Review: In 'The Choice,' a Sudsy Romance That Was Meant to Be

* Hail, Caesar! — In the Coen brothers' comedy, set during Hollywood's Golden Age, George Clooney is an actor who is kidnapped and held for ransom. Josh Brolin is a fixer who tries to resolve the situation. Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett

“The Choice” is the 11th film to ooze from the syrupy scribblings of Nicholas Sparks, who informs us in the publicity notes that he considers it to be “even more memorable and profound” than his 1996 sobfest, “The Notebook” (filmed in 2004). Clearly

* Hail, Caesar! — In the Coen brothers' comedy, set during Hollywood's Golden Age, George Clooney is an actor who is kidnapped and held for ransom. Josh Brolin is a fixer who tries to resolve the situation. Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett

* Hail, Caesar! — In the Coen brothers' comedy, set during Hollywood's Golden Age, George Clooney is an actor who is kidnapped and held for ransom. Josh Brolin is a fixer who tries to resolve the situation. Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett

Such are the attributes of “The Choice,” the latest book-turned-film from author Nicholas Sparks. But they're also the hallmarks of almost every other movie based on the best-selling writer's romance novels. (See: “The Notebook,” “A Walk to Remember