I am a huge fan of Nicholas Sparks books and movies so as soon as I got the chance to see The Longest Ride I had to take it. Unfortunately I could not persuade the boyfriend to watch it with me, so I watched it alone with a pack of tissues and tub of ice-cream. I have to say I am a hopeless romantic who loves a good tearjerker, so for me this did not fail.
The movie is based on the best selling novel (and when I say based I mean based!) by Nicholas Sparks (the king of doomed and hopeless romance). It centers around Luke and Sofia and their whirlwind romance. Luke is a bull rider who wants to make a comeback, after being absent from the ring for over a year, in a bid to save his family ranch, while Sofia is an art history major in college who is about to get the chance of an internship that could change her life. Their relationship is tried when they realize their ideal lives are a million miles apart, okay, North Carolina and New York but they may as well be a million miles apart. Sofia develops a friendship with an elderly man, Ira, who they save from a car crash, and the memories he shares from his own marriage inspire Luke and Sofia. With two intertwining love stories you can see why Nicholas Sparks is the king of romance.
Okay so back to my comment about the film being based on the novel. It is in my opinion lightly based on the book. I read the book and fell in love with the characters and their stories and after sobbing my way through the love stories of Luke and Sofia, and Ira and his wife Ruth I feel the movie does not do the book justice. From the get go I found faults with the movie, from the way Luke and Sofia meet, to the way the story of Ira and Ruth is told, and so much in between. I understand that they can not put everything from the book into movie format but I believe they left out a lot of important story lines that in the book make you love the characters even more. And the biggest thing that bugged me was that in the book the bull that is quiet central to the story of Luke is called 'Big Ugly Critter' and in the movie it is called 'Rango', WTH! I know it is something small but if you have read the book you will understand where I am coming from.
Staring Scott Eastwood as Luke Collins and Britt Robertson as Sofia Danko it is worth a watch for anyone wanting a movie you can sit and cry while eating ice-cream without feeling guilty. However, if like me you have read the book you may spend the whole time pointing out what is wrong with the film, feeling a mix of disappointment and anger, while secretly swooning over Scott Eastwood and wanting to date a cowboy!
Over all I give this movie a 7/10 just because I loved the way the book went more. However, if I had not read the book it would have been more like 9/10 just because at some point you kinda figure out how the ending is going to go.
I have to say Mr. Sparks, you have done it again, you have provided us with a movie that will reduce us to tears and that we can torture our boyfriends with at the same time! Bravo, bravo!
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