Review – Safe Haven

Nicholas Sparks’ hit, ‘The Notebook‘ has ensured the rest of this novelists’ output earn movie adaptations. Especially since Sparks himself produces them. Following this series risks witnessing the gradual watering down of a well loved romantic hit, but Sparks’ background was in business prior to becoming published. Cha-Ching!
During this Valentine’s Day released cash-in, we watch Katie (Julianne Hough) escape her shady past & settle in idyllic coastal town, Southport, North Carolina. She gets a job, rents a shack and makes friends. One pal is handsome Alex (Josh Duhammel), he runs the general store, is a widowed father of two and proves a kind and decent man. He takes a shining to Katie and she proves a natural with his still grieving kids. Their blossoming attraction gives Katie ample distraction from the moody, alcoholic but ever vigilant cop, Tierney (David Lyons) – still tracking her down for past deeds. The gooey couple caught up in each other are thus upset when the booze-addled Tierney turns up in Southport to ruin the community’s fourth of July celebrations. The normally romantic fireworks serve here instead as a backdrop to a violent showdown.
This is a cookie-cutter romance, but it’s not terrible. Duhammel and Slough are adorable, the grieving widower tugs on the heartstrings and Nicolas Sparks Productions veteran director, Lasse Hallström retains control, keeping the OTT schmaltz in check.
‘Safe Haven‘ is however formulaic enough to be predictable. The confrontational climax makes sense in the story that plays out, but for a Valentine’s Day release it could have used more crying and smooching there. It’s not a bad movie, but it’s not an exceptionally good movie either. Not ‘The Notebook’.