For fans of The Notebook, this is still isn't over.
Though it's been nearly 20 years since we first watched Allie (Rachel McAdams) fall head over heels for Noah (Ryan Gosling), rom-com lovers have long debated whether she really made the right choice in picking him over her fiancé Lon (James Marsden). And as James recently revealed, that debate—and the movie itself—has seen a huge resurgence in recent years.
"The Notebook is a big one," James told W Magazine in an interview published May 18. "Now, a younger audience is going, ‘She should have been with him [Marsden's character]! Allie was in a toxic relationship!'"
But as the Jury Duty star noted, Noah and Allie's 1940s love story showcased in the 2004 film, may have looked a lot different had it been made today.
"The Notebook was a time where we liked the bad boy," James continued. "Now we want our heroes to be good guys."
This isn't the first time that the Sonic star has reflected on his role in the movie, with the actor previously admitting that some fans were determined to let him know that he was the bad guy.
"When the movie became such a phenomenon, people would come up to me on the street and be like, ‘Why were you trying to get in their way?! They were supposed to be together,'" he said during a February 2020 interview with Good Morning America. "It was like, ‘Ahh, I didn't do anything. It was a job. I don't know.'"
But as James noted, the reaction truly proved to him how much the film had meant to fans.
"Nobody knew that that was going to be such a massive hit," the 27 Dresses star continued. "You never know when you're filming. You hope that it's gonna happen, but that one I don't think anyone saw it coming. Pretty special thing to be a part of."
But our look back on The Notebook isn't over yet. Keep reading to find out 14 secrets about the film.