After Dawson Cole (James Marsden) is nearly killed during an accident on his oil rig, he believes he was saved for a reason. Elsewhere, Amanda (Michelle Monaghan) stares into the night sky, thinking about her unhappy marriage, and her son (Ian Nelson) who is about to go off to college. Dawson and Amanda have not seen one another in 21 years, ever since the day their relationship abruptly ended.

Tuck (Gerald McRaney) was a friend to this couple, and so as his last dying effort, he forces the pair to once again come face-to-face in hopes they will reconcile. In his will, Tuck has left Dawson and Amanda joint custody of his cottage and requested they dispose of his assets. As Dawson and Amanda reunite they quickly discover their passion has only grown stronger over time, but at the same time they are reminded of the events that once drove them apart.

 
The film flips back and forth between the early 90s and the present, slowly piecing together the events of how younger Dawson (Luke Bracey) and Amanda (Liana Liberato) first met and fell in love, the role that Tuck played in their lives, and the incident that ultimately forced the couple apart. We learn of Dawson’s troubled family life, which comes back to haunt him in the present. And present-day Amanda’s struggle both to forgive Dawson for the past, but also to decide if she wants to rekindle the relationship they once had.

While the Blu-ray cover only shows Marsden and Monaghan, it seemed like the majority of the film was spent telling the story of the younger version of the characters. I thought both sets of actors had chemistry and delivered good performances. However, I had a tough time seeing any resemblance between the older and younger versions of the characters.

While much of the film is set in 1992, if they hadn’t been playing 90s music in the soundtrack, I would have sworn it took place at least 30 years prior. The cars and the way people were dressed looked more like the 50s or 60s than the 90s. And Dawson’s corrupt drug-runner family felt more like greasers who acted like cartoon villains.

Fans of Nicholas Spark’s books and films will find all of the usual elements they’ve come to expect in his movies—there’s young love, passion, sex and tears. At times, the drama felt a bit contrived and manipulative with a goal of getting the viewer to shed some tears. This is especially evident in the original theatrical ending of the film. This Blu-ray contains both the original theatrical version of the movie as well as a “Tears of Joy” cut with a happier storybook ending. The original ending follows an extremely ridiculous and far too coincidental series of events that become quite predictable as soon as a specific sentence is uttered. I probably enjoyed the alternate cut of the film more, but that ending was almost too perfect and bit cheesy. That said, the original ending felt more like a proper Nicholas Sparks ending, where not everything is necessarily wrapped up and ideal.

The Blu-ray looks and sounds great. The picturesque cottage looks crisp and clear on the screen, and the beautiful score surrounds the viewer while dialogue remains clear and easy to understand. The disc contains two versions of the film, which provide drastically different endings over the final 15 minutes of the movie. There are also 5 deleted/extended scenes, a director commentary, 2 short interviews with the cast, a music video and a promo for another upcoming Nicholas Sparks film. The Blu-ray also includes Ultraviolet Digital HD copies of both versions of the film.

What’s Included:

Film: (Theatrical 1:57:48, “Tears of Joy” 1:55:35)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.40:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Digital Copy (Redemption Deadline 2/3/2018):

• UltraViolet DigitalHD Copy redeemable via Flixster or Vudu
• Includes bundle with both versions of the film

Extras:

• “Tears of Joy” with Alternate Ending (1:55:55)
  For the viewers who found the theatrical version to be a bit of a downer, this new “Tears of Joy” cut of the film changes the last 15 minutes or so, giving more of a “storybook” ending to the film. I honestly don’t know which version I prefer as the original ending felt ridiculous and contrived and this one felt a bit cheesy.
• Deleted Scenes (9:46)
  A collection of five deleted/extended scenes. Play All or select from “Dinner with Evelyn”, “Amanda Argues with Parents”, “Amanda Comed Home Late”, “Dawson Helps Aaron”, and “Amanda and Jared Talk About Future”.
• Along for the Ride (1:53)
  Promo featurette for upcoming film “The Longest Ride” that includes interviews with producer/author Nicholas Sparks and stars Scott Eastwood (“Luke”) and Britt Robertson (“Sophia”).
• Nicholas Sparks Interviews: Michelle and James (2:47)
  Author Nicholas Sparks interviews stars James Marsden (“Dawson”) and Michelle Monaghan (“Amanda”) from the set. The actors give their thoughts on their characters and how they tried to match performances with their younger counterparts.
• Nicholas Sparks Interviews: Liana and Luke (2:18)
  Author Nicholas Sparks interviews stars Luke Bracey (“Younger Dawson”) and Liana Liberato (“Young Amanda”) from the set. The actors talk about finding their characters and working with director Michael Hoffman.
• Commentary by Michael Hoffman (1:57:48)
  Director Michael Hoffman provides an interesting running commentary over the theatrical version of the film. He provides behind-the-scenes production anecdotes, talks about the visual effects and discusses the various visual, musical and story-telling choices he made, as well as some of the changes he made based on feedback from test audiences.
• “I Did” Music Video – Lady Antebellum (3:28)
  In this music video young actors find love on the set of a school play version of the film.
• Theatrical Trailer (1:21)
• Sneak Peek (15:15)
  Play All or select from trailers for Wild, The Longest Week, Hector and the Search for Happiness, And So It Goes, The Fault In Our Stars, If I Stay and Beyond The Lights.

Final Thoughts:

While the film felt quite contrived at times, and many of the events a bit too coincidental, The Best Of Me should appeal to longtime Nicholas Sparks fans as it has the usual elements fans have come to expect from his stories. This Blu-ray contains two versions of the film—the original theatrical version and a happier “Tears of Joy” version as well as a decent collection of bonus features. It also includes Ultraviolet copies of both versions of the films. This could be a good choice if looking for a new romantic film to watch this Valentine’s Day.