The Longest Ride Parent Guide

Trust Nicholas Sparks to make the gritty and hard-hitting world of rodeo look romantic. In this latest adaptation of a Sparks’ novel, Sophia Danko (Britt Robertson) is a college senior in her last semester of an art history degree. Then she’s off to New York City for an internship in a prestigious gallery. But one weekend her roommates at the sorority (where everyone looks like a Victoria’s Secret model) drag her away from her studies to a rodeo. In a matter of minutes the studious, citified schoolgirl has fallen in love with bull rider Luke Collins (Scott Eastwood).

While she’s quick to warn Luke she’s headed to the Big Apple, that doesn’t stop her from going out with him or hopping into his bed. By keeping a rein on the violence and language content, scripts based on Sparks’ books have a reputation for getting away with some of the steamiest sex scenes allowed in a PG-13 movie and this one is no different. The film includes several scenes of sexuality, some with partial breast and buttock nudity.

For many viewers, this blatant parade of naked bodies and casual attitudes about sex will be a deterrent to the rest of the story, which actually has something positive to say about long lasting relationships. In contrast to the depiction of the lusty coupling is the romance of Ira and Ruth Levinson (Jack Huston, Oona Chaplin).

Sophia befriends the elderly Ira (Alan Alda) after she and Luke rescue him from a car accident on a dark and rainy night. And it is he who tells her the narrative of his love affair with his now deceased wife Ruth through flashbacks and letters. In the 1940s they endured the separation of WWII, infertility and different personal interests that required sacrifice for the sake of love. The result of their commitment is a tender and caring bond.

Ira tries to explain that to Sophia when she begins to think she and Luke come from two completely incompatible worlds. Unfortunately, in this highly sentimental tale, there is never a question that Luke and Sophia won’t get together. And the characters’ controlled world manages to steer the young pairs’ circumstances so they miss out on the very lessons that strengthened Ira and Ruth.

The film also comes with plot holes the size of a rodeo arena. Unable to have children, Ira and Ruth try unsuccessfully to adopt. That seems like a stretch in a post-war time known as the Baby Scoop Era when millions of children were looking for homes. And while cowboys may be some of the toughest competitors in the world, Luke’s career stopping contusion, and his subsequent injuries, make it highly unlikely he could continue to make his mark on the circuit.

Still all of that seems irrelevant when compared to the story’s rather contradictory message. Although the script preaches “love requires sacrifice… always,” that seems to apply only to the older generation. If the film’s finale is to be believed, it would appear young adults now need to have their life dreams fulfilled—right away—in order to be happy.

About author

Kerry Bennett

Kerry Bennett is interested in media from both a journalist and parent perspective. Along with authoring articles for several family-oriented publications, she has written for Parent Previews for over 15 years. As a parent herself, she believes parents play a powerful role in teaching media literacy in their homes.