“The Longest Ride” is the tenth film adapted from a novel written by romance king Nicholas Sparks. His previous movies have been called sappy, simple and full of coincidences. The same can be said for half of “The Longest Ride”, which lives-up to its title in that, for more than two hours, you basically sit through two movies for the price of one.
The more appealing storyline, commercially, is about two young lovers in present day trying to make their relationship work. Sophia (played by Britt Robertson) is a college senior at a North Carolina university who’s looking forward to her art world internship in NYC beginning in just two months. She meets professional bull rider Luke (played by Scott Eastwood, who does have some resemblance to his famous father, Clint) at a competition, and there’s an immediate attraction.
At the end of their first date, Sophia and Luke rescue an older man from his burning car and take him to the hospital. Alan Alda, the biggest name in the cast, plays Ira, who asks Sophia to read him old letters he keeps with him, which he wrote to his wife, Ruth, decades ago.
This flashback device allows us to learn the story of young Ira and Ruth as they were falling in love in the 1940s. Their relationship quickly became complicated, and unlike the story of Luke and Sophia, Ira and Ruth’s journey together is genuinely interesting and emotional, with several powerful moments. Oona Chaplin, as Ruth, gives a deep and convincing performance, with some of the best dialogue and standout scenes.
“The Longest Ride” follows these two parallel stories, with the intersection being Alda, who, at nearly 80, is still as good as ever. Robertson and Eastwood aren’t very strong here, and their scenes are packed with clichés, tons of facial-expression-acting and clumsy circumstances that move this typical Sparks story along. It’s the older and more meaningful romance that saves this film from being a sentimental disaster.
On The Official LCJ Report Card, “The Longest Ride” gets a C. If the final five minutes weren’t so flat-out ridiculous, that grade might’ve been higher.
Running Time: 128 min.