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1 LOVE WAITS - BUT DOES 1 LOVE ENDURE?
By Paula K. Parker
1 Love. Boy meets Girl; Boy loses Girl; Boy gets Girl back again. From storybook fantasies like "The Princess Bride" to sappy love stories like…well, like "Love Story" the motif repeats itself in endless incarnations. 'Love means never having to say your sorry.' 'Love is a many splendored thing.' 'Love conquers all.' It is the catalyst for much Tinsel-town derring-do (Have fun storming the castle!). It is the Hollywood Holy Grail - the director who finds it becomes a chick-flick magnet, and where chicks are, guys are. The Titanic sank, but the box office went through the roof.
There is no doubt that 1 Love sells, and sometimes 1 Love waits. And, at least in the movies 1 Love never dies. But with all those depressing statistics about half of all marriages ending in divorce, the question is, does 1 Love last? After screening "The Notebook," Hollywood's latest statement on the affairs of the heart, I had the opportunity to visit with the cast and crew, who graciously shared their views on the nature of Enduring Love.
New York Times Best-Selling author, Nicholas Sparks, whose book was the basis for the film is an ardent proponent of the concept of Enduring Love, and was eager to share his advice on marital bliss.
"The secret to a happy marriage is extraordinarily simple," he declares. "But it requires both parties to take part. The secret to a happy marriage is this: find out what the most important things are to your spouse and do them. That only works if your spouse does them back."
For Sparks the reality of a love that endures was modeled by his wife's grandparents whose story he fictionalized as Noah and Allie in his novel, "The Notebook." And while there are stark differences between the novel and the film, Sparks is lavish in his praise of the movie version.
"I loved it. I thought the film was really very romantic and very sweet, and I thought it captured young and everlasting love in a way that is seldom done on film."
But more than just the fiery, passionate young love portrayed in so many contemporary romantic films, Sparks appreciated the way the film celebrated mature, lasting love that is perhaps mellower, yet no less dramatic for being less physically passionate.
"Most people fall in love because of that passion. If you are fortunate, you meet the right person, and you share the same moral values and you share the same commitment toward each other. I don’t know that love changes. People change. Circumstances change. In the end, Noah loves Allie just like he used to. He’s older now, things are different, and he can’t show it the way he wants to if he could; but that doesn’t change the way he feels and always felt for her. Richness in love takes time. The theme of the book and the film is Everlasting Love. You can’t have everlasting love if it’s just about Noah and Allie as teenagers, or Noah and Allie in their twenties when they got back together. No, it’s got to last through everything if it’s going to be everlasting."
Surprisingly, movie heartthrob, Ryan Gosling (young Noah in the film), seemed a bit bemused by the whole question of love and romance. "I don't know a whole lot about romance," he confessed. "I sort of thought (The Notebook) was a fairy tale, but an interesting one. I don't know anyone who has had a romance quite like this, but I
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