The Vow: A 'sappy' Notebook knock-off?

Kleenex-clutching romantics may love the new Rachel McAdams-Channing Tatum love story. But what about the rest of humankind?

"The Vow," starring Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum
(Image credit: Facebook/The Vow)

Just like The Notebook and Dear John, both adapted from Nicholas Sparks classics, this weekend's "sappy" new drama The Vow boasts an almost oppressively romantic plot. When Paige, played by The Notebook's Rachel McAdams, and husband Leo (Channing Tatum) get into a brutal car accident, she suffers amnesia and can't remember the last five years — including minor details like her marriage. Her heartbroken beefcake spouse must make Paige fall in love with him all over again. Early tracking indicates that women (and their begrudging dates) will flock to the film in droves, just as they did for The Notebook eight years ago. Will they be disappointed?

Certain susceptible women will love it. Their dates, not so much: The Vow is marginally better than it looks, says Kimber Myers at Indie Wire. Still, anyone outside of its target demographic will "find it a painful experience." Tatum's swoonworthy Leo is the personification of "everything that women are told they want in Cosmopolitan": He strums the guitar, proffers flowers, and finds time to maintain washboard abs. Too bad he's saddled with dialogue "straight out of a Sweet Valley High novel." Women who love these types of movies will gobble up The Vow like a Whitman's Sampler. Everyone else: Run.

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