Rewatchables Reference

• The first date – lying in the street, almost getting hit by a car, dancing, Gosling humming 'I'll Be Seeing You.' Maybe the most romantic five minutes of cinema of the past two decades.
• The montage culminating with 'If you're a bird, I'm a bird' on the beach.
• Allie arriving at Noah's restored house, driving into the fence, and staying.
• The rain scene on the dock – 'Why didn't you write me?' / 'I wrote you every day for 365 days' / 'It wasn't over. It still isn't over.' Then the kiss and sex scene in the house.
• The 'I want all of you' fight – the most powerful Ryan Gosling moment, source code for who he becomes as an actor.
• Winner: 'It still isn't over' (2-1, with Juliet preferring the first date).

• The chemistry between Gosling and McAdams – all-time. Women were yelling at Gosling on the street for breaking up with McAdams in real life.
• Rachel McAdams in general – her charm jumps off the screen. She plays the role differently than the typical romantic lead, more feisty and aggressive.
• Setting it in the 1940s as a period piece – the costumes and references never date, very smart.
• The structural device of the old people – ridiculous on paper but somehow it works, giving gravitas to the younger story.
• James Marsden as the likeable rival – you actually root for Lon, up there with Dempsey in Sweet Home Alabama.

• The portrayal of race – everyone in a service role is black, there's too much plantation stuff, it's glaring and uncomfortable.
• The war scenes – Kevin Connolly dying in battle is really tough. Was it necessary?
• The portrayal of dementia/Alzheimer's – not an accurate representation of lucidity, how long it lasts, or whether it can be induced.
• Kevin Connolly – his Entourage fame has downgraded significantly. Also somehow bad at acting while playing dead.
• The treatment of Martha Shaw – Noah treats her like garbage and the movie frames it as showing what a good guy he is.
• Allie's dad – unnecessarily harsh Colonel Sanders mustache man who's an unrealized character.
• Dying together in bed – shades of 'Titanic', a little weird.

• Jessica Biel called it 'the film that got away' – she really wanted the role of Allie.
• Britney Spears was considered for Allie. Justin Timberlake was rumored for Noah. A Justin and Britney Notebook would have been terrible.
• Reese Witherspoon and Ashley Judd (too old) were also in the mix for Allie.
• Tom Cruise was once attached to play Noah, coming off 'Minority Report'. Would have been a completely different movie.
• Steven Spielberg at one point wanted to direct.

• Amanda picks James Garner – carries the entire old people plotline, has to play it straight so you don't know who he is, makes it work.
• Andrew picks Joan Allen – throwing heaters as an extremely Southern scheming mom.
• Juliet picks James Marsden – so delightful and likeable in the good-guy-who-gets-passed-over role. Hard to be likeable in that kind of role.
• Honorable mentions: Sam Shepard (barely in it but so charming) and Gena Rowlands.

• Gosling and McAdams didn't like each other on set. The fiery passion between them is real.
• James Garner told Gosling 'I don't do accents, kid' and 'I don't care' about matching eye color.
• Nick Cassavetes directed his own mother (Gena Rowlands), leading to amusing 'Mom, action!' moments on set.
• Gosling moved to South Carolina and started making furniture to prepare for the role.
• Rachel McAdams also moved to Charleston to get comfortable with the terrain. Very Canadian.
• They cast Gosling first and waited a long time to find McAdams – half the battle was won when they found her.
• They won Best Kiss at the MTV Movie Awards and re-enacted it on stage in a famous 2005 moment.
• Nicholas Sparks got in trouble for some offensive remarks in an email.
• Netflix changed the ending without telling anyone, removing the death scene.

• Rachel McAdams – debated between 'The Notebook' and 'Wedding Crashers'. Objectively 'Wedding Crashers' (riding the wave of 'Mean Girls' + Notebook), but subjectively and emotionally 'The Notebook', especially because her relationship with Gosling made them celebrities.
• Also Apex Mountain for Nick Cassavetes (best movie he ever made by far) and Nicholas Sparks (created an entire industry).

• Kevin Connolly – in 2019 he's just 'E' from Entourage. He dated Nicky Hilton, which is a very 2004 thing.
• Paul Johansson also gets a mention – a random one-line cameo connected to the One Tree Hill North Carolina filming world.

• Joan Allen in the wedding dress scene – the thickest her accent gets, does a little shimmy with her shoulders. 'Society event of the season!' The first half where she's playing shallow Southern mom is a bit much.
• Kevin Connolly – totally doing too much in his limited screen time.

• The home restoration timeline is impossible – one man cannot renovate an entire plantation house in six months, which is the max time between Lon's engagement and wedding in the 1940s.
• Noah building a house and stocking a painting studio (three sketch notebooks, different pencils, canvases) for someone he hasn't spoken to in seven years is stalker behavior.
• Allie goes off the grid for days without contacting Lon – extremely rude to a lovely man, and unreachable in 1947.
• Young Noah and Allie's relationship involves a lot of physical fighting – not just bickering but actual hitting each other.
• Noah has a personality transplant after the war – goes from gregarious and chatty to barely speaking.
• How did Noah cut so many different arrows? That paper looked like Xerox paper, not 1947-approved.
• Lon's proposal is extremely convoluted and weird.
• Noah is only asking $50K for the plantation – even in the 1940s that's not enough money.
• The movie ends too abruptly – needs one more young Noah and Allie scene.

Yes – 'show me the fuck out of that timeline.' 80% young, 20% old, like a Princess Bride structure. Must have unknowns with Gosling/McAdams-level chemistry or it doesn't work.

• How did Noah get off the ferris wheel?
• Does Allie recognize Lon when he arrives at Sarah Lawrence in the full body cast? She walks fully past him before he has to say 'hey, remember me.'
• Is building an entire house for a person you haven't spoken to in seven years healthy behavior? (Answerable: no.)
• Why are Noah and Allie's kids so cold-hearted about elder care?

• Amanda and Juliet both pick Rachel McAdams – her charm is undeniable, she's the dynamic force, every reaction is amazing.
• Andrew picks Ryan Gosling – he sets the tone and gets all the best lines. But he wouldn't be as great without her.