In the long line of Nicholas Sparks novels, we usually get one every year and it comes and goes. For some reason, this one has been getting more word of mouth than most so I thought I would give it a try. I can say with all honesty, this is one of his better efforts by far. The pairing of Brit Robertson and Scott Eastwood was perfect and I bought their chemistry the whole way through. That is what made this film as good as it is. The one thing that kept taking me out of the film slightly was the fact that he keeps using plot points from his previous films, such as going to war or old people on the verge of passing away. Oddly enough, the filmmakers made all of these elements work it it really does tug at your heartstrings. "The Longest Ride" is much better than I was expecting it to be, and that is saying something. This is a well-made film all around with great performances. No it's not the most original film in the world, but it is a nice, watchable romance that I would be glad to pop in again.

Bucking audiences around atop two very different love stories, Nicholas Sparks' sometimes charming latest Ride certainly feels like his Longest despite its laudably earnest and heartfelt approach. It's easy to hate adaptations of this author's works, often aw shucks connect-the-dots romances with impossibly attractive hard bodies and an obligatory death scene thrown in for good measure. The writer definitely addresses emotion on-the-nose, however, and many romantics do as well. This manner somehow seems brave in an age when our very cynical and sarcastic society - on-the-whole - laughs away anything wholesome and/or traditional. In this PG-13-rated drama based on the 17th novel by Nicholas Sparks, the lives of a young couple (Eastwood, Robertson) intertwine with a much older man (Alan Alda) as he reflects back on a lost love after recuperating from an automobile crash. Oh, there's still plenty here to joke about in The Longest Ride, mind you--dialogue so cheesy it could pass muster with the Dairy Council, plot points pretty much visible from the opening credits. The disparate storylines, however, fall short of paperback pulp. Granted, theyre often jolting as they quantum leap moviegoers from 40s Jewish war-torn lovers to Millennial opposites attracting but both share an occasionally infectious optimism. Scott Eastwood (when he smiles, it's pretty impossible to deny his father's Clint) and Britt Robertson throw off almost visible sparks (no pun intended) and seem destined for starrier heights. Alan Alda, meanwhile, shows them how great character work is REALLY done. Bottom line: Sweet Tart of the Rodeo