Movie Description:
After an automobile crash, the lives of a young couple intertwine with a much older man, as he reflects back on a past love.
Release Date: Friday, April 10, 2015
Running Time: 2 hours and 19 minutes
Genre: Drama, Romance
Motion Picture Rating (MPAA): Rated PG-13 for some sexuality, partial nudity, tense bull riding scenes, and flashbacks showing war activity.
Director: George Tillman Jr.
Writers: Nicholas Sparks – Novel, Craig Bolotin – Screenplay
CAST
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| Scott Eastwood is Luke Collins |
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| Melissa Benoist is Sophia’s friend, Marcia |
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| Alan Alda is Ira Levinson |
Pictures from IMDb
Leslie’s Notes
I really enjoyed watching this movie, The Longest Ride. My two daughters and I have always been huge fans of novels written by author Nicholas Sparks that have been turned into amazing movies. Among our favorites include The Last Song, Dear John, Safe Haven and The Lucky One. As my youngest daughter told me, all Nicholas Sparks stories involve a cute guy and pretty girl that meet, fall in love, face various obstacles along the way, break up, someone dies, and then they get back together.
Several of these situations occur in The Longest Ride, not necessarily all of them and not necessarily in the same order. As someone who has loved watching movies and television since I was a child, I will continue my notes using references to previous acting roles for the main four characters in this movie.
The movie opens up with Clint Eastwood’s son competing in a National Bull Riding Championship. The bull goes crazy and then we flash forward to the next year. A young Dr. Meredith Grey from Grey’s Anatomy is sitting on the bed of what appears to be a dorm room in a sorority house. Marley Rose from Glee shows up wearing a cowboy hat and persuades her to accompany her and several other sorority sisters to a bull riding competition that night where Marley Rose promises there will be “cute cowboys” in attendance. There’s something about a job in New York City, blah, blah, blah, and then young Dr. Meredith Grey agrees to go. Later that night, during the rodeo, Clint Eastwood’s son meets young Dr. Meredith Grey. Later on in the movie the viewers meet an old Hawkeye from M*A*S*H. Then we see at least an hour of flashbacks as old Hawkeye tells young Dr. Meredith Grey about his romance and courtship with his late wife, Ruth. We also see many scenes of Clint Eastwood’s son riding horses, chopping wood and walking around with his shirt off. Well, I’m not really sure if that last scene appears in the movie, but I would like it to! There are several plot twists and turns along the way in telling the tales of not one but two love stories. I thought the casting and acting was excellent, the on location shots of North Carolina are beautiful, and I enjoyed the flashbacks featuring Ira and Ruth.
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