Message In a Bottle

I've read a few Nicolas Sparks books now, and I really don't get it. How is his work any better than the countless Harlequins multiplying each day? It certainly isn't his writing style... snore. His heros and heroines don't seem any bigger or truer to life. The scene with Garrett cooking Theresa dinner is straight out of his novel "The Notebook". Couldn't he be even a little bit original? I will admit that the ending differs from your typical Harlequin ending, and it was moving ... slightly.

The first change that bothered me was their tracking of the letter. Theresa and her friend did not use any clues from the actual letter - instead relying on the typewriter itself and the design of the bottle. The search felt more like a scene from CSI than a search for a soulmate.

The movie has some other puzzling differences. Why place Theresa in Chicago instead of Boston? At first I was disappointed she was a fact-checker instead of a writer, but I understood this change when her relationship with Garrett inspired her to write a column. The inspiration was two-way, as Theresa inspired him to finish his boat.

In the movie, Garrett runs a boat restoration company instead of a dive shop. This change seemed insubstantial to me, and set up the 'christening' of the boat 'Catherine' nicely. The additional plot line of a family feud between Garrett and his in-laws added some spice to an extremely dull and slow storyline. Theresa almost turns away from their initial boat ride because of the fight she witnesses between Garrett and his ex-brother-in-law.

The unfolding of the romance was tedious and awkward. There was so much nervous laughter and awkward silences. I felt zero chemistry between Costner and Robin Wright Penn. The love scenes were tasteful but b-o-r-i-n-g.

One added twist in the movie is the letter written by Catherine. Garrett discovers it only through Theresa. Although he knows Catherine had thrown a letter to sea, he had not previously read it. To me this was the most intense scene, as Garrett reads over his love's last words to the world.

In the novel, Garrett is caught out at sea in a storm that is just too rough to survive. In the film, he is managing his own boat and only dies because he is determined to rescue a mother that has fallen into the sea. I prefer the film's alteration, and I felt the tragedy of his death more strongly in the movie.

Although the movie was slow at points, and awkward, and sometimes tedious to watch, it still was more interesting and inspired than the novel itself.