I looked at the movie options this weekend and it seemed pretty dry. I could see a poorly reviewed sci-fi film like Chappie or Jupiter Ascending or go see the new Nicholas Sparks movie The Longest Ride. I went with the latter figuring I could at least make fun of it. But so help me I actually enjoyed it. Is it a masterpiece? No but its a heck of a lot better than anything he has made in a long time. I’d put it right up there with his best The Notebook. I really would.
It’s actually similar to The Notebook in a lot of ways. We get the story of an older couple and a young couple and we see their love stories play out. In this the young couple is Sophia played by Britt Robertson who is a budding art history graduate with a big job in New York coming up and Luke played by Scott Eastwood who hopes to mount a comeback as a professional bull rider.
Maybe I’m just a sucker for a man in a cowboy hat (that would be true…) but I liked it. It’s a sweet, simple love story with an appealing cast and actually a little bit of a sports movie thrown in there too. I can see why some people would hate it but like I said compared to other Nicholas Sparks movies this is one of the best. Take that for what you will.
The ending surprised me because I was expecting something more melodramatic but it was sweet and simple. I teared up but not in the emotionally manipulating ways of many Sparks films. This was because I was genuinely moved.
A lot of my readers are men for some reason and they will probably hate the movie but if you have a girl I can think of a lot worse you might have to sit through. But I would suggest to the girls out there get a few of your friends and go together. There were 3 women who sat behind me and were a little vocal whenever our hunky cowboy took off his shirt, smiled, tipped his hat. Whenever something sweet happened they sighed. Normally that might be annoying but I found myself jealous and wishing I could have gone with a group of my girlfriends. That is totally the way to see this movie.
Now I’m ready to be rebuked and mocked for liking a Nicholas Sparks movie. Bring it on! At least you know I’m being honest with these reviews. Why would anyone pretend to like a movie like this? 🙂
As far as content its a pretty strong PG-13. The sex scenes are very racy so I would check it out on screenit.com for more details before recommending it to your teens. I probably would say this is adults only although the language and other aspects are fine.
It doesn’t reinvent the wheel so I can’t give it an A but I feel a solid B- is fair. It is above average but not spectacular. Still I enjoyed it.
Overall Grade- B- Content Grade- C