Nights in Rodanthe
2008  PG-13  DRAMA  1h 37min
CAST— Richard Gere, Diane Lane, James Franco, Scott Glenn, Christopher Meloni
MUSIC— Jeanine Tesori  DIRECTOR— George C. Wolfe  BASED ON— Nights in Rodanthe (novel), by Nicolas Sparks

     When problems arise you can always take a holiday, have a fling with a total stranger, solve their problems, and everything will suddenly seem clear. Yeah. That’s realistic. But that’s basically the plot to this underwhelming romantic drama. Diane Lane plays a harried mother whose ex wants her back. As she weighs her options she runs to the aid of a friend, an innkeeper on the North Carolina coast. She takes command of the inn, awaiting a single guest from Raleigh, a doctor with a past of his own. As he struggles with his inner demons, Lane becomes both impromptu therapist and lover (now there’s something they don’t print business cards for). This film has “standard” written all over it. Two strangers meet, drink wine, fall in love in quaint little setting… Haven’t we seen this before? Lane gives an adequate performance, but Richard Gere, as the tortured doctor, constantly looks uncomfortable, disassociated with his character. Even so, this should be labeled for Richard Gere freaks only.
OUR RATING— **