It's formulaic, superficial and the beginning is downright terrible. But there are some genuinely emotional moments, it's well-intentioned, and it's a damn sight better than Dear John.

"At this point, Sparksian romances unfold via their own preordained formula, and measures of their merits largely hinge on how well each can bend the cookie-cutter." - R. Kurt Osenlund

At times, this movie very effectively tugs at heartstrings and makes pulses race. At other times, it's a painfully by-the-numbers copy-paste generic romance story that Nicholas Sparks turns out in his sleep I'm sure. It of course ultimately settles in the middle, a good-enough-for-what-it-is flick that's more for the lady-folk and specific Sparks fans. Some dialogue was horrible, but then there were moments and aspects in the movie that were very well-done. Liked Efron, tolerated Schilling.

A promising premise milked to exhaustion and beyond. It's the same principle that gave sit-coms a bad name. Still a lot that's good here, just hate to see this s**t happen. BTW, the Summary is wrong, he travels (walks) from Colorado to Louisiana, not N. Carolina.

10 out of 10 good movie

If you're a fan of Nicholas Sparks, you'll probably enjoy this. It's still a formulaic romance/drama with only one intriguing factor in its storytelling, and that's Ferguson as the snaky ex-husband Keith. The love scenes are tender, and Efron proves he can be adequate, although I can't say the same for Schilling since she's pretty painful in her more emotional bits. Beautiful countryside and lots of dog caring ensues. Mostly weak, with a few touching moments.