What’s the big deal about the movie “Nights in Rodanthe,” starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane?

The Nights of Rodanthe is a huge deal simply because it brought the silver screen and worldwide exposure to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  And its the first big screen movie to be filmed in the Outer Banks since the sci fi thriller Brainstorm in 1983, starring Chris Walken and Natalie Wood.  The Outer Banks Tourism Bureau and the Outer Banks vacation rental community hope the film increases awareness about the Outer Banks as a world acclaimed tourist hotspot.  Not that it isn’t already, but Hollywood helps, right?

Richard Gere and Diane Lane starring in The Nights of Rodanthe, a movie set in Outer Banks, North Carolina

Debuting in 2008, the Nights of Rodanthe film features A-list actors Diane Lane and Richard Gere and A-list writer Nicholas Sparks, who also wrote the critically acclaimed Notebook.  The movie is sort of like Under the Tuscan Sun meets Outer Banks:  attractive middle aged adults with baggage in their homelife heading to a vacation hotspot discovering love.  Ahhh!

Serendipity - House made famous by the movie "Nights in Rodanthe" (2008); Rodanthe, Outer Banks, North Carolina; photo courtesy of wikipedia

The movie takes place at the Serendipity, a now famous oceanfront vacation home in Rodanthe, which is a beautiful seaside village in the northern most part of the Hatteras Island, North Carolina.  With Hollywood’s A-list in tow, one would think that the movie would have been a hit among the movie going public.

But not so.  In fact, the movie was panned on various movie review sites, including Rotten Tomatoes, as “derivative and schmaltzy” sporting a “predictable” plot.  It was even beyond the ability and charisma of Richard Gere and Diane Lane to repair its sappiness.  Despite the poor reviews, the movie was a financial success, grossing over $78 million.

The movie is about a recently gilted married woman Adrienne, played by Diane Lane, who spends a weekend as a substitute innkeeper at her friend’s oceanfront bed and breakfast in Rodanthe.  Coincidentally, the only house guest that weekend is Paul, a rich surgeon played by Richard Gere.  The two characters find comfort in their emotional baggage.  Adrienne was gilted by her husband who left her for another woman.  Paul has flashbacks about a surgery gone wrong for which he is now being sued.

Richard Gere and Diane Lane hugging; backdrop is Hatteras sand dune in the movie in "Nights in Rodanthe"

The plot thickens as a storm arrives and the two work together to protect the inn.  They fall in love.  Then Paul goes to South America to visit his son to reconnect after years of favoring his medical career over a father-son relationship.  Adrienne and Paul proclaim their love in a series of letters.  Hmm.  Sounds like a familiar story.

Since the movie was out two years ago, why does any of this matter?  Well.  The love story that comes full circle in real life when a bail bondsman Ben Huss and his wife fell in love with the famous house, and closed on it earlier this month.  They wouldn’t reveal the purchase price, but indicated that they did not pay the offer price of $499,000.

Dare County proclaimed the property a nuisance as tourists and children took photos of themselves in front of the house risking their lives to the strong currents and gale winds that thrash against the house.

The real life plot thickens as the new owners decide to move the 83,000 pound house from its current location.  Since the ocean had so badly eroded away the beach in front of the home, there was concern about a large storm compromising the property.

Here is a video of the house being uplifted onto a truck.  They’ve got one shot.  Will they succeed?

Even if the story has been done before, the setting of the movie gives the viewer a feel for the pristine beauty of the Outer Banks – the massive sand dunes, the wild horses of Corolla, miles of Outer Banks vacation homes, oneness with nature, reflection, and the quest for love and romance.  The movie’s theme song Love Remains the Same by Gavin Rossdale isn’t bad either.  At the end of the day its about being entertained, right?

The movie trailer says it all….

If you don’t have the desire, time or budget to retrace the footsteps of Diane Lane’s and Richard Gere’s love story by indulging in the pleasure of renting an Outer Banks beach rental with your favorite lover, perhaps seeing the Nights of Rodanthe is the next best thing.

Are you from the Outer Banks?  Do you own a vacation home in Rodanthe?  Better yet, have you seen the movie?  Tell us what you think?  Do share in the comments below!  Or write a review about the Outer Banks on Viscape.