The Longest Ride Movie Poster Image

The Longest Ride

age 14+
(i)

 

Formulaic but still romantic Sparks adaptation gets steamy.
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Parents recommendPopular with kids
  • Review Date: April 10, 2015
  • Rated: PG-13
  • Genre: Romance
  • Release Year: 2015
  • Running Time: 139 minutes

The Longest Ride gallery

What parents need to know

Positive messages

Love conquers all. You can't always plan your future, but if you commit to the things you love, it will work out. Serious themes/subjects addressed include death, infertility, and the impact of traumatic injury.

Positive role models

Luke and Sophia may be very different, but they don't use their differences as a wedge to drive them apart. They try to appreciate what's unique and wonderful about each other.

Violence

Cringe-inducing scenes that show a bull rider getting thrown and severely injured. A man is shown unconscious and bleeding behind the wheel of a crashed car.

Sex

A woman undresses in the shower while a man watches. They're shown kissing and presumably have sex in the shower; viewers see their bare backs/butts and quick glimpses of her breast (from the side and front). Other scenes include women in their underwear/showing cleavage and shirtless men (plus another quick shot of backside). Innuendo and references to sex. Passionate kissing and more implied sex; one montage shows a woman on top of a man (moves, sounds, but no nudity). Abstract painting of a nude woman.

Language

Occasional swearing includes "damm," "hell." and "bulls--t."

Consumerism

Brands seen include Sony, Ford, iPhone, Jack Daniel's, Wrangler, and Dickies.

Drinking, drugs, & smoking

Social drinking at bars. College students of legal drinking age are shown holding cups of beer.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Longest Ride, while somewhat charming, is your standard-issue Nicholas Sparks romance. It tackles some pretty weighty subjects, including death, infertility, and traumatic injuries. The amount of romance/steamy stuff is fairly on par with The Notebook -- in particular, there's a scene featuring a couple having sex in the shower (bare backsides are shown, plus a quick glimpse of her breast from the side/front). Also passionate kissing, other scenes of implied sex, and some cleavage/underwear shots. Swearing includes "bulls--t" and "hell," and there's some social drinking. Since the story involves bull riding, expect some cringe-inducing scenes in which a rider is thrown and injured; there's also a car crash that leaves the driver hurt and bloodied.

What's the story?

Luke Collins (Scott Eastwood) is a champion bull rider who's thrown off his game, literally, by a massive injury he sustains in the arena. A year later, he's staging a comeback when he runs into Sophia (Britt Robertson), a college senior who's majoring in art and is ready to leave Greensboro, N.C., for a gallery internship in New York. Drawn to each other despite their differences, Luke and Sophia decide to not pursue a relationship because she's leaving in two months. But when they pass by a car accident and rescue an old man (Alan Alda) and his cache of love letters to his wife, Luke and Sophia's trajectories shift direction.

Is it any good?

QUALITY

Not to be flip, but it would be easy to pick on THE LONGEST RIDE. As critics have pointed out before, movies based on Nicholas Sparks stories aren't exactly known for their scintillating dialogue and surprising plot lines. In this respect, The Longest Ride conforms to expectations, including the requisite dual stories of two couples, a subject Sparks has certainly mined before. And yes, it's set in North Carolina.

But here's where The Longest Ride diverges from the Sparks-movie norm: Surprisingly, it's somewhat compelling, with lead actors who share a chemistry that approaches, if not meets or surpasses, that of the leads in Sparks' most famous book-turned-movie, The Notebook. Though Eastwood doesn't have the soulfulness of Ryan Gosling, nor Robertson the timelessness of Rachel McAdams, the stars do have such a strong rapport that they manage to make the film interesting and watchable. That the incomparable Alan Alda decided to do this movie is somewhat puzzling, but he's so lovely in it that it's yet another reason to watch.

Families can talk about...

  • Families can talk about how The Longest Ride depicts love and romance. Is this what a relationship is "supposed" to be like? Why or why not?

  • Nicholas Sparks' movies often feature a young couple who learn about love and life from an older couple. Do you think this is a cliche, or is there something universal about young people learning from those who've come before them?

  • Do movies like this perpetuate an overly romanticized notion of marriage? How does it handle the serious subject of infertility?

Movie details

Theatrical release date:April 10, 2015
DVD release date:July 14, 2015
Cast:Scott Eastwood, Britt Robertson, Alan Alda
Director:George Tillman Jr.
Studio:Twentieth Century Fox
Genre:Romance
Topics:Book characters, Horses and farm animals
Run time:139 minutes
MPAA rating:PG-13
MPAA explanation:some sexuality, partial nudity, and some war and sports action

This review of The Longest Ride was written by

S. Jhoanna Robledo
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are conducted by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

Quality

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  • Very Good: Engaging; good learning approach.
  • Good: Pretty engaging; good learning approach.
  • Fair: Somewhat engaging; OK learning approach.
  • Not for Learning: Not recommended for learning.
  • Not for Kids: Not age-appropriate for kids; not recommended for learning.

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Parent Written byDan G. April 10, 2015
age 18+

Decently entertaining for adults, but too much inappropriate sexual content for children

This romantic soap opera type movie is fairly entertaining for adults, but there is too much objectionable to be for kids of any age. Besides the normal crude and crass language that we don't want our children using themselves, there is also some squeamishly violent scenes that will make even adults cringe in discomfort. If this was all that was inappropriate in the movie, it might be OK for older teens. However, there is partial nudity, and an unmarried couple very clearly are having full sexual intercourse in a shower together. And it is presented as only just a good thing. Somewhat subtlety, even though marriage fidelity is maintained in the end, the movie seems to suggest the marriage vows are not important if one wants to selfishly 'follow their dreams'. Movies should inspire children to be good member of society. This movie attempts to teach them that it is OK to be selfish.
What other families should know
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
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Parent of a 13 year old Written byBrookieB22 April 22, 2015
age 13+

Watch out... Nipples and bare butts exposed!

Great movie! Although I took my 13 yr old, based on the ratings on the site. I expected some "love scenes" but this should have been rated R. There's a very passionate sex scene in the shower between two teens/young adults where her full breasts were shown several times (nipple and all). In a whole different scene, the boy drops his towel after he has just showered, exposing his entire bare butt. I think the movie would've had the same effect without going this far... OR, they should've rated it appropriately so parents would be prepared. But again, the movie itself was great. A classic Sparks movie. A real tear jerker!!
What other families should know
Too much sex
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Teen, 16 years old Written byJflores14 April 19, 2015
age 16+

Riveting tale of love, loss, and hope

This very good nicholas Sparks film has the perfect blend of romance, violence, and drama. While it is super entertaining and very sweet and touching, there is a lot of sexuality in the film that may stop teens from viewing the film. CONTENT: VIOLENCE: bull rides are shown in an arena and it is very intense and is a major part of the film, a violent car crashes aftermath is shown, deaths of characters SEX: a couple has sex on a couple of occasions: one a girl is changing in a mans bathroom and audiences see her remove Her top and in her bra. Then the boy joins her and they have sex both in bed and in a shower(the sides of her breasts are shown for a good amount of time as well as the top of his naked rear). Another scene shows the girl on top of the guy and a good amount of her breasts are shown. A couple jumps into a lake in their underwear. LANGUAGE: a couple of damns and shits, 1 use of b*tch MY RATING: PG-13/ for thematic material, violence, nudity, and sexuality
What other families should know
Great messages
Great role models
Too much sex
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