The Notebook - Does It Hold Up?
Welcome to the classic hold up, where we analyze media from the past. Each episode features a different host that brings a fresh take on a film, TV show, video game, or music album of their choice. Do old favorites have a shelf life? Will the classics hold up?
Speaker 2:Hello, and welcome to this new episode of the classic hold up podcast. I'm your host, Allison Kelly. I am currently a junior at Michigan State University studying digital storytelling with a concentration in multicam production. After I complete my degree, I hope to get an entry level job at a public media station to then hopefully work my way up to being a live television director or producer. If that doesn't work out, I would love to go for a graduate degree and get my master's in broadcast journalism to sharpen my storytelling skills even more.
Speaker 2:Being in this field or major means I find myself talking about movies all the time. Good movies, bad movies, movies that just make you feel something, and movies that maybe just don't hold up quite as well as people think they do. Over time, I have honestly become quite the film person. Not in a pretentious way. I just love stories that stick with people.
Speaker 2:My favorite movie genre is romance, tried and true. And in this episode, we will be discussing the movie The Notebook directed by Nick Casavetes. The Notebook released in June 2004 stars Ryan Gosling as Noah Calhoun and Rachel McAdams as Ali Hamilton, his love interest. The Notebook is widely considered as a classic romance film and is actually based off of the novel The Notebook written by Nicholas Sparks. The Notebook is told in a frame narrative or a story within a story.
Speaker 2:The story starts with an old man reading to an old woman in a nursing home where the woman is staying. The old man called Duke is reading from a handwritten notebook to the woman, and the story quickly flashes back to the story within the notebook where Noah Calhoun and Ali Hamilton initially meet in the nineteen forties. Noah first sees Ali at a carnival in their hometown in South Carolina, and Ali wants nothing to do with Noah when he asks her out. He has persistent and somewhat toxic ways of always showing up in her life, including but not limited to him threatening to drop from the top of a Ferris wheel unless she says she'll go out with him. Now, obviously, Noah's tactics are extreme and kind of creepy in real life.
Speaker 2:But somehow, on screen, these tactics slowly cause her to like Noah romantically, and they start dating. It is a standard cliche trope of a short summer romance between a poor country boy and a rich city girl, but the chemistry between the two is unmatched. The story switches between the flashback of Noah and Allie to the old pair in the nursing home. This is done mainly through flashbacks and flashes to the present day, but sometimes is just a voiceover of the old man reading over footage of the young couple. In the flashback, Noah and Allie's relationship grows quickly and they go through the typical deep moments, fights, and everything that has to do with a young high school couple.
Speaker 2:Later, towards the end of their summer, Allie finds out she's leaving town to go to college, which results in a fight between Allie and Noah, leading to their initial breakup. The story then picks up pace and Ali, later in life, finds another man named Lon Hammond, and they get engaged. Lon and Ali are textbook perfect for each other. They both come from money, and Ali's parents love him. When Allie is trying on wedding dresses, she sees a newspaper photo of Noah in front of the dream house they once planned together.
Speaker 2:Noah and Allie shared an intimate moment in this old abandoned house, and Noah spent his time away from Ali fixing up said old abandoned house to exactly what Ali's dream house was, which is a little obsessive, but I can see the vision. All of this causes Ali's feelings for Noah to reignite. In the present day, it is revealed that the pair or couple are Noah and Allie. Allie has dementia and Noah is reading a story of their lives that they wrote together to get Allie to remember. We are introduced to their children who desperately want Noah, their dad, to come home and stop trying with their mom, Allie, but Noah is persistent.
Speaker 2:Back in the nineteen forties, Allie freaks out from the newspaper photo and goes to visit Noah without telling her fiance the reason for the trip. They share a few intimate moments and they start talking about their past, which results in a fight, of course, but quickly turns into them kissing each other in the rain, the most iconic scene from the film. This causes some controversy as Ali has to choose between her summer love, Noah, or her fiance, Lan. Now, of course, we know that Ali chooses Noah because of the present day scenes, but we still get to actually see Allie choose Noah when she shows up with her bags to the house that Noah fixed up just how she wanted it. We are thrown back into the world of old Noah and Allie, and defying science, Allie starts to remember.
Speaker 2:Ally knows she is sick as she asks Noah how much time they have. They start to slow dance for a few minutes before Ally's mind starts slipping again. The story ends with old Noah sneaking out of his room to see Ally in the nursing home. They pass away side by side, which isn't stated outright but is widely understood. It's a heartbreaking yet strangely peaceful ending, but kind of devastating if you ask me.
Speaker 2:At its core, The Notebook isn't just a summer romance. It's about memories, the choices we make, and how love can endure despite everything life throws at us. Those themes are what give the movie its staying power. My personal connection to this movie starts back in 2020 during the COVID lockdown. Like everyone else, I was bored out of my mind, and I decided that it was finally time to watch The Notebook.
Speaker 2:I am a sucker for romance, and my favorite movie to this day is Titanic, so naturally I started comparing the two. Right away, I noticed all of these parallels, so I think that skewed my rating a little bit. Not only do Noah and Allie look like Jack and Rose, but the setup is almost the same. A poor, carefree boy falls for a wealthy girl who's expected to marry someone else. Both movies also use a frame narrative.
Speaker 2:Titanic with Rose retelling her story to a group of researchers, and The Notebook with Noah reading their story back to Allie from the notebook they wrote together. Like I said, I think these similarities made me enjoy The Notebook more than I would have otherwise because I already loved Titanic so much. With that being said, I still loved the movie on its own. I even rewatch from time to time with my friends. And honestly, one of my favorite parts is watching their reactions at the end.
Speaker 2:This may sound cynical, but I didn't cry the first time I saw The Notebook. Still, whenever I show it to someone new, they always tear up, and rightfully so. So even though The Notebook isn't my all time favorite movie, I completely understand why it's considered one of the most popular romance films and how much of an impact it's made on the genre. To talk more about The Notebook, I wanted to bring in a guest. Welcome Angelica Pena.
Speaker 2:Angelica, do you wanna give us a brief introduction to who you are?
Speaker 3:Yes. Of course. Hi, guys. My name's Angelica. My voice is a little raspy because I'm sick.
Speaker 3:I think I'm sick. Yeah. My name's Angelica. I'm a media relations major here at Com Arts Sci, and I am a junior. So happy to be here with you, Allison.
Speaker 3:What is your personal connection to The Notebook? Like, when did you first watch it? How do you feel about it? Oh my gosh, dude. I love that movie.
Speaker 3:I grew up watching it. It was my mom's favorite movie when I was growing up. So I would see it every now and then. I definitely didn't get super in touch with the storyline or kind of the artistry of it until I was older. Kind of now it means a little bit more to me, just the depth of it.
Speaker 3:But yeah, I would watch it when I was a kid. It just was on every now and then when mom was having an ice cream night. That is beautiful.
Speaker 2:How do you think The Notebook was viewed when it was first released?
Speaker 3:I think there's kind of two camps you can fall into with The Notebook. And I think, like, one of them is, like, you know, being a little concerned about, like, the relationships and she was married and all those kind of things. And then there's kind of, like, the one we're looking at. Wow. That is that is real love right there, what they have for each other and, you know, they had to do or at least Allie did trial and error to kinda get to Noah at the end.
Speaker 3:But, yeah, I personally really like it. I think that it's a love story.
Speaker 2:Definitely. Upon release, The Notebook was very popular. Ryan Gosling was already a pretty well known actor at the time, and Rachel McAdams was also filming Mean Girls at a similar time, if not the same time. I'm not sure. And I think Mean Girls came first, so she was also already pretty popular.
Speaker 2:It did win a few awards as well. It won an MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss in 2005. And also in 2005, it won two Teen Choice Awards, Best Drama and Choice Date Movie. Kinda contrasting to how it was viewed on release, how do you think the movie is viewed today?
Speaker 3:I think that honestly today, definitely positively, I think by most people, I think that there can be a little pushback because I think like every now and then, well, they were like, she's kind of cheating on her husband. But it's totally fine. Like I said before, trial and error to find your true love. And, you know, just a very, very moving movie. You can just definitely tell you say The Notebook and everyone gets so excited.
Speaker 3:Maybe less so guys, but I just know that a lot of my girlfriends will get so excited just talking about that movie. Yeah. It definitely deserved all the awards it got. It's just such a work of art. The acting in it was amazing.
Speaker 3:Timeless actors, Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. Definitely.
Speaker 2:I also did see an article where it was like, this girl rewatched The Notebook because it came out when she was in her teens and she rewatched it and she was like, this is really toxic. And I was like, I can kind of see that. But it's okay. This question is kind of similar. But going off of that, if The Notebook was released today, how do you think it would do?
Speaker 3:I think that it's kind of hard to say because I think a lot of movies kind of The Notebook kind of set the what's the word? The precedent or whatever? Like, I don't know. Mhmm. It kind of set the tone for just those really good movies like that.
Speaker 3:Just the music, the filming, the storyline, everything about it. I definitely think that if it was released today it would probably get the same reaction. I think that they would maybe try to make it a little bit more diverse just kind of with what Hollywood's trying to do right now with the movies they release. But yeah, I kind of like it just the way it is. I think it was released at just the right time in Hollywood where they were making those types of movies.
Speaker 3:But, yeah, again, timeless. Perfect timing for it. It was right place, right time.
Speaker 2:I definitely agree. But I know what you mean. Getting mad about, like, the lack of representation. Yeah. It's also tough because it was set in the nineteen forties.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah. So, like, what what are you gonna do about that almost?
Speaker 3:Right. Nineteen forties, definitely I mean, that's a good point too, like, looking back at when it was released. It's like, I don't know if that was really the main priority. Mhmm. But, yeah, I like it just the way it is.
Speaker 3:I think it's beautiful. Mhmm. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Kind of piggybacking off of that as well, how do you think The Notebook is gonna be viewed in the future, in, like, maybe twenty years from
Speaker 3:now? Well, I mean, kind of like I kind of like to look at people who are younger than me that I know, younger friends that I have that are still in high school, to kind of look at how are movies doing that I love so much right now amongst their generation. And honestly it's still pretty well loved. Still pretty well watched. It has a lot of fans still even in that generation.
Speaker 3:Think looking at maybe my sister's generation, maybe 10 years old, 11 years old, they might not know what it is. I would hope in my heart that it kind of lasts the test of time. Yeah, I mean definitely I guess as things change and trends change and interests change and things like that, maybe it won't be valued as much. But, I mean, I would hope that it kind of sticks around for a while.
Speaker 2:Definitely. I agree. I think, like you said, it is a classic, so I can definitely see it sticking around. I'm just not sure if it'll stay as popular as it is now.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I think definitely looking at other movies that are from the Titanic maybe or even older than The Notebook, like The Sound of Music, things like that. Those are definitely timeless movies that I would find watching even though I was not born anywhere near the time that was released. But I think that it will fall amongst a crowd who values the things in it. You know, the artistry in it and things like that.
Speaker 3:And it will find its place if it's not among the masses anymore. As a huge popularity, it will probably fall amongst where it needs to be.
Speaker 2:Definitely. Definitely.
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Speaker 2:So now we have some more lighthearted questions that we can answer now. So did watching The Notebook change your standards for men or romance in general? Man, I mean
Speaker 3:That's a hard one because I'm definitely single right now. The Notebook definitely makes me feel something. But it definitely changed my standards of being pursued. He did kind of she was engaged. I do think in my heart he might have held on a little bit longer than he should have.
Speaker 2:I agree.
Speaker 3:But it's still so sweet to see, so it's hard to say stuff like that. Definitely changed my standards for you know, he never really changed his mind about her. Even when he found a new girl, a new redhead, he still saw Allie in her. Which, yeah, I can see the toxicity you were talking about. But definitely, definitely just true love being pursued.
Speaker 3:Especially at the end when he said, My home is wherever your mom is. And even when she didn't remember him anymore, and they went away together. It's just so moving. I know it might be a little unrealistic to most, but, like, I still watch it and I just feel so much hope. I'm like, wow.
Speaker 3:I know there's somebody out there.
Speaker 2:Definitely. I agree. I think I can I can look past the toxicity? Might think it definitely definitely changed my standards.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I definitely need to rethink some things.
Speaker 2:The next question is, is it based on a true story? I can start off this one. I think it is actually based off a book,
Speaker 3:which I just learned by Nicholas Sparks. I'm 98 sure it
Speaker 2:was a book too. I
Speaker 3:think the best the best movies come from books. I love that.
Speaker 2:Is there a notebook in the movie and does it have significance?
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, I love this question. Whole premise of the movie is based off So Allie writes this notebook and it's because when she gets older, as we know, she has dementia. So she writes this notebook, it's journaling their whole relationship, how they met up until when she lost her memory and started realizing. You know those kinds of things. So she started writing these stories for herself.
Speaker 3:The note in the beginning of the notebook that he kind of opens at the end and is reading to her to try to get her to come back, it says, Read this and I'll come back to you. And nobody really believed in them. But he had so much belief that their love was so strong that she'd come back to him. And she did, just at the perfect time. Notebook, I think in general, the premise of the journal that she has is so forgotten.
Speaker 3:But it is the whole movie. It is where the story is coming from in the beginning to the end. So I love that.
Speaker 2:Yes. You said it was forgotten, I completely agree. Because when I was rewatching The Notebook, I completely forgot about the literal notebook. Yeah. I think my favorite quote from the movie though is science only goes so far and then comes God.
Speaker 3:Stop because I wrote that down. Oh, man.
Speaker 2:Oh, it's so good. And then it literally is true. It works.
Speaker 3:Literally is.
Speaker 2:Alright. Do you think if Noah and Allie had gotten back together sooner, do you think it would have changed the story?
Speaker 3:I think that, yeah, I think that they had to be I'm a big proponent of everything happens for a reason. Everything is kind of right place, right time. So I think that definitely them being apart really helped them realize how much their love meant to them. How much it wasn't just a summer fling and a summer romance. Kind of like all their parents had told them.
Speaker 3:You'll meet somebody else. He's just a boy that you met during the summer. You guys are just kids type of thing. So I definitely think they needed that time to grow into adults to realize that love withstood and it wasn't just something silly. It was real.
Speaker 3:There was a part where they were on the porch swing when she had come back to him to visit him, unbeknownst to her husband. And she was kind of saying, It was real, wasn't it? It wasn't because we were just kids. And yeah, it does still doesn't feel like it's over yet. So I definitely think they needed that time to realize that.
Speaker 2:I definitely agree. I think I agree that everything happens for a reason, even if she low key cheated on her husband, you know? Who works for Noah and Allie. So
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah. No. That's all that matters.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Exactly. So The Notebook is known as the romance movie. Do you think it lives up to that standard?
Speaker 3:I think it's definitely subjective. I think that there's a lot of rom coms out there from the nineties and the twenty tens even that, like, really, really, like, give it a run for its money just with, like, 27 Dresses, 10 Things I Hate About You, 13 Going on 30, all those fun ones. But I definitely think when you look at it, I think that the fact that it's not a rom com, the fact that there's just so much so much artistry that went into it and the storyline and the book leading up to it. In my heart, subjective truth and real truth, but my truth right now is that I definitely think it is the romance movie. And I definitely think a lot of people would agree with that.
Speaker 2:I definitely agree. Mhmm. Just the way it's talked about even now, like the one rain scene. It's just like it's still so iconic. So I definitely think I definitely think it lives up to the standard.
Speaker 3:Yes. And the docs, like
Speaker 2:Mhmm. And then kind of a similar question, but the whole point of our podcast, does The Notebook hold up as a classic?
Speaker 3:I mean, I'm just gonna say yes. Like Mhmm. Of course. Like, I hope it does in the future. It definitely does now.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I agree. I think it definitely holds up even though I have some beef with it being a little bit toxic.
Speaker 3:Yeah. No. I have the same thing, Allison. Don't even worry.
Speaker 2:Thank you. Thank you. But, yeah, I definitely think it holds up. Yes. Me too.
Speaker 2:Well, unfortunately, that is all the time we have today. But thank you so much for being here and talking with me about The Notebook.
Speaker 3:Of course. I'm so happy to be here. This was so much fun.
Speaker 2:Today, we dove into The Notebook, exploring the story of Noah Calhoun and Ali Hamilton. We covered the frame narrative, the iconic scenes, some questionable scenes, and why this film still resonates with so many people today. This podcast was written and produced by Alison Kelly. Special thanks to my guest, Angelica Pena, for being here with me today. We'll see you next time.
Speaker 1:Find the classic holdup on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow us at Audio Video Land for updates, teasers, and behind the scenes content of all audio video land productions. The Classic Hold Up is an audio video land production by students of the College of Communication Arts and Sciences at Michigan State University in collaboration with Impact eighty nine FM.