In case you need a new movie to embarrass your boyfriend when you force him to see chick-flick, “Safe Haven” was released on Valentine’s Day. Nicholas Sparks has used his classic formula of love, conflict, cancer and mystery to construct yet another movie that will make girls swoon and boys beg for mercy.

When the film opens, we witness Katie Feldman (Julianne Hough) hurriedly buying a bus ticket. In an effort to conceal her face, she pulls her hood over her head and sprints to her bus. An Los Angeles police officer runs in moments after, asking the crowd if they have seen “this woman?” The picture in his hand is of Katie. The man attempts to stop all buses to continue his search, but Katie’s pulls away before he gets the chance.

Katie moves to the small town of Southport- only miles away from Wilmington. In Katie’s character we see an attitude towards the local townsfolk that’s just shy of rude. She comes across as a loner and also has an aversion to any cop. Shortly after arriving in Southport, we meet Katie’s future love interest, Alex Wheatly (Josh Duhamel), and his bubbly daughter, Lexi (Mimi Kirkland). With only a few moments of screen time, Lexi’s sweet smile and innocent wonder makes the little girl the most likeable character in the movie. Even though she is in elementary school, she can run her father’s store- only taking breaks for finger painting and chatting with the locals.

With no prompting on Katie’s part, Alex falls deeply in love with her, because Nicholas Sparks believes in that sort of thing. He desperately tries to get Katie’s interest, though he (and the audience) have not witnessed any discernible personality traits from her, be them good or bad. Aside from her desire to brighten her desperate cabin with yellow hardwood floors and her continuous violent dreams involving her bloody with a knife, no one knows anything about Katie.

What we do know is Alex’s wife died from cancer, but Katie, again for reasons we can’t see yet, brings him hope of finding love again. Alex is a good father that knows his kid’s likes and dislikes inside and out. He spends the majority of his time with his children and consistently holds their opinions in high regards, which is enough to make the audience root for him.

There are so many painful clichés at this point, that this movie could easily become boring. However, thrown in every thirty minutes or so (and I do stress thrown in) are scene changes to the initial LAPD officer who has been diligently tracking Katie. He spends hours poring over leads to what town she could be in. He eventually sends out a wanted poster with Katie’s face-she is suspected of first degree murder. This information, along with Katie’s dreams and fear of police, should build tension.

However, a murdering main character would bring forth moral dilemmas with too much depth for a Sparks film. Questions like: what justifies a murder, can people change, what is love if built on lies- would force his lovebirds out of their comfort zones and into the emotional turmoil associated with being faced with tough decisions. Sparks avoids these complications, opting for the lovers to be victims of unfortunate fate. Still, the twist is enough to keep pragmatic people, and boyfriends, hanging on.

Suddenly, Katie wakes and decides to love Alex back. They go on to have many “awww” inducing scenes, including a family outing to the beach and a canoe trip where it rains (No, really.) Though the two never discuss anything serious, like each other’s past or recent memory, even hard-hearted people can appreciate the sugary romance.

When it finally comes time for Katie’s secrets to snowball out of control, they do. Alex finds the wanted poster and learns her real name is Erin Tierney. The lie angers him for about two minutes. He then regrets it and runs to Erin, stopping her from leaving. He promises to keep her safe, no matter what happens.

A true surprise comes with the discovery that the LAPD officer is really Erin’s ex-husband. He sent the flyers out as a desperate ploy to find her. He was an alcoholic and we finally learn that her bloody flashbacks were her trying to protect herself during a drunken dispute.

The man, named Kevin Tierney, finds Erin and becomes furious. He reverts back to the abusive man she tried to escape from by chocking her and setting Alex’s store on fire. The movie builds as Kevin searches for ways to ruin Erin’s life. He is ruthless and it is terrifying as his devotion to keep Katie restrained loses him his badge.  Rest assured though, everything turns out alright. Kevin’s violence is squashed. Alex and Erin move in together and his children love her like a mother. There is a quiet moment of content as everything that was expected to happen, did happen.

“Safe Haven” is everything it was expected to be: romantic, wholesome and predictable. The beautiful Southport scenery and attractive actors hold the eye, though the plot line hold you in with only a light grasp. “Safe Haven” is a classic Nicholas Sparks film, but of all the movies your girlfriend could drag you to, it is not the worst.