The Best of Me is more of a sleepie than a weepie – especially when our old friend No Sexual Chemistry makes an appearance

Take tissues to The Best of Me, I’d read, as it’s such a weepie, so I took tissues, being a weeper at weepies — I still dab my eyes whenever I even think about War Horse — but it was rubbish advice. You don’t need tissues for this film. Instead, you need to line up several triple espressos, as many cans of Red Bull as you can reasonably manage, two matchsticks (one for each eye, obviously), replacement matchsticks for when the weight of your eyelids proves too much and they snap, plus a small hammer to knock yourself in the side of your head when you find yourself bored out of your mind and dropping off anyhow. Actually, this may be rather unfair, as I did laugh inappropriately on a few occasions, so I must have been slightly awake for some of it.

This is based on the bestselling novel by Nicholas Sparks, master of the romantic blockbuster, which should have been our first clue, right there, but I was too dumb to clock that The Notebook and Dear John were also based on his books until it was too late. This tells the story of Dawson and Amanda, high-school sweethearts who are reunited after 21 years when they return to their Louisiana hometown for the funeral of the old friend. (‘You never forget your first love,’ is the tagline, even though I’ve completely forgotten mine; David?; Tom?; Stu?). The stars are James Marsden and Michelle Monaghan. I’m not much aware of their work but, from this, would say it’s the sort of casting that happens when you can’t get Brad Pitt and Sandra Bullock and have to keep working your way down the list. Their younger, teenage selves, meanwhile, are played by Luke Bracey and Liana Liberato, who look nothing like them.