I've been waiting for The Longest Ride to come out in theaters since I purchased the book the summer before this year.
There are two reasons I've been awaiting this event with such high anticipation: it's based on a student at Wake Forest University who falls in love with a cowboy (my dream) and I never finished the book because I kept getting distracted. The fact that I'm an English major and couldn't follow the plot of a Nicholas Sparks novel should have been the first sign that I wouldn't enjoy the movie, but I just had to see it.
Because the book was based on a Wake student, Wake's campus obviously had to be in it. Finally! We all know our campus is gorgeous and deserves to be onscreen. (The maintenance crew seriously needs some recognition for their landscaping skills.) Plus, the summer session students got to be in it! Shout out to Chirag for being in the art history exam scene!
Despite all of the opportunities that Sparks had to make this story come to life, he really missed the boat. He's not even on an island. He's in the middle of the ocean with floaties swimming with sharks.
There is no Sigma Theta Nu. In the novel, the main character, Sophia, is a Chi Omega dating a Sigma Chi. Shocker. Maybe Sparks didn't have the rights to call her a Chi O in the movie or maybe he didn't want to royally piss off other sororities by disregarding them entirely.
There are no sorority houses. The film tried to make the edit from the upper quad to the fake sorority house seamless, but what the hell? This gives outsiders of the Wake Forest community an unrealistic vision of Wake's campus. Maybe Sparks recognized how truly heartbreaking it is that we don't have a Greek row filled with mansions. Believe me, we would LOVE that. Until then, we're stuck with having Greek themed halls in the dingy dorms provided by campus housing for a required three years.
No Wake student would ever be caught dead in a jean mini skirt and a cowgirl hat. Maybe for sh*ts and giggles. They might even wear that outfit when they leave the area and don't feel the pressure to fit into the Wake uniform of a Lilly Pulitzer sundress and Jack Rogers sandals. Never in Winston Salem.
Sophia quits her internship for love. I'm sorry, but this is the 21st century. What girl in her right mind would give up her dream for a jack*ss who won't sacrifice his day job. The majority of Wake students don't date because they're too focused on their future careers. This girl seriously quit an internship in Manhattan. That's insane.
No one goes to rodeos. I could be wrong, but there are only a handful of things that Wake students venture off campus for. Brynn's frozen yogurt, yummy restaurants, Tate's on Wednesdays, Last Resort (if that's really considered off campus) on Thursdays, hiking at Pilot Mountain or Hanging Rock, and shopping are just a few.
The film exhibits stereotypical gender roles. Why does the girl have to give up her dream but the cowboy can accomplish his goal of winning the bull riding competition? According to Ira's main point, love is about sacrifice. If that's true, why doesn't Luke Collins have to sacrifice anything? The girl sacrifices her time by talking with Ira every day and her goals by quitting her internship. The only thing Collins seems to sacrifice is his health. He also feels the need to support his Mom as if she would be lost without him. Why can't she take care of herself?
The cowboy buys the Ruth painting. This really goes along with stereotyping gender roles because he obviously thought as a male that it was his responsibility to buy the painting for the girl. Even though she knew the story behind the painting, heaven forbid she be the one to purchase it. I don't want to give away the entire story but let's just say that it is unbelievably cliché for what happens when Collins buys Ira's most prized possession.
Scott Eastwood is too old to be believable. He's one of the most beautiful humans on our planet but he is OLD. I mean he has wrinkles! In real life if Sophia wasn't just a one night stand, she would be his mid-life crisis fling.
Wake Forest is barely in the movie. You shut down our campus for three days and didn't even show the chapel. Wait Chapel is like the North Star at Wake Forest. Come on!
It's not authentic. Sparks stayed true to his sappy, cliché self, but I found it difficult to connect with his characters. Maybe I just couldn't get past the outfit choices for the most part, but something about the romance between Sophia and Collins was more comedic than romantic. Sorry not sorry.
