I’ll admit that, at times, The Notebook does manage to be mildly affecting as a romance. There’s a certain sweetness to the idealistic romance between the two main characters. It’s not often you get a story that’s so unabashedly driven in its romance. The two heroes face obstacles, of course, but they’re all superficial. Nothing can get between the depths of the love that these two have for each other. I like that. I do.

But The Notebook has some serious problems. First, and perhaps most importantly, The Notebook offers nothing beyond its mild frills of romance. For a story about a love so strong, it’s remarkably bland. Neither of the characters nor any of their situations are of the least bit of interest.

We follow the long – overlong – story of city girl Allie (Rachel McAdams) and country boy Noah (Ryan Gosling) as they meet, fall in love, and struggle to stay together. Social status keeps them apart for some time, but love conquers all, so they say. The film is a dime a dozen teenage romance novel.

The story is told through the titular notebook, which is read by one older man (James Garner) to an older woman (Gena Rowlands). Their story, interspersed throughout the reading, is actually more interesting then the story being told, but it hardly makes up for the bulk of the movie that focuses on the younger couple.

The most disappointing thing about the movie is that it made money, which means that another Nicholas Sparks teenage romance novel is certain to hit theaters before long.