Amanda cautions her son about getting into a car when the driver has been drinking.

It’s suggested that Tommy and his family are involved in making drugs. And when Dawson’s young, Tommy says he wants the boy to go with him on a “delivery.”

Other Negative Elements

Amanda’s father tries to bribe Dawson to get him away from his daughter.

Near the end of The Best of Me , Amanda shows just how torn she is between her wifely duty and her desire to be with Dawson. “I have to go back,” she cries, “But I don’t know how I’m going to say goodbye to you!”

I think it might’ve been easier had she not slept with the guy.

All romances, I suppose, encourage you to root for its two protagonists to get together, often against stacked odds—economic conditions or temporal circumstances or resistant families. This flick gangs up all three, adding an alcoholic jerk of a husband to boot. And then it even goes one step further, saying that Amanda and Dawson’s love is a product of some sort of mystically divine manifest destiny. Some unseen hand pushed them toward each other and, apparently, practically forced them to fall into bed together, forsaking whatever commitments they might’ve already made to other parties.

Listen, I don’t have anything against Dawson and Amanda. They do seem like a nice couple. But the underlying message here is a little scary. And the fact that Amanda and Frank could use some serious marriage counseling in no way gives her license to sleep with an old beau.

Based on a book written by Nicholas Sparks, The Best of Me is a sexually charged, overwrought romantic fantasy, and I think most audiences will see it that way. The screening I attended was filled with college sorority girls who chuckled whenever Dawson plucked yet another rose for Amanda. And yet whimsies like this can be corrosive by elevating fickle emotion above somber commitment. And for some moviegoers—those who may have a wistful relationship or two in their own rear-view mirrors—the movie may crack open the door to exploring a potentially damaging question: What if?

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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The Best of Me review – young lovers reunite

Mark Kermode can’t help but fall for the latest bonkers Nicholas Sparks adaptation

A nd we’re back. From the opening shot of a Miller-time sunset over an azure sea, you know you’re in the world of Nicholas Sparks – a world in which our manly oil-rigging hero reads Stephen Hawking and saves two people’s lives in the first 10 minutes while somewhere across the star-crossed skies a beautiful but dissatisfied and deserving woman longs for something... better. This time, our players are James Marsden (replacing the late Paul Walker) and Michelle Monaghan as Dawson and Amanda, essayed in their Endless Love younger years by likable Luke Bracey and lovable Liana Liberato. Dawson is Amanda’s one and only and it’s easy to see why; he’s a man of few words who can fix a car, mend a roof, hoe a garden and look fabulous with his shirt off – like that guy in the Coke advert, only with a Budweiser. Fate has torn them apart, but love will... oh, you get the picture. Michael Hoffman directs but novelist/producer Sparks is the auteur here – whether his films are made by Nick Cassavetes, Lasse Hallström or Luis Mandoki, they all look exactly the same. And I love them for it; indeed, as guilty pleasures go, they are my greatest weakness, particularly when (as in this case) they go full-on laugh/groan/cry-out-loud bonkers in the final reel. You can sneer, but I don’t care – the heart wants what it will, and my heart wants Sparks. So there.

The Best of Me
The Observer
Romance films

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The best of me, common sense media reviewers.

Weepy Nicholas Sparks melodrama is cliché-ridden, violent.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

It's important to forgive (yourself and those

Tuck is a wonderful father figure to Dawson, who n

A father severely beats up his son and threatens h

A couple makes love both as teens and as adults (t

Fairly frequent strong langauge, including "s

Several brands and car makes are featured, includi

As a teen, Dawson drinks a shot of liquor that'

Positive Messages

It's important to forgive (yourself and those you love) to move forward in life, young love can change your life forever, and family bonds can require more than blood. The story also encourages teens to be with someone who challenges you and encourages you to be the best you can be.

Positive Role Models

Tuck is a wonderful father figure to Dawson, who needs someone to care about him unconditionally. Dawson and Amanda push and challenge each other to be the best they can be and to not give up on their future. They love each other in an extraordinarily intense way for high school sweethearts, who could have easily let circumstances change their feelings.

Violence & Scariness

A father severely beats up his son and threatens him. The father and his sons/nephews all beat the boy together, as well as beating up an unrelated man and leaving him unconscious. Characters are shot and killed; others are shot at and injured.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A couple makes love both as teens and as adults (the grown-up scene shows more skin but no actual nudity). As teens, their first time isn't explicit; viewers mostly see close-ups of their faces and backs. There's also a lot of passionate kissing. A woman commits adultery. Two different characters' unexpected pregnancies (one in high school and one in college) are discussed.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Fairly frequent strong langauge, including "s--t," "a--hole," "son of a bitch," "bulls--t," "damn," "goddamn," "Jesus" (as an exclamation), and one use of "f--king" as part of an insult.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Several brands and car makes are featured, including Apple, Chevy, Dodge, Volvo, Corvette, Mustang, Volkswagen, Le Creuset, Sprite, Budweiser, Vivitar, and more.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

As a teen, Dawson drinks a shot of liquor that's offered to him by Amanda's father. As adults, Dawson and Amanda and other characters drink wine and beer. Amanda's husband drinks too much and even drinks and drives. Dawson's family is shown drinking (mostly beer) and it's clear they're meth dealers, even though the drug's name is never said.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Best of Me is a heart-wrenching tale based on one of author Nicholas Sparks ' novels. The story (as anyone familiar with Sparks' romances could predict) is a weepy romance with dramatic twists and some heavy themes -- including child abuse, alcoholism, teen pregnancy, adultery, and murder. There are a couple of love scenes that don't show nudity but do feature close-ups of bare skin, passionate kissing, and touching. The language is occasionally strong (one "f---king," plus several uses of "s--t," "a--hole," "bitch," and more), and the violence can be intense and upsetting, particularly because it involves a father and his cronies beating up a son and wielding weapons against one another. Despite its heavy themes, the movie does have some positive messages, most notably about the power of forgiveness and the importance of being with someone who helps bring out the best in you. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Based on 6 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Based on a Nicholas Sparks novel, THE BEST OF ME follows two time periods in the main characters' lives. It starts in the present, when Dawson Cole ( James Marsden ) is nearly killed in an oil rig explosion but has a vision of his first love Amanda and manages to survive. He's reunited with Amanda ( Michelle Monaghan ), now a stay-at-home mom, for the first time in 21 years when they're both summoned to their Louisiana hometown to settle the estate of their dear friend (and in Dawson's case, father figure), Tuck ( Gerald McRaney ). As they deal with their lingering feelings for each other, the high-school sweethearts reminisce about their relationship. Back in 1992, young Dawson ( Luke Bracey ) was a quiet but hunky gearhead-meets-physics buff who wanted to get far away from his abusive, drug-dealing family of alpha males. Amanda ( Liana Liberato ), meanwhile, was beautiful, confident, and intelligent and wanted a guy who wasn't just a spoiled rich boy. After meeting-cute over broken-down cars, they eventually fall in love, but their disparate backgrounds and futures seem like insurmountable obstacles.

Is It Any Good?

Both sets of ridiculously attractive couples have the required chemistry to sell the "romance" part of this affecting romantic drama. Bracey does his best at capturing the broody young boy from the wrong side of town (the only kind of guy Sparks can write, apparently). He's not particularly charismatic -- that's all Liberato, who all but glows in her retro sun dresses while delivering encouraging, heartfelt monologues -- but it's easy to see why the filmmakers chose him; Bracey's got a soulful-hunk look that will play well with girls (and women) who like their romantic heroes quiet and gorgeous.

The lovers' grown-up versions are played by well-known actors Monaghan (who definitely pulls off being the older version of Liberato) and Marsden (who in no way looks like the adult counterpart of Bracey). These are accomplished actors who've made several romances, but even they can't make the mushy, maudlin story any less cliched (to the point that it's occasionally laughable). The movie has some legitimately poignant elements -- particularly the disturbingly violent relationship between young (and old) Dawson and his family -- but by the time the drama's twists are revealed, some in the audience will be too busy rolling their eyes to feel emotional.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the popularity of romantic movies in which first love overshadows any subsequent relationships. Why are movies about the power of first love so appealing? What kind of message do they send to teen audiences?

How does The Best of Me depict teen romance and sexual relationships ? Do you think Amanda and Dawson's forever love is believable? How do they help bring out the "best" in each other? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.

Author Nicholas Sparks is known for weepy, heartbreaking stories with life-and-death twists. How does this adaptation compare to others based on his books?

Movie Details

In theaters : October 17, 2014
On DVD or streaming : February 3, 2015
Cast : Liana Liberato , Michelle Monaghan , James Marsden
Director : Michael Hoffman
Inclusion Information : Female actors
Studio : Relativity Media
Genre : Romance
Topics : Book Characters
Run time : 117 minutes
MPAA rating : PG-13
MPAA explanation : sexuality, violence, some drug content and brief strong language
Last updated : December 12, 2023

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Movie Review

After 20 Years Apart, Reunited, in a Way

By Stephen Holden

Oct. 16, 2014
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In the latest weepathon from the Nicholas Sparks suds factory, the star-crossed lovers in “ The Best of Me ,” in the years they are apart, detect signs every so often that they share a mystical, spiritual bond.

Reconnecting after a 20-year separation, Dawson Cole (James Marsden) and his childhood sweetheart, Amanda Collier (Michelle Monaghan), discover that although they were separated by geography, they listened to the same song at the same time, while dreaming of each other.

And, on two occasions, when Dawson is near death, a vision of his sweetheart appears to him. Dawson has a habit of gazing up at the stars and musing out loud about destiny. And Mr. Marsden, still a perfect specimen at 41, has the pinwheeling blue eyes that signal infinite depths of feeling. Ms. Monaghan does not have the same light in her eyes, and the performance by this usually reliable actress is stiff and guarded.

The two come from opposite sides of the tracks in a small Louisiana town. Dawson’s glowering father and siblings are dentally challenged, gun-toting hillbilly roughnecks who viciously abuse the sensitive Dawson. Amanda is from a “good” family, and her disdainful father offers to pay for Dawson’s college education if he breaks off the relationship.

The young Dawson (Luke Bracey) and Amanda (Liana Liberato) look and act nothing like their grown-up selves. When they meet again, she is unhappily married, with a teenage son, and he has been working on an oil rig after serving time for an accidental shooting. What brings him home is the reading of a will after the death of his avuncular mentor and guardian angel, Tuck (Gerald McRaney), the movie’s omniscient commentator.

But enough about the plot, of which there are yards and yards, none of it particularly believable or compelling, except in the most generalized way. The only thing “The Best of Me” really wants is to weave a teary-eyed romantic spell by any means necessary. The screenplay is so haphazardly constructed that when the movie seems to be ending, it refuels with preposterous new developments.

The teenage girls sitting around me at the screening, who had sighed wistfully at the lovers’ first kiss, eventually lost patience and began to giggle. Even the movie’s target audience recognized when “The Best of Me” became too much of a bad thing.

“The Best of Me” is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned), for tepid sex scenes, violence and strong language.

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‘The Best of Me’ movie review: Nicholas Sparks’s latest dishes out more of the same

All you need to know about " The Best of Me " is summed up in the first moments of the movie when the words "a Nicholas Sparks production" appear on screen. The novelist-turned-producer is the reigning king of thwarted romance and tearful endings , as you can see in "The Notebook," "A Walk to Remember," "Dear John" and many others. He has resurrected the formula again with the usual trappings: a kissing scene in the pouring rain, a disapproving father, obstacles that lead to the wrong pairing.

In this case, the story follows high school sweethearts who lose touch. Amanda (Michelle Monaghan) and Dawson (James Marsden) are reunited after a mutual friend dies, and as soon as Amanda glimpses Dawson for the first time in 21 years, two things are clear: She’s very angry with him, and they’re totally going to get together.

After all, she’s in a loveless marriage to a heavy drinker who has friends named Chazz and Brooksy and talks about plans to visit his alma mater for a “Sigma Nu thing.” Compare that with Dawson, who works on an oil rig where he spends his spare time reading Stephen Hawking and rescuing people from fires.

What Dawson did to make Amanda so angry is the mystery that drives the movie. The story fills in the blanks slowly during occasional leaps in time to 1992, when the pair first meet as high schoolers. Back then, Amanda (Liana Liberato) is a popular good girl who practically throws herself at Dawson (Luke Bracey), the hot quiet guy from the wrong side of the tracks. Dawson, meanwhile, comes from an abusive family. His mercurial father hits him, and the rest of the clan are cartoonish hillbillies with guns and mullets and chewing tobacco habits.

These kinds of caricatures, among other details, inevitably lead to a persistent question: Is anyone concerned with making this remotely believable? The characters’ Southern accents come and go, and Bracey looks way too old to be attending a prom and nothing like Marsden (although, to be fair, the late Paul Walker was initially cast as Dawson — then again, Bracey looks nothing like Walker, either). At one point, the younger Dawson whips up a post-coital breakfast of French toast a couple scenes after he proved he couldn’t even chop an onion. And then there’s the film’s ending, the absurdity of which cannot be overstated.

Marsden and Monaghan provide some relief from the saccharine dialogue and outlandish plotting. They have chemistry and even pull off a moment of intentional comedy with what may be one of the funniest ash-scattering scenes ever filmed. Marsden brings an impressive amount of authenticity to his lovelorn role. Monaghan has a harder job with a greater proportion of tearful, overly sentimental dialogue, but her go-to acting style of quiet control serves her well as Amanda, and she even gets a couple good one-liners. Gerald McRaney, who plays Dawson’s gruff surrogate father, also brings a bit of comedy, and when he talks about his late wife, he does it in a matter-of-fact way that turns out to be a lot more affecting than all the sighing and sobbing.

But even as characters are tweaked and actors bring a slightly different energy than his other movies, “The Best of Me” is still the same mushy Nicholas Sparks adaptation with drama so overwrought audience members can’t help but laugh — at least until they’re sniffling during the closing credits.

PG-13. At area theaters. Contains sexuality, violence, some drug content and brief strong language. 117 minutes.

‘The Best of Me’ Review: Nicholas Sparks, At His Worst and Most Warmed-Over

The stellar cast, including Michelle Monaghan and James Marsden, are trapped by the author’s fake melodrama and brainless coincidences

If “The Best of Me,” the latest Nicholas Sparks adaptation to show up on the big screen, were to be given a report card, it’d be one of those oddly polarized documents that confuse parents and dismay teachers: Straight A’s for chemistry, but F’s in basic composition, drama, creative writing, and every other subject.

Telling the story of Dawson and Amanda — high school sweethearts torn apart by cruel fate but reunited later in life when the death of a mutual friend brings them back to the small town where they grew up — “The Best of Me” has, to its sole credit, a great cast: James Marsden and Michelle Monaghan play the current version of our star-crossed lovers, with Luke Bracey and Liana Liberato as their 1992 teenaged selves.

See video: James Marsden, Michelle Monaghan Give Love a Second Chance in Nicholas Sparks’ ‘The Best of Me’ (Video)

All four are charismatic and easy to watch, with a natural and engaging connection inside both couples regardless of timeline. (There is, in fact, one cross-time cut with a hint of flair — like John Sayles ‘ in-camera time jumps in the classic “Lone Star” — but other than that, the film simply stumbles between eras.)

The bad news is that no matter how charming or fizzy the chemistry between the actors might be, they’re still trapped in the dead, fake melodrama and brainless coincidences of a Nicholas Sparks story. Sparks’ best-selling novels and many film adaptations (“The Lucky One,” “The Notebook,” “Safe Haven,” et al.) have cemented his position as the Thomas Kinkade of American novels — stunningly tacky yet strangely popular, a brand defined by its blandness. Sparks’ stories are to actual romance what pro wrestling is to actual sports: A loud, overdone mix of sweaty clinches and implausible events leading to a conclusion you knew well before the start, never mind before the end.

Goodloe and Fetters are also not helped by Sparks’ novel itself, which requires huge amounts of coincidence and tragedy to move forward much like a SUV demands constant fill-ups. And the dialogue, with soapy clunkers like “I know you love my daughter … but I can’t have her anywhere near your family” and “At the end of it all, I can say what it was like to love someone,” is so square and heavy it lands with a thud the instant it leaves the actor’s mouths.

Also read: Will Nicholas Sparks’ ‘Best of Me’ Ignite the Passion of ‘Notebook,’ ‘Dear John’?

With its never-ending string of secret wills, tragic accidents, felonies, failures, letters left behind by the recently deceased, and criminal parents replaced by kindly mentors, “The Best of Me” attains a state of humid hysteria as its characters kiss in the rain, fight in the dirt, and cry out all their feelings. But it’s all formula, and a formula as pernicious and as profitable as any comic-book movie or other franchise defined primarily by the Roman numerals after its title.

The technical workings of the film are all top-notch, even if it seems it’s a shame that, for example, cinematographer Oliver Stapleton — who has shot films as diverse and distinct as “Earth Girls Are Easy,” “The Cider House Rules,” and “The Shipping News” — is reduced to capturing shirtless men gardening or long pans of Spanish moss hanging from the trees.

Also read: Brad Pitt Tank Saga ‘Fury’ Ready to Rumble Past ‘Gone Girl’ at Box Office

Editor Matt Chesse, after cutting challenging films like “World War Z” and “Warrior,” now has to sew together off-the-rack montages, where our leads dine on crawfish and laugh as a jangling song selection from the unremarkable soundtrack plays over any and all dialogue.

A fish, as the saying goes, rots from the head down, and it’s Sparks, with his tacky writing and postcard-simple version of every subject from romance to relationships to sin to the South, who’s the source of that rot here. With a seemingly endless series of endings — surely meant to tie up loose ends but instead strangling any sign of life out of what has gone before — “The Best of Me” epitomizes the worst of modern big-screen romance as a one-man factory keeps pumping out movies in which familiarity and quantity, not freshness and quality, have become what the audience is conditioned to reward.

‘The Best of Me,’ movie review

Things To Do Movies

Like, say, “The Best of Me.”

We begin in the present day, when former high school sweethearts Dawson (James Marsden) and Amanda (Michelle Monaghan) are living miserable, lonely lives miles apart. A friend’s death brings them back together after 20 years. While they return to their Louisiana hometown, we flash back to when they met as teens.

In 1992, popular Amanda (now played by Liana Liberato) and troubled Dawson (Luke Bracey) fall madly in love. They share a magical summer, filled with swimming holes and Spanish moss and stargazing from the town water tower.

But then Dawson gets in serious trouble while tangling with his meth-dealing dad. Suddenly our young lovers are up a creek (sorry). He goes one way, she goes another. By the time they reunite, will it be too late?

Luke Bracey and Liana Liberto play a younger version of the couple in 'The Best of Me.'

The answer to this question is so ludicrous, and so utterly unsatisfying, that it highlights every flaw we were previously willing to overlook for fantasy’s sake.

Why, for example, is teenage Dawson played by a 25-year-old who looks nothing like Marsden? What are smart, talented actors like Marsden and Monaghan even doing in such forgettably generic roles? And how did director Michael Hoffman, who made “Soapdish” and “One Fine Day” and the Oscar-nominated “The Last Station,” choose such mawkish material in the first place?

There have been times when the right team has been able to transcend the gooey schmaltz of Sparks’ stories. This effort, however, sinks like a rock thrown into a sun-dappled lake shaded by magnolia trees sparkling under a sky of shooting stars.

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THE BEST OF ME

Nicholas Sparks. At the mere mention of his name, images of love, romance, peaceful serenity, his beloved Carolina coastline, among others, all vividly spring to mind. So does the idea of second chances and purity of the heart and character. Nicholas Sparks is a storyteller who grabs the heart, touches the soul and evokes powerful emotions within each of us who read his books or see film adaptations of them. And Nicholas Sparks is synonymous with tears and tissues. Now, as the ninth adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks bestseller, THE BEST OF ME proves to be the best Sparks adaptation since “The Notebook” and the best love story of the year.

Thanks to a little sweet sneakiness, Amanda gets Dawson’s attention and his heart, but not without facing seemingly insurmountable odds along the way. Her family disapproves of him. His family disapproves of her. But then there’s Tuck. Former military, local mechanic, Tuck is recently widowed. Still puttering in his wife’s beloved garden tending her flowers with all the love possible, it’s easy to see that she was the love of Tuck’s life and her passing has left a vast emptiness in his heart. It’s because of their love that Tuck firmly believes in love, true love.

After running away from home after a violent incident at the hands of his father, Dawson takes refuge in Tuck’s garage. It doesn’t take long before both Dawson and Tuck get a second chance, with each filling an emptiness in the other. Tuck becomes the father Dawson should have had and always wanted while Dawson the son that now fills the loneliness of Tuck’s life. And Tuck believes in the love between Amanda and Dawson.

But the course of true love never does run smooth and tragedy strikes for Dawson and Amanda, ripping them apart for 20 years. Amanda has gone on to marry and has a college-aged son. Dawson works on oil rigs in the Gulf. They have never spoken in all these years; in fact, neither even knows if the other is even alive. But on Tuck’s death, the two are reunited thanks to Tuck’s foresight and wisdom that time heals all wounds; and that Amanda and Dawson still belong together. Is their love still there? Can they rekindle the magic that once was? Should they? Or will Fate play yet another unseen hand?

As the adult Amanda and Dawson, Michelle Monaghan and James Marsden are pure magic. As the young Amanda and Dawson, Liana Liberato and Luke Bracey are incandescent and melt even the coldest and most cynical heart with a grounded, naturalness to them. While the physical similarities between the generational couples are believable, it is the emotional level of performances that solidify Monaghan and Liberato, Marsden and Bracey. Never in the same scenes together, each still manages to capture the essence of performance and emotion of the other generation, creating a seamless mesh that transcends time. It’s a testament to all four actors and particularly Liberato and Bracey who set the tone and carry the bulk of screen time with establishing the story. If Liberato and Bracey don’t work together, don’t click, have no chemistry, not only doesn’t the story work but the characters of Amanda and Dawson fall flat and waste anything that Monaghan and Marsden might do. A tricky balancing act, but the performances are so solid, so rooted in honest emotion and obvious chemistry that the love soars. Notable is that Bracey was ultimately cast after testing with Liberato who, on questioning by director Hoffman, declared Bracey “the best kisser.” (It’s Liberato’s first love scenes on film, she may as well play opposite the best!)

Turning to each performance individually, each actor brings something distinctive to their role. Liana Liberato is luminous. The camera loves her. Liberato has a spunky freshness that has matured over the past few years as she finds her performance footing. Watching her move through a variety of roles in films like “Trust”, “Trespass” and “Erased”, Liberato comes into her own in THE BEST OF ME with her first love story and love scenes, including first on-screen kiss, all set against some powerful dramatic gravitas. Equally notable is Luke Bracey. We recently saw him tacitly stoic opposite Pierce Brosnan in “The November Man” but here as Dawson, Bracey finds a youthful insecurity that grows into confident strength melded with a playfulness when going toe-to-toe with Liberato.

Without disclosing some of the plot twists of THE BEST OF ME, suffice to say that James Marsden is still every woman’s Prince Charming, and with Michelle Monaghan’s Amanda that is no different. Now his second turn in a Nicholas Sparks adaptation finds that “One of the nice things about this movie is that, for me, as humans we like to look at the road not travelled and it’s easy to sort of romanticize what that might have been and could your life be richer or more fulfilled had you take a left instead of a right.” Marsden captures that wonder and questioning to a tee.

As for Monaghan, describing how the script “touched me” on first reading it, she brings an emotional arc to Amanda that shows character growth in a minimal amount of time while adding touchstones of youthful fun that are welcoming and mirroring the tone of Liberato. “I loved this character because she was complicated and she was conflicted. I think that there’s this part of her [where] she’s lost and from the outside she looks like she’s got the ideal life but truly there’s something missing inside as a result of all of this life experience. I loved what Liana had done in terms of her performance and what she created and established for the role. It really allowed me the opportunity to go on this emotional journey with having to rediscover those aspects and those characteristic. It was nice for the character to be a little lost, to have a little restraint and then be able to be emotionally impactful. . .”

A real gift to THE BEST OF ME is Gerald McRaney. Not only is McRaney’s performance as Tuck key to propelling the story and setting the defining tone for love and integrity, but McRaney makes Tuck (like McRaney himself) the very definition of “salt of the earth”; and not just in THE BEST OF ME, but among all of Sparks’ characters and books. Working only in scenes opposite leads Liberato and Bracey, there is an onscreen paternal/grandfatherly mentorship and love that radiates. These three together are like watching a beautiful ballet of ethereal emotion and unconditional love.

Strong supporting work comes from Clarke Peters as Tuck’s attorney Morgan Dupree, Sebastian Arcelus as Amanda’s golf obsessed alcoholic husband Frank and Sean Bridgers who strikes fear every moment he is on screen as Dawson’s father Tommy Cole.

Truly a love story on so many levels as opposed to just being filled with romance or star-crossed lovers, THE BEST OF ME encompasses multiple layers and colors of love – young love, innocent love, parent-child love, love of a friend, surrogate parent love, mature love, love of a lifetime love, eternal love, second chance love. I loved the book, but the film surpasses the printed word thanks to the vision of director Michael Hoffman and screenwriters Will Fetters and J. Mills Goodloe.

Capitalizing on Sparks’ gift for transcending time with everlasting love, Hoffman not only embraces the idea of an eternal love and second chances, but flips the printed word on its ear, focusing on the origins of that love through the young Amanda and Dawson. Where the book spends much of its pages on the adult Amanda and Dawson and their regrets and reminiscences, Hoffman has us fall in love with the young high-school Amanda and Dawson and their love story. We watch it unfold, thus giving more gravitas to the “20 years later” aspect of the story. The youthful story also provides a foundation for the different types of love to which Amanda and Dawson are exposed, adding depth to the adult personas. Thanks to this flipped structure and the detailed insight into youthful dreams, familial influences and the dreams of what is yet to come, we are able to embrace these as yet unjaded characters and even drift back in time to our own youthful ebullience and truly celebrate the idea of “second chances”. Seminal dialogue from the book is also faithfully incorporated into the script.

Significant is also a shift in visual tone as Hoffman moves the setting of the film from North Carolina, opening a wealth of visual wonders, each more beauteous than the last. Calling on cinematographer Oliver Stapleton, together the two create a naturalistic look. Shooting digitally but widescreen with anamorphic lenses, the framing of each shot is classic. Electing to shoot on sticks as opposed to a lot of hand-held camera work, Hoffman and Stapleton make the most of the shallow depth of field created with the anamorphic lenses for a lovely separation of background and foreground. Keeping a lightness to the lensing and using to its best advantage natural lighting that captures the play of sun off a muddy creek or twinkling through low hanging Spanish Moss, Hoffman also uses sun flares to create some beautiful visual effects, particularly in dreamlike sequences with Liberato. Beautifully elegant simplicity.

Meeting the challenge of creating two distinct time periods, the one constant thread is Tuck’s garden at Vandemeer cottage. Again reteaming for the fifth time Hoffman and production designer Patrizia von Brandenstein, the cottage design, as well as Tuck’s main house, is timeless, ageless, classic homespun Southern romance. Finding an isolated magical location that had everything the story called for proved challenging but ultimately rewarding with the still-Hurricane Katrina damaged cottage complete with lake, dock and yard that von Brandenstein could tailor to the love story. With the garden representing the cycle of life with rebirth, renewal, growth and beauty, Hoffman and von Brandenstein create a sense of time almost standing still capturing the serenity and tranquility of the private lake, a small dock, a pantheon of floral delights (and make note of the use of red as it bears significance in the film) and those moss covered tress. Breathtakingly exquisite. Equally impressive and tonally perfect is the lushly green and overgrown spot where we find Tommy Cole’s shanty. Shrewder in the darkness of the tress and brush, the interior is dimly lit, peeling wallpaper, butcher paper and tarp hiding windows and preventing light. A metaphoric delight for the darkness of Dawson’s life that he wants to hide and escape from. On the flip side is the elegant idyllic Easter Egg colored plantation manor of Amanda’s parents that is open, airy and intimidating in its grandeur.

Adding the final brush strokes is a score by Aaron Zigman. With the same delicacy we see in Stapleton’s cinematography, so Zigman provides with his score. Taking cues from director Hoffman who wanted to “limit the amount of thematic materials so it really landed and really came home and really related the story in the past to the story in the present”, Zigman found the perfect musical voice for THE BEST OF ME capturing “simplicity, authenticity, emotionality”. The scoring feels like love. The blend of sunlight, the garden, flowers, a pond all lensed so lightly and fluidly, looks like love. Also capturing the spirit of the film is an end credits song by Lady Antebellum, their first song written specifically for a film and one which, as producer Denise Di Novi notes, “[tells] the story of the film in the song as well in a way that doesn’t give it away but just really deepens it and augments the movie.”

Five boxes of tissues minimum, the waterworks will flow with THE BEST OF ME. The best Nicholas Sparks adaptation to date. The best love story of the year. THE BEST OF ME will bring out the best in you.

Directed by Michael Hoffman Written by Will Fetters and J. Mills Goodloe based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks Cast: Michelle Monaghan, James Marsden, Liana Liberato, Luke Bracey, Gerald McRaney

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Movie Review: ‘The Best of Me’ is One of the Worst Nicholas Sparks Adaptations

Where to start? There’s so much wrong with The Best of Me that it’s difficult to determine what to discuss first. Should it be the horribly miscast lead role, the second half of the movie that pushes the limits of credibility and ventures into the world of ludicrousness, or the manipulative manner in which the couples are thrust together and torn apart?

Granted, we are talking about a Nicholas Sparks adaptation, so you can expect utter nonsense when it comes to relationships. But the film versions of The Notebook and A Walk to Remember handled these situations well, while recent adaptations of Sparks’ romance novels didn’t make the jump to the screen nearly as successfully. The declining level of quality has bottomed out with the worst of the Nicholas Sparks book-inspired lot: The Best of Me .

You can forgive sappy love stories in written form more easily than awkward, ill-conceived love stories in films because the dialogue and relationships on the screen are more in your face and immediate. Reading excessively sentimental sentences just doesn’t have the same impact as hearing them said out loud, earnestly, which explains why Sparks’ books continue to be bestsellers. The dialogue in this film adaptation is absurd and painful to take in. There’s barely a scene in this PG-13 film that rings true, and at times, it’s tough not to pity the poor actors (in particular Michelle Monaghan and James Marsden) who you have to believe went into the film knowing exactly what they were in for yet still hoping for the chance to find a way to rise above the material.

It’s not even worth trying to explain what the film’s about other than to say a poor boy falls for a wealthy girl, they break up because of a tragic event, and reunite 20-some-odd years later after the death of a mutual friend. The whys, whats, hows, and wheres of it all are unimportant; the only thing you need to know is that it’s all meant to make you cry like a baby. Which, unfortunately, there were actually people in the audience at the preview screening doing. Don’t fall for this nonsense, people! Don’t be sheep!

And before you sneer at the computer screen and call me a cynical critic, please know that I love romantic movies, even sappy ones. Even ones that feature star-crossed teenagers and ones about second chances and the discovery of love late in life. But what the good, truly moving, heartwarming – or heart-wrenching – romances have in common is solid writing, a love story that’s genuine, and stellar acting. None of those attributes describe the horrendous mess that is The Best of Me .

Whoever came up with the idea of casting Luke Bracey as a young James Marsden needs to have their eyes examined. In no way does Bracey resemble Marsden, and it’s so jarring to see this non-linear story switch back and forth between Bracey, who looks 30+ and is playing 17 or 18, and 41-year-old Marsden.

It’s bizarre to see Bracey with light-colored hair transform into the dark brown-haired Marsden, but it’s not just that obvious difference in physical appearance that jolts you out of the film. It’s also that there’s nothing similar in their facial structure or even in the way they carry themselves that would lead anyone to believe one is the younger version of the other. And given the fact Bracey at 25 looks older than his age and his on-screen love interest, 19 year old Liana Liberato, looks 15 or 16, the scene in which she loses her virginity is just plain creepy…like old man in a trench coat hiding in the shadows creepy.

The Best of Me is among the worst of 2014’s theatrical releases, which is saying a lot as this hasn’t exactly been an outstanding year in cinemas (at least through mid-October). Don’t fall for this fake romantic tale, and unless you want to break up with your partner, do not suggest this as a date night movie.

The Best of Me is rated PG-13 for sexuality, violence, some drug content and brief strong language

‘The Best of Me’ movie review: James Marsden in by-the-numbers Nicholas Sparks

October 15, 2014
★½ , Movie Reviews

Here’s another genre film that completely implodes in the final act: The Best of Me rambles along just fine most of the way – hitting romance movie cliché after romance movie cliché, but in appealing fashion – but by the end it seems to come to the self-realization that it is, in fact, a Nicholas Sparks movie, and it must go nuts .

After the utter insanity that was the final twist of Safe Haven , I didn’t think Sparks could possibly top himself; he doesn’t (how could anything top that film’s Sixth Sense -like reveal?), but the filmmakers handle the idiotic resolution here with such unblinking sincerity that we can’t help but laugh at what we’re seeing onscreen. Then, to top it off, we’re given a Psycho -like epilogue in which they explain in excruciating detail what we already know.

Things start off (relatively) OK. Oil rig worker Dawson Cole (James Marsden) is blown off his platform during an explosion, and somehow survives a four-hour float in the sea without succumbing to hypothermia (“it’s a miracle,” the doctors tell him). At that very same moment, wife and mother Amanda Collier (Michelle Monaghan) longingly looks up at the stars. Uh-huh.

Just when you think the Louisiana character names can’t get any better, both Dawson and Amanda get a death notice for Tuck Hostetler (played by Gerard McRaney in flashbacks), an old mutual friend from their hometown. When the duo reconnect after 20 years apart, we learn they must have a… complicated history.

During flashbacks that take up the majority of the film, we’re introduced to the younger versions of Dawson and Amanda (now played by Luke Bracey and Liana Liberato). It must be noted that Bracey and Liberato look absolutely nothing like Marsden and Monoghan, but the major reconstructive surgery these characters must have undergone to become their older selves is the least of the film’s plausibility concerns.

Their story is ripped right out of the romance movie playbook. Poor boy meets rich girl. They fall madly in love. Boy struggles with decision to do what’s best for girl. Girl’s father (Jon Tenney) even tries to bribe boy to stay away from his daughter. I saw this exact same movie – right down to many of the small details – a few months ago during Endless Love .

The Best of Me , mind you, is significantly better than that film. For most of the way, at least. While it checks off cliché after cliché, it does so with a heartfelt sincerity that succeeds in getting us to care about these people; you might just shed a tear while you’re rolling your eyes.

The performances are fine (Marsden and Monoghan, in particular, have some real chemistry together), the cinematography (by Oliver Stapleton) beautifully captures the Down South locales, and Michael Hoffman’s direction keeps things moving along at a reasonable pace, though the film winds up at a too-long 117 minutes.

But that sincerity ultimately becomes a curse: we wait the whole movie to find out what went wrong between Dawson and Amanda, and that reveal proves to be… cornball hokum of the highest magnitude. Silly, silly, stuff. But that’s not enough. No, then the film goes bonkers, Safe Haven -style, to deliver a deus ex machina finale that comes out of nowhere and shows a complete lack of respect for its audience. It’s just so… dumb.

But the filmmakers don’t seem to realize this. They continue to handle Sparks’ story with an undeserved care after it has gone off the deep end, and the movie’s final scenes are drowned out by laughter from the audience.

The Best of Me

2014 , Caroline Goodall , Gerald McRaney , Ian Nelson , J. Mills Goodloe , James Marsden , Jon Tenney , Liana Liberato , Luke Bracey , Michael Hoffman , Michelle Monaghan , Nicholas Sparks , Schuyler Fisk , The Best of Me , Will Fetters

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The Best of Me is Easily the Worst of Sparks

Christa Banister Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer
Updated Feb 06, 2015

<i>The Best of Me</i> is Easily the Worst of Sparks

DVD Release Date: February 3, 2015 Theatrical Release Date: October 17, 2014 Rating: PG-13 (for sexuality, violence, some drug content and brief strong language) Genre: Drama/Romance Run Time: 117 min. Director: Michael Hoffman Cast: James Marsden, Michelle Monaghan, Luke Bracey, Liana Liberato, Gerald McRaney, Caroline Goodall, Clarke Peters, Jon Tenney, Sean Bridgers, Rob Mello

While no one has ever mistaken a Nicholas Sparks novel for, say, Proust, the bestselling author has carved out a comfortable niche with stories filled with longing, loss and broken people who experience a life-changing love before Sparks eventually lowers his sadistic axe.

Yes, anyone even remotely familiar with Sparks’ work already knows that happy endings aren't really his thing, and his latest book-to-screen effort The Best of Me is certainly no exception. But aside from what's easily the least plausible and laughably awful ending committed to film in recent memory, watching The Best of Me is also a glaring reminder of why The Notebook , which released back in 2004, has remained the gold standard of Nicholas Sparks weepies.

Despite all the soap opera hysterics and shameless set-ups intended to generate the maximum amount of waterworks, there was still enough that rang universally true about Noah and Allie's multi-generational love story that made The Notebook worth watching. Plus, it’s pretty difficult to resist the charms of a film with cinematography so lovingly crafted and lead actors who had chemistry in spades.

Even with an easy-on-the-eyes leads, James Marsden ( Enchanted ) and Michelle Monaghan ( The Heartbreak Kid ) giving it their best effort as Dawson and Amanda, former high school sweethearts who reconnect after 21 years, there's little about The Best of Me that doesn't make you want to roll your eyes in disbelief. For the record, this is coming from someone with a higher-than-normal tolerance for romantic schlock.

Another problem with The Best of Me is the embarrassingly cartoonish nature of the antagonists. No doubt, Dawson's abusive father is a formidable, fearsome presence, but here it's in a totally cheap, made-for-TV movie way. The conflict between father and son and the objections of Amanda's wealthy parents (another detail recycled from The Notebook ) are such lazy storytelling devices. Rather than add layers and texture that help enhance the story's bottom line, their only function is to ensure that Dawson and Amanda will be nothing more than star-crossed lovers once they graduate from high school.

Incidentally, the whole star-crossed lovers motif winds up being a criminally overused visual metaphor. WE GET IT. Dawson and Amanda’s love was written in the stars. Or that's what Sparks keeps telling the audience, rather than showing it, anyway.

Considering the movie's endgame is reuniting these high school sweethearts, no matter the cost, it's also a rookie move to give Amanda's longtime husband no redeeming qualities. When someone is as vapid, rude and focused on making his regular tee time as poor Frank ( Sebastian Arcelus , Netflix's popular House of Cards series), the writer is practically giving Amanda permission to cheat once she and Dawson inevitably reconnect.

Truth is, if Sparks wants to remain the king of swoony, romantic escapism, it's time to up his game. Like Liam Neeson starring in yet another Taken movie , Sparks's work is also running out of creative mojo. Need proof? Rent The Best of Me .

CAUTIONS (may contain spoilers) :

Drugs/Alcohol: Characters drink a couple of beers socially in a handful of scenes. There are also characters who abuse alcohol which leads to questionable, and sometimes, dangerous behavior. After the death of her daughter, Amanda admits she “drank too much” to mask her pain. References to drug use.
Language/Profanity : Several misuses of God and Jesus ’s names. A single f-bomb, plus the occasional sh--, da--, he--.
Sex/Nudity : Back when they were in high school, Dawson and Amanda are shown having sex. No nudity, just brief flashes of bare skin on bare skin. One of Dawson’s best high school friends is having a baby with his high school girlfriend (they humorously pose for prom pictures with her pregnant belly in full view). When Dawson and Amanda reconnect 21 years later, they make love again (she’s married). No nudity, but the scene is a bit more explicit with movements, etc. In one scene, it’s clear that Amanda isn’t wearing a bra when she’s swimming in a wet t-shirt.
Violence : Dawson is regularly abused by his father and has the permanent physical scars to prove it. Once Dawson leaves home, his dad and band of misfit accomplices track him down and not only beat him but his caretaker, Tuck. A young man is shot and killed unintentionally when a man tries to wrestle away a gun from another man. Another man dies by gunfire. A man is nearly catapulted to his death when an oil rig explodes. Several men are shown on fire but we’re told they wind up recovering from their injuries because of a man's bravery in rescuing them.

Publication date: October 17, 2014

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Chris pine says ‘poolman’ was the “best thing to ever happen to me” despite negative reviews.

Pine said the bad reviews became "a real come-to-Jesus moment for me, in terms of seeing how resilient I am."

By Zoe G Phillips

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Chris Pine said this week the development and release of his directorial debut Poolman was “the best thing to ever happen to me” despite the movie’s nearly universal bad reviews.

“It’s forced me to double down on joy,” Pine told host Josh Horowitz on Thursday’s episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “As an actor…fundamentally it’s about play, right? What we do is essentially become children for hours a day and make believe,” he said, adding: “There’s an impish quality to it that I don’t ever want to lose.”

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After All These Years, This Remains Horror’s Grimmest Ending

Don't expect any predictable horror movie tropes here.

The Big Picture

Many horror films have predictable endings, but Wolf Creek stands out with its bleak and dark conclusion.
Wolf Creek subverts the final girl trope, killing off all the heroes and leaving the villain alive and victorious.
The film's frustrating and realistic ending deviates from horror tropes, leaving viewers with unresolved justice and a villain who continues to evade consequences.

Usually, horror movies have at least a somewhat predictable ending. If you're watching a franchise slasher, chances are that the killer might look dead at the end, but he's probably coming back. But at least the hero or the final girl gets a moment where they're standing tall, victorious, even if only briefly. Increasingly, however, horror has gone for darker, more disturbing endings . There was nothing to smile about at the end of 2022's Smile , or last year's Evil Dead Rise and Talk to Me , for example. Going back a little farther, Saw in 2004 and The Mist in 2007 , went dark as well. And much farther back, who can ever forget the final images of 1973's The Wicker Man ? In all of these cases, the hero dies, or at least wishes they were dead.

There are many more examples, but another horror film that falls into the category of grim endings is 2005's Wolf Creek . This Australian flick introduced us to a new iconic villain, but it also hit audiences with an unforgettable finale that not only left the good guys destroyed and the bad guy standing tall, but it gave that bad guy an out in the most frustrating and hopeless of ways. Nothing is more bleak and more grim than the last scenes of Wolf Creek .

’Wolf Creek’s Mick Taylor Is an Outsider’s Stereotype of an Australian Man

Part of Wolf Creek follows familiar horror tropes. When three young backpackers decide to take a trek through the barren Australian outback , you know something bad is going to happen to them. Wolf Creek asks, "What if you came across Crocodile Dundee, but he was a murderous psychopath?" What makes Wolf Creek work, even before we meet the villain, is that we care about the heroes. You have British besties Liz ( C assandra Magrath ) and Kristie ( Kestie Morassi ) with their local friend Ben ( Nathan Phillips ), who seem like they will be simple cookie-cutter fodder, but writer and director Greg McLean really works to make you care about the trio before the horror starts. They might like to have fun, but they're good people who care about each other.

That's what makes us engaged when they run into the evil man who will change their lives in Mick Taylor ( John Jarratt ). Taylor is a stereotype of how outsiders look at Australians, with the big hat, knife, and backward ways. When the friends meet him in the middle of the night when their car breaks down along a lonely highway, Mick takes the group to his place. He comes across too strong though, laughing too much and making uncomfortable jokes, but still, they go with him. When Ben makes a joke comparing Mick to Crocodile Dundee , saying "That's not a knife, this is a knife," Mick goes quiet for a moment, looking at Ben with pure hatred.

Later, the car is destroyed, and Liz and Kristie are next seen tied up. Mick is there with Kristie, pointing a rifle at her, laughing as she screams in terror. This isn't a silent madman like Michael Myers . Mick loves to talk and everything is a fun game made just for him. Liz creates a diversion and grabs Mick's gun, even shooting him, but since this is only the second act, of course, the bullet just grazes him, and of course, there are no more bullets. They try to get away, but Mick tracks them down as Liz finds proof that he's been killing tourists for years. Sadly, Liz meets her end by Mick's knife. After stabbing her, he holds up his weapon and says, "That's not a knife, this is a knife." We now know Liz won't be the final girl. It's up to Kristie to carry that burden.

There Is No Final Girl in ‘Wolf Creek’

When Kristie can't find Liz, she runs off into the night. In the morning, covered in blood, she stumbles onto a highway and crumbles from exhaustion. An elderly man pulls up in his car to help her, but he's immediately shot dead from long range by Mick. Kristie takes the man's car and guns it, with Mick hot on her trail. He catches up to her, sticking out his tongue, but when Kristie forces him off the road, it looks like she'll get away. Nope. Instead, Mick gets out of his car, pulls out his rifle, and shoots out one of Kristie's tires. He then catches up to her, and as Kristie crawls away, Mick silently shoots her dead in the film's most heartbreaking and unforgiving moment. There's no final girl to be found in Wolf Creek .

Is this going to be one of those movies where all the heroes die? Not exactly. It goes worse than that. We're now down to the very rare horror movie where only the guy is alive, but even if Ben is victorious, we're not getting a happy ending. The preceding events have been too brutal and final. We haven't been following Ben at all, but now we find him crucified to a wall back at Mick's place, the dead body of another rotting tourist beside him.

10 Horror Movies Where the Villain Lives to Kill Again

Mick taylor got away to spawn a sequel and a spin-off ‘wolf creek’ show.

Ben manages to painfully escape and make it to a dirt road where he collapses. When a shadowy figure in a hat approaches him, we lean in. Here it is, the showdown between Ben and Mick. While it's a bit awkward to have Ben live and save the day while both women die , at least we have a hero who can take Mick down. Not so fast. The figure in the hat is not Mick but someone else. This person saves Ben, driving off with no madman shooting at them as they make their getaway. Mick is nowhere to be found. So he must be lying in wait, right? Just before Ben looks like he's going to make it, boom, Mick will pop up and do something in the final frame. That horror trope never comes. Instead, Ben gets taken to a hospital and later put on a medical plane. The last time we see Ben, he's in handcuffs, taken into custody by Australian authorities, as he's now the suspect in the murders of his friends.

The film ends first with text that reads,

"Despite several major police searches, no trace of Liz Hunter or Kristy Earl has ever been found. Early investigations into the case were disorganized, hampered by confusion over the location of the crimes, a lack of physical evidence, and the alleged unreliability of the only witness. After four months in police custody, Ben Mitchell was later cleared of all suspicion. He currently lives in South Australia."

We then cut to Mick walking into the sunset, rifle at his side, like it's a happy ending.

It's easy to be frustrated by Wolf Creek 's ending. It won't give us what we want. At least in The Wicker Man , Saw , The Mist , Smile, and Evil Dead Rise, we get a big showdown . Not here. These women died and were never avenged, and Ben and Mick never have a face-off. We don't get the climactic horror scene of good versus evil. Even if evil wins and Ben dies, it still has to happen, right? Instead, we just get text about bad policing. That's it? Greg McLean won't let us have our horror tropes, he chooses to go for realism by reversing expectations. The man lives, but no one will listen to his claims. He's ignored, and when he's finally let go, it's too late. He will live, but his life is ruined forever. Meanwhile, Mick is long gone, out to kill again. Mick did kill again, creating another murder spree in 2013's Wolf Creek 2 , where again, he gets away with his crimes. Mick Taylor became such an infamous character that Wolf Creek even became a two-season TV series . And guess what, Mick Taylor lives yet again! It looks like the only thing that can kill him off are producers, for even though for years there's been talk of a third season or third movie, it has yet to happen.

Wolf Creek is available to rent on Amazon.

Rent on Amazon

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Taylor swift: the eras tour's 4 hour version must surely be coming now, right.

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Eras Tour Performer Guide: Every Taylor Swift Backup Dancer & Vocalist In The Concert Movie

Every taylor swift album, ranked from worst to best, “that was a great lesson”: how denzel washington skillfully improved his 2010 thriller recalled by chris pine.

The latest Eras Tour show in Paris was filmed, hinting at a potential new concert movie release that features songs from The Tortured Poets Department .
Taylor Swift rearranges her entire setlist to include 7 songs from Tortured Poets .
Fans anticipate another extended version of The Eras Tour movie that includes the Tortured Poets era.

At her Eras Tour kick-off concert in Paris, France, Taylor Swift added new songs from her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department , to the already extensive setlist . As a result, fans are wondering if yet another version of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour movie is on the horizon. The highest-grossing concert tour of all time, The Eras Tour , which began in 2023 with its North American leg, has made upwards of $1 billion. With a record-breaking opening weekend, the subsequent Eras Tour movie concert garnered over $267.1 million.

The Taylor's Version movie concert was the most complete viewing experience — until now.

For its theatrical release, The Eras Tour Movie cut songs , but Swift has since added tracks back into the mix with each release, from the for-purchase version to the Disney+ streaming-exclusive cut, the 48-song The Eras Tour Movie (Taylor's Version) . Clocking in at over three hours, the Taylor's Version movie concert was the most complete viewing experience. Of course, the seven Tortured Poets Department songs that Swift debuted at her first Paris show has changed that. An impressive review of Taylor Swift's musical "eras," the revamped show would make for an exciting new concert movie .

Taylor Swift's First Eras Tour Show In Paris Is Being Filmed - Is A New Movie Coming?

Signs at swift's paris show indicate a new (& more complete) movie is on the horizon.

Fans who attended Taylor Swift's first Paris show were encouraged to smile — not just because they were about to enjoy an unforgettable concert, but because the performance was going to be captured on camera. According to The Eras Tour update page, Swift's May 9, 2024, show was " officially... filmed and recorded " (via X ). Notably, The Eras Tour movie was filmed across several nights during Swift's Los Angeles residency. It's possible the musician's team captured footage for promotional reasons, but, given the mastermind's past plans, it seems like something bigger will come of the recordings .

The European leg of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour kicked off on May 9 in Paris, France.

After the limited theatrical release of The Eras Tour movie , the film became available to rent for a period of time. Roughly five months after the concert movie hit theaters, it premiered on Disney+, becoming the streamer's biggest 2024 hit so far. As of May 2024, there's no physical version of The Eras Tour Movie available for purchase . Known for her many album variants, it's surprising that the artist hasn't put out a physical Blu-ray of the show. With the more complete version of the show, which boasts songs from Tortured Poets , being filmed, everything could change.

Taylor Swft: The Eras Tour movie features a highly talented roster of backup dancers and backing vocalists who accompany Swift onstage at every show.

How Taylor Swift Changed The Eras Tour Setlist To Include The Tortured Poets Department

Swift rearranged her entire eras tour setlist for ttpd.

In order to accommodate the seven tracks that Swift selected from her 31-song Tortured Poets double album , the 14-time Grammy-winning artist rearranged her entire Eras Tour setlist. Given the concert's staggering length, Swift was also forced to cut some fan-favorite tracks . While The Eras Tour still opens with the Lover era, it now moves around through the artist's discography as follows: Fearless , Red , Speak Now , Reputation , folklore/evermore , 1989 , The Tortured Poets Department , and Midnights . Sandwiched between Tortured Poets and Midnights are Swift's secret songs — two acoustic renditions of random tracks that didn't make the official setlist.

Not only were the sister projects [ folklore and evermore ] combined into one era, but Swift cut several songs from those beloved albums.

Undoubtedly, the folklore and evermore Eras took the biggest hits. Not only were the sister projects combined into one era, but Swift cut several songs from those beloved albums to make way for her latest release, including the emotional — and impressively staged — "tolerate it" from evermore . These cuts made way for the addition of a whopping seven songs from The Tortured Poets Department , including the album's lead single, "Fortnight," and stand-out viral hits like "Down Bad" and "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart."

Taylor Swift has released 11 albums (and re-recorded four) over the course of her 18-year career, some of which are better than others.

Why An Extended Version Of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour Movie Makes Sense

Swifties who won't see the tortured poets department era live could experience it in movie form.

Although Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor's Version) seemed like it would be the definitive cut of the concert movie, the addition of The Tortured Poets Department era means that the at-home viewing experience is now incomplete. It's incredibly likely that Taylor Swift 's team to release an updated version with the Tortured Poets setlist wedged into the show — or coming in at the end as a surprise "after credits" feature. It only makes sense for the musician to release another extended version of the movie, as it would allow fans who went to previous tour stops to see the latest and greatest iteration of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour .

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is a film rendition of the colossal worldwide event that sees the legendary pop star hit the stage in a specially curated film event. Performing the hits of her over seventeen-year career in music, The Eras Tour highlights Taylor Swift and her team as they put on a show of a lifetime.

Taylor Swift

The 30 Best Jokes and Craziest Moments From Tom Brady’s Netflix Roast, From Gronk Smashing Glasses to Gisele Divorce Puns

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INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MAY 05: (L-R) Kevin Hart and Tom Brady speak onstage during G.R.O.A.T The Greatest Roast Of All Time: Tom Brady for the Netflix is a Joke Festival at The Kia Forum on May 05, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Netflix)

It was a long night for Tom Brady at his live Netflix comedy roast, as it was for the rest of us watching from home.

Starting with a bloody OJ Simpson jersey and ending with Brady smashing an iPhone on stage, the Netflix live event, “The Greatest Roast of All-Time: Tom Brady,” honored the seven-time Super Bowl champion. The modern-day legend faced his biggest challenge yet: being roasted by comedians and his former NFL teammates.

The QB took so many hits regarding his failed marriage to supermodel Gisele Bündchen, which was surprising in moments where it didn’t seem to let up for a single moment, bringing some of the evening’s biggest laughs. Nonetheless, the “joke of the night” came from the GOAT himself when addressing Kim Kardashian and referencing her ex-husband Kanye West: “I know Kim was terrified to be here tonight. Not because of this, but because her kids are at home with their dad.”

When Kardashian took the stage to toast Brady, she was met with an onslaught of audible boos, but host Kevin Hart came to her aid.

Part of Netflix Is a Joke Fest , “Greatest Roasts of All Time: Tom Brady” featured the former quarterback, known for his 20 seasons with the New England Patriots and three with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, taking humorous jabs from some of the biggest names in comedy. Hosted by Hart and roastmaster Jeff Ross, the event included Brady’s former teammates Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski and Drew Bledsoe, as well as stand-up comics Tom Segura, Nikki Glaser, Andrew Schulz, Bert Kreischer, Tony Hinchcliffe, Sam Jay and more.

“We’re here to roast the greatest quarterback of all time,” Hart quipped. “Oh, wait, Joe Montana’s here?”

Brady made a grand entrance onto a stage surrounded by his former teammates, exclaiming to the crowd, “Are you guys ready? It’s game time. Let’s go!”

VIP tables, occupied by Chelsea Handler, Jim Gaffigan, Shane Gillis and Netflix executives Ted Sarandos and Bela Bajaria, encircled the stage, adding to the star-studded atmosphere of the event.

Brady’s former teammate Gronkowski took the spotlight with the most peculiar moments of the night, delivering a sometimes incoherent barrage of jokes that culminated in smashing a glass on the stage, causing it to shatter and send shards flying onto nearby tables.

Here are some of the 30 best jokes and craziest moments from the special (in no particular order):

“This is where Jerry Buss laid his dick out. This was called the Fucking Forum.” – Kevin Hart
“Tom brought Boston with him tonight. I’ve never seen Inglewood so white. It looks like a Bruce Springsteen concert just let out. This used to be the home of the Lakers; now it’s the home of the Quakers.” – Kevin Hart
“It’s been two years since Tom has gotten divorced. And since then, Tom’s been fucking. Tom has been putting that two-inch tool to work. Tom has been fucking so much; his dick has gotten CTE.” — Kevin Hart
“You know who else fucked that coach? Gisele. She fucked that karate man…. eight karate classes a day, and she’s still a white belt?” — Kevin Hart
“Chelsea Handler is here… Speaking of Black dick, Kim is here tonight.”
“I’ve just come from hell. Aaron Hernandez says hello.” — Jeff Ross
“I had to dress like OJ because I’m about to kill this white bitch right here.” — Jeff Ross
“You really put the Jizz in Gisele.” — Jeff Ross
“I really wanted Kevin [Hart] to host because he already looks like a deflated football.” — Jeff Ross
“Surely, if Mark Twain were around today, he would call you a N…. a national treasure.” — Jeff Ross
“I love you, Dana; you’re like Michael Vick but with human beings.” — Jeff Ross
“We’re doing it Boston-style tonight. You know, it’s going to marathon, and somebody’s gonna bomb.” — Jeff Ross
“We wanted to roast you in Florida, but because of your governor, we wouldn’t have been able to call you gay.” — Jeff Ross
“Tom Brady. Five-time Super Bowl MVP, most career wins, most career touchdowns. You have seven rings — well, eight, now that Gisele gave hers back. The only thing dumber than saying yes to this roast was when you said, ‘Hey babe, you should try jiu-jitsu.’” — Nikki Glaser
“I’m the best decision your organization has ever made. Would you like a massage?”– Jeff Ross
“Why the fuck didn’t we cheat when I was there?” — Randy Moss
“The only difference between Tom Brady and Hitler is that Hitler stuck with his wife until the end.” — Tom Segura and Bert Kreischer
“I love your movies, or as I like to call them, short films.” — Nikki Glaser towards Kevin Hart
“Your ex-wife’s new boyfriend can kick your ass while eating hers.” — Nikki Glaser
“Tom also lost $30 million in crypto… Tom, how did you fall for that? Even Gronk was like, ‘Me know that’s not real money.” — Nikki Glaser
“That’s why Dana [White] is here, so you can learn how to fuck a Brazilian out of half their purse. Sorry, that was a Gisele quote” — Andrew Schulz
“Or, as I like to call him, Leonardo DiCaprio‘s ex-girlfriend’s ex-husband.” — Julian Edelman
“This stage has seen more trauma than a Kennedy on the campaign trail.” — Andrew Schulz
“ACL is the only injury Gronk can spell.” — Andrew Schulz
“Nikki, who wrote that? Where was that, your entire career?” — Tony Hinchcliffe
“Bert Kreischer is a king. He looks like the Tiger King, and the Liver King only ate Burger King and had a liver that looked like Martin Luther King, who got beat up by Rodney King.” — Tony Hinchcliffe
“Your Super Bowl ring is just like my strap-on; just because you put it on doesn’t mean it’s real.” — Sam Jay
“My kids now excuse themselves to the bathroom by saying I have to go take a Brady.” — Peyton Manning
“Despite everything we’ve seen here tonight, Gronk was actually useful on the field. Although the bar for Patriots tight ends was pretty low back then: block, catch, don’t murder.” — Tom Brady
“You retired, then you came back, and then you retired again. I mean, I get it, it’s hard to walk away from something that’s not your pregnant girlfriend.” — Nikki Glaser

Matt Donnelly contributed to this report.

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There will be a new ‘lord of the rings’ movie in 2026, with a catch.

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Lord of the Rings

Warner Bros. has just announced it will return to the well of one of its most valuable IPs, Lord of the Rings, for a new feature film out in 2026.

The movie is called Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, so the catch here is that this is a movie…starring Gollum, which may not be what many fans were hoping for, rather than touching on other aspects or timelines of the larger LOTR universe. Not…more Gollum.

Naturally, Gollum actor Andy Serkis is returning for the role, but not only that, he’s also directing the film. Serkis previously directed the Venom sequel, Let There Be Carnage, and 2018’s Mowgli movie. This would be the first LOTR film not directed by Peter Jackson, who is instead producing. Here’s Serkis had to say about the Gollum film:

“Yesssss, Precious,” Serkis said. “The time has come once more to venture into the unknown with my dear friends, the extraordinary and incomparable guardians of Middle-earth Peter, Fran and Philippa. With Mike and Pam, and the Warner Bros team on the quest as well, alongside WETA and our film making family in New Zealand, it’s just all too delicious..."

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Gollum appeared both in the original trilogy and Peter Jackson’s follow-up Hobbit trilogy to a lesser extent. So this would be the third slate of projects that he’s now in, and a second LOTR film is supposed to be in the works, separate from this one.

Lord of the Rings has been a bit all over the place in recent years. Amazon, with the TV rights, has invested $1 billion into Rings of Power, its massive LOTR show focused on a young Galadriel and Elrond, which aired its first season to somewhat mixed reviews from both critics and fans. At least four more seasons are planned.

Meanwhile, in the gaming space, one of the worst video games in recent memory was in fact…The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, a horrific offering from Daedalic Entertainment that was decried as the worst game of 2023 with a shocking 33 on Metacritic. So that’s the last we saw of Gollum (he was not voiced by Serkis there).

It is no surprise that Warner Bros. wants to make more Lord of the Rings films. The original trilogy of movies were all-time fantasy classics beloved by fans and with huge box office returns. The Hobbit films were less beloved, certainly, but still performed great globally, each raking in $950-$1 billion by the end of their run. That’s absolutely something WB wants to see again.

Again, I am skeptical of a new film focused on Gollum as its star, but Serkis has always been excellent in the role, and I’m curious what he will do as a director, even if he’s somewhat still unproven in that realm. More information soon, and maybe we’ll learn what the second movie is as well.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy .

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The Best of Me movie review & film summary (2014)
The teen Amanda (played by Liana Liberato) is an outspoken lawyer-wannabe rich girl with a very strange penchant for backless attire who pursues the withdrawn Dawson ( Luke Bracey) in the most wholesome way possible. Sparks sparks eventually fly, including a requisite smooch in the rain, despite their desperate backgrounds and personalities.
The Best of Me
Rated 1/5 Stars • Rated 1 out of 5 stars 11/25/23 Full Review Joel H The Best of Me is not the best of Nicholas Sparks. This movie starts out like most other romantic dramas and spends most of ...
The Best of Me (2014)
7/10. The Best of Me was a pretty enjoyable Nicholas Sparks movie. tavm 26 October 2014. So my movie theatre-working friend was getting off from work in the afternoon today and he wanted to see another movie before going to his sister's house to watch the New Orleans-Green Bay football game there.
The Best of Me
The Best of Me is a contrived manipulation and an insult to female sensibilities. Full Review | Nov 28, 2017. Reagan Gavin Rasquinha The Times of India. The film has a lot of hidden messages like ...
The Best of Me (2014)
The Best of Me: Directed by Michael Hoffman. With Michelle Monaghan, James Marsden, Luke Bracey, Liana Liberato. A pair of former high school sweethearts reunite after many years when they return to visit their small hometown.
The Best of Me (2014 film)
The Best of Me is a 2014 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Hoffman and written by Will Fetters and J. Mills Goodloe, ... As of June 2020, the film scored a 12% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 82 reviews with an average rating of 3.64 out of 10. The site's consensus read, "At nine films and counting, ...
Film Review: 'The Best of Me'
The Best of Me. Film Review: 'The Best of Me'. Reviewed at the Grove, Los Angeles, Oct. 15, 2014. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 118 MIN. Production: A Relativity Media release and ...
The Best of Me review
H ere is a film based unmistakably on a novel by the great rom-dram maestro Nicholas Sparks. It has the steroidal-sucrose flavour of a standard-issue Sparks story about lovers wrenched apart by ...
The Best of Me
Generally Unfavorable Based on 26 Critic Reviews. 29. 4% Positive 1 Review. 35% Mixed 9 Reviews. 62% Negative 16 Reviews. All Reviews ... Even as characters are tweaked and actors bring a slightly different energy than his other movies, The Best of Me is still the same mushy Nicholas Sparks adaptation with drama so overwrought audience members ...
The Best of Me
Movie Review. Some things just go together. Like LeBron and Cleveland. Combustion engines and grease. Bacon and cholesterol medicine. Amanda and Dawson are, it would seem, two of those things. At least they were. Back in the day, when there had been just one Iraq War and grunge was still cool, the two were sweet on each other.
The Best of Me review
The Best of Me review - young lovers reunite. A nd we're back. From the opening shot of a Miller-time sunset over an azure sea, you know you're in the world of Nicholas Sparks - a world in ...
The Best of Me Movie Review
Our review: Parents say ( 6 ): Kids say ( 12 ): Both sets of ridiculously attractive couples have the required chemistry to sell the "romance" part of this affecting romantic drama. Bracey does his best at capturing the broody young boy from the wrong side of town (the only kind of guy Sparks can write, apparently).
'The Best of Me,' an Adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks Novel
The Best of Me. Directed by Michael Hoffman. Drama, Romance. PG-13. 1h 58m. In the latest weepathon from the Nicholas Sparks suds factory, the star-crossed lovers in " The Best of Me ," in the ...
'The Best of Me' movie review: Nicholas Sparks's latest dishes out more
All you need to know about "The Best of Me" is summed up in the first moments of the movie when the words "a Nicholas Sparks production" appear on screen.The novelist-turned-producer is the ...
The Best of Me
About this movie. Based on the best-selling novel by acclaimed author Nicholas Sparks, The Best of Me tells the story of Dawson and Amanda, two former high school sweethearts who find themselves reunited after 20 years apart, when they return to their small town for the funeral of a beloved friend. Their bittersweet reunion reignites the love ...
'The Best of Me' Review: Nicholas Sparks, At His Worst and ...
October 16, 2014 @ 11:03 AM. If "The Best of Me," the latest Nicholas Sparks adaptation to show up on the big screen, were to be given a report card, it'd be one of those oddly polarized ...
'The Best of Me,' movie review
Like, say, "The Best of Me." We begin in the present day, when former high school sweethearts Dawson (James Marsden) and Amanda (Michelle Monaghan) are living miserable, lonely lives miles apart.
THE BEST OF ME
The best love story of the year. THE BEST OF ME will bring out the best in you. Directed by Michael Hoffman. Written by Will Fetters and J. Mills Goodloe based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks. Cast: Michelle Monaghan, James Marsden, Liana Liberato, Luke Bracey, Gerald McRaney. Behind the Lens is your home for in-depth movie reviews, filmmaker ...
The Best of Me
About this movie. From Nicholas Sparks, this is the story of high school sweethearts who find themselves reunited after 20 years when they return to their small town for the funeral of a beloved friend. Also available:the special Tears of Joy edition with an all-new ending! From Nicholas Sparks, this is the story of high school sweethearts who ...
The Best of Me
THE BEST OF ME is a powerfully romantic story of love, hope and second chances. Based on the #1 New York Times best seller from celebrated author Nicholas Sparks comes this tender, romantic drama about the timeless power of love. When former high school sweethearts Dawson and Amanda meet at a loved one's funeral 20 years after tragedy ...
The Best of Me Movie Review
The Best of Me is among the worst of 2014's theatrical releases, which is saying a lot as this hasn't exactly been an outstanding year in cinemas (at least through mid-October). Don't fall for this fake romantic tale, and unless you want to break up with your partner, do not suggest this as a date night movie.
'The Best of Me' movie review: James Marsden ...
The Best of Me, mind you, is significantly better than that film. For most of the way, at least. While it checks off cliché after cliché, it does so with a heartfelt sincerity that succeeds in getting us to care about these people; you might just shed a tear while you're rolling your eyes. The performances are fine (Marsden and Monoghan, in ...
The Best of Me is Easily the Worst of Sparks
DVD Release Date: February 3, 2015 Theatrical Release Date: October 17, 2014 Rating: PG-13 (for sexuality, violence, some drug content and brief strong language) Genre: Drama/Romance Run Time: 117 ...
The Best of Me (2024)
Visit the movie page for 'The Best of Me' on Moviefone. Discover the movie's synopsis, cast details and release date. Watch trailers, exclusive interviews, and movie review. Your guide to this ...
Watch The Best Of Me Online
The funeral of a close friend reunites former high-school sweethearts, who find that they are still in love after 20 years apart.... more Starring Michelle Monaghan, James Marsden, Liana Liberato
Chris Pine Loves 'Poolman' Despite Negative Reviews
Chris Pine Says 'Poolman' Was the "Best Thing to Ever Happen to Me" Despite Negative Reviews. Pine said the bad reviews became "a real come to Jesus moment for me, in terms of seeing how ...
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The Movie With the Most Reviews To Get 100% on Rotten Tomatoes This movie may have been slept on while it was in theaters, but its 100% approval rating should earn it notice. Unfrosted: The Pop ...
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