As teenagers, Dawson Cole and Amanda Collier fell deeply in love, but life set them on different paths. 20 years later, the death of a friend returns them to their home town, where they look back on the past. Amanda is now married with two children, while Dawson, after an accident on the oil platform where he works, is questioning his life. After a few days, they get to know one another again and pardon each other’s old mistakes…

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The credits are a warning in themselves: directed by Michael Hoffman, who made One Fine Day with George Clooney and Gambit with Colin Firth; adapted from the novel by Nicholas Sparks, who specializes in cheesy romance like Message in a Bottle, The Notebook and Dear John. It’s no surprise then that this movie is two hours of corny love story set in a soft-lit landscape, with a bad soundtrack, syrupy dialogue, a hunky hero and a well-coiffed heroine. Although the teen part of the movie is extremely bland with a crass bit of tragedy contrived to move things along, the scenes between James Marsden and Michelle Monaghan at least lend the story a bit of life. But that's not enough to redeem this soppy waste of time.