SPOILER ALERT! Ranking Nicholas Sparks' craziest plot twists
Spoiler Alert: This post is all about ruining movies, as you could tell from the headline.
Good ol', reliable Nicholas Sparks.
He's a guy you can count on to churn out a bestseller annually, and then turn half of those books into movies that have netted about $800 million at the box office. You can trust the writer will serve up a steamy romantic plot (don't call it a "romance"!) complete with at least one death, a smart girl, a simple guy, an alcoholic, several letters, a rainy day make-out, a boat scene and insane plot twist that you did not see coming.
We're here to talk about the latter, that, indeed, takes place in Sparks' latest film adaptation The Longest Ride.
We rank the craziest endings of big-screen Sparksian tales:
10. The Lucky One (2012)
Marine Logan (Zac Efron) finds young mom Beth (Taylor Schilling), after he finds her photo during a night raid. We find out that the photo belonged to her brother. Also, her awful baby daddy, Keith (Jay R. Ferguson), dies trying to save their son. Logan and Beth end up together.
9. The Notebook (2004)
The titular notebook that the senior "Duke" (James Garner) reads to assisted living facility resident Miss Allie (Gena Rowlands) is actually a story the young Allie wrote about her relationship with Noah. And, get this, Duke and Mrs. Hamilton are Allie (Rachel McAdams) and Noah (Ryan Gosling), but she doesn't always remember him, because she has Alzheimers. And they die. At the same time.
8. A Walk to Remember (2002)
Rebellious Landon (Shane West) falls for sweet Jamie (Mandy Moore), who reveals that she has leukemia. Landon and Jamie get married and she makes "a walk to remember" down the aisle before she dies.
7. The Last Song (2010)
Angst-ridden piano prodigy Ronnie (Miley Cyrus), who falls for secretly rich jock Will (Liam Hemsworth), finds out that her father, Steve (Greg Kinnear), was hiding the fact the he had lung cancer. Also, that church that everyone thought Steve burned down? It was Will's friend who did it. "The Last Song" is the piano piece that Ronnie helps her dad complete before he dies. She plays it at his funeral.
5. Message in a Bottle (1999)
After researcher Theresa (Robin Wright) writes a story Garret (Kevin Costner), the writer of bottled love letters to his dead wife. Then, he dies at sea, but not before sending one more message in a bottle saying he loves Theresa.
4. Nights in Rodanthe (2008)
Paul (Richard Gere), a doctor who feels guilty about having a patient die on his operating table, falls in love (presumably in Rodanthe) with Adrian (Diane Lane) and writes her letters from his trip to South America to visit his estranged son (James Franco). Adrian waits for Paul to visit her again, but finds out, from Paul's son, that he was killed in a mudslide.
3. Dear John (2010)
While John (Channing Tatum) is serving in the army, he and his beloved Savannah (Amanda Seyfried) send letters to each other, hence the title. Then, the letters stop and Savannah gets engaged to Tim, the father of child with autism she takes care of. After that, Tim dies, but not before John anonymously paid to help take care of him. Eventually, John sees Savannah in a coffee shop and hugs her.
2. The Best of Me (2014)
High school sweethearts Dawson (James Marsden/Luke Bracey) and Amanda (Michelle Monaghan/Liana Liberato) reunite to help say goodbye to Dawson's surrogate father after 20 years of not talking. The two rekindle their romance, and, after leaving Dawson, Amanda decides to leave her husband. That's too bad, because Dawson gets shot by his awful family. Then, Amanda's son needs a heart transplant. Amanda later finds out her son's new heart belonged to Dawson.
1. Safe Haven (2013)
Katie (Julianne Hough) runs away from an abusive husband and falls in love with widower Alex (Josh Duhamel). She makes a friend named Jo. By the end of the movie, Katie's crazy husband accidentally shoots himself, and we find out that Jo is the ghost of Alex's dead wife.
Yeah, that one wins.