MovieChat Forums > The Vow (2012) Discussion > Isn't this basically the Notebook

Isn't this basically the Notebook

posted 12 years ago by mattsr92182-281-434330
30 replies | jump to latest

I saw the preview of this awhile back and was thinking, isn't this a rip off of the notebook in a way. Girl loses memory and has to relearn to love her husband, only difference is she doesn't keep losing it. Idk, just same person who was in the note book, and similar story. Seems like they just want to milk the success of the note book and pull in the audience who watched it.

I was actually surprised i liked the Note Book, it took a lot of goating from my friends to make me believe that a guy could see a chick flick and actually like it. Finally caved in and was surprised to find out, not every chick flick has to be overly mushy and could actually have a decent story.

I am not saying that all chick flicks don't have stories, they are just usually oriented more towards the female persuasion. Otherwise they would not be called chick flicks now would they lol.

[–] lightprincess13 12 years ago

The basic events are taken from a true story that occurred in the early '90s. Girl meets boy, they get married, get in a car crash, girl loses significant chunk of her memory including all memories of boy, boy and girl eventually work things out and get back together. All of that really happened.

So, no. It's not a rip-off of the Notebook.

Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. - C.S.Lewis

[–] mattsr92182-281-434330 12 years ago

Well, i guess i am informed now. I just assumed since they cast Rachel McAdams as the girl who loses her memory, that they were just trying to pull in the audience of the Note Book. I guess, they still could be, even though it is still based off of real life occurrence.

A lot of people might put the connection that i did together as well and think the same thing and go see the movie because of that.

[–] movie_fan59 12 years ago

I'm curious. Did you actually see the movie before making the comparison?

The reason I ask was those big, bold words that appeared on-screen as the movie begins. The ones that read "Inspired By True Events".

The same words that were featured prominently in the theatrical trailer?

So if you hadn't seen either instance of those words, I could get why you might think this a rip-off of "The Notebook" in some way. But if you'd seen those words, that just doesn't seem possible.

Jake: How often does the train go by?
Elwood: So often that you won't even notice it.

[–] ASDampf 12 years ago

I've only briefly seen one trailer for this movie and it didn't seem like The Notebook to me, but the premise is the same and the actress is the same so I can see where you would draw the connection. Honestly, it sounds more like a mash-up of The Notebook and 50 First Dates when you read the plot. Stereotypical-sounding chick flick, plus Channing Tatum is the worst dramatic actor of all-time.

Can't be good but I'm sure your girlfriend will still drag you to see it bc of Tatum and his boyish good looks. Somebody please shoot me in the face.

[–] movie_fan59 12 years ago

"...but the premise is the same..."

The actress is the same. The basic premise is not. There's some "flashback" in "The Vow", but it isn't the story of two elderly people and how they came to be.

It's worth noting that the real life story of "The Vow" took place before The Notebook novel was published.

Jake: How often does the train go by?
Elwood: So often that you won't even notice it.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] jacobbruinsma 11 years ago

There is quite a lot of difference between dementia and a piece of your memory gone by whatever reason. It obviously hints at memento ( see the name of the cafe) But that was a lost of short-time memory (and though it made for an interesting thriller, it is riddled with mistakes.) 50 first dates - also the incapability to remember the last day is a romantic comedy - but there they got it right - if you overlook the fact that you exactly the whole day, then wake op without remember it at all. In the long kiss goodnight, there is amnesia - and that may disappear. Never mind, any film with Wendy Crewson is fine by me.

[–] Foxxyx 12 years ago

But the main plot of The Notebook wasn't that she lost her memory and had to relearn to love her husband, that was just the little reveal at the very end of when she was older and had Alzheimer's. The main plot was simply the love story of boy meets girl.

Whereas the whole plot of this movie seems to be based on her losing her memory and him winning her heart back. Totally different. The only thing this and the Notebook have in common is they are both shallow chick-flicks, and they both feature Rachel McAdams.

[–] fmbowey 12 years ago

There's a saying 'if you love someone, set them free, and see if they come back again,' this is really what the film is about. Leo doesn't actually win her back again, he concedes that 'she doesn't love me.' What happens at the end is that they both realize that they are different people, and if they are to fall in love again, they have to fall in love with the people they are - not who they where. Leo has to accept Paige is never going to be the woman he married, part of her will always be missing.

If you think that's shallow, I pity you.

[–] Foxxyx 12 years ago

By shallow, I do not mean the overall message, which of course is very touching and such. I simply mean that, like all chick-flicks, they are 80% idealized fantasies. They only really scratch the surface of what an actual relationship is like.

And truthfully, I haven't even seen this movie, but I've seen The Notebook and plenty other movies in the same category to quite safely bet this one will not be much different. Sure, it will probably make me cry, but it's not how relationships happen in real life, and people who expect their relationships to play out like those on the silver screen are almost always disappointed.

[–] Lyuman 12 years ago

I find it humorous, how you and many others on this message board, can have such disparaging comments to say about this film but have yet to even see it.

I get it.

It's Rachel McAdams, in yet another chick flick.

It also stars the horror-of-an-actor Channing Tatum.

As someone else mentioned, other than Rachel also being in The Notebook, it's pretty much the only similarity it has with The Vow.

Beyond that, it's a pretty decent flick. And suprisingly, Channing doesn't suck in it (and this is coming from someone who literally hates him as an actor).

Do yourself a favor and give it a shot before making assumptions, much like the OP already has...

[–] JW-7 12 years ago

I've seen both. Notebook is one of my favorites all-time, and this one...isn't. That being said Rachel is so extremely appealing that she almost saves this one. Had she had an actor the caliber of Ryan Gosling opposite her, they may have had something. But Channing Tatum...isn't. Although he does grow on you as the movie progresses, he never totally climbs out of the "big lummox" box.

There are several truly snarky hate-able characters from her past there---Dad, Jeremy, and, to a lesser extent, Mom (although she is rescued by a sterling scene late in the movie), and, without them, the movie, despite Rachel's appeal, is thoroughly disposable.

Bottom line: other than it's about love, it's not close to The Notebook, either in content or caliber. But Rachel MacAdams is a STAR.

[–] epsomsalt 12 years ago

If Ryan Gosling is so good, then how come "Blue Valentine" and "Drive" flop at the box office.

The Vow has already passed all of RG films ,except for "Remember the Titans" starring Denzel Washington.

I think Tatum did a find job.

Gosling is not going backward in his career to do a movie similiar to "The Notebook" that spot now belongs to CT.

[–] JW-7 12 years ago

You can't be serious. How can a movie with a great actor fail if the actor is so good? You are equating caliber of acting with success at the box office. Lots of great actors (including many of our biggest past and present stars) have been in movies that flopped, despite the fact that they were excellent in them. Look no further than any year's list of Oscar nominees. Very few actors can make a movie a success that doesn't have B.O. appeal for a variety of reasons--subject matter, script, just timing, marketing, etc. Pick your favorite actor. Guaranteed that he or she has been in a major flop at some point in their careers--and some of them many times. That goes for TV as well as movies.

[–] jeanniemotherof3 12 years ago

Nah, The Notebook is a classic, it is not just a "shallow chick flick" Maybe true for this Movie, but The Notebook deserves more than that! come on...

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] 12 years ago

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[–] jeanniemotherof3 12 years ago

This film should never be compared to The Notebook

The Notebook is a classic.

Just no comparison!

[–] littlekaren 12 years ago

Having seen The Notebook many times, I did not find it similar. Yes, there are boy gets girl, boy loses girl, etc. plots but this movie wasn't that particular one.

[–] dt888d 12 years ago

I'd recommend to see this Korean flix much better and it's called "A Moment to Remember".

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0428870/

[–] proent 12 years ago

/ 50 first dates

[–] packro 12 years ago

"Isn't this basically the Notebook?"

Who the hell cares?! Not everyone has seen that movie! You SUCK

<Generation "me" is an EPIC FAILURE>

[–] zoomp81 12 years ago

This movie is NOTHING like The Notebook! I could go on and list how different the two movies are from each other, but that could take all night! And it is not only because The Vow is based on a true story and The Notebook is not, that the movies are different. Its more than that, come on!!