Nicholas Sparks’ recipe for romantic melodrama often includes handwritten letters, soldiers, deaths, and the North Carolina coast. And it never fails.

“The Longest Ride” blends these elements together through two heartbreaking love stories from different eras. George Tillman Jr., the ninth director to take on an adaptation of a Sparks novel, knows just how to please an audience, without coming too close to turning “The Longest Ride” in a cliché chick flick.

Britt Robertson and Scott Eastwood embody the image of star-crossed lovers perfectly in their portrayal of Sophia Danko and Luke Collins. At a bull riding show that Sophia is reluctant to go to, fate assumes its role as matchmaker and creates the perfect situation in which Luke, a rising bull rider, drops his hat near her. As expected, Luke tells Sophia to keep his hat and a romantic relationship ensues.

Their first date ends with a silent car ride home after Sophia admits that she is leaving for New York soon. The only thing that breaks the awkward silence is an overturned car on the side of the road. Luke pulls the driver out of the car and Sophia salvages a box in the passenger seat. In the box are the hundreds of letters that the man, Ira Levinson (Alan Alda), wrote to his wife Ruth (Oona Chaplin) over their years of love and heartbreak.

Sophia forms a friendship with Ira and returns to visit Ira in the hospital daily to read him the letters he wrote. Through the letters, the couple from the 1940s teaches Sophia that love means making sacrifices. She keeps this advice in mind when she decides between pursuing an internship in New York and staying in North Carolina with Luke. Meanwhile, Luke must make his own decision, whether to continue bull riding or stop for the sake of his health.

Eastwood is perfect as an old-fashioned cowboy who is capable of making any girl swoon. “The Longest Ride” has the potential to make Eastwood, who has never before had a major acting role, into a star. His bull riding scenes bring some action to the movie, perhaps giving the boyfriends who were dragged along to see the film something to look forward to. On the other hand, Robertson is no stranger to the big screen (she starred in “The First Time” and “ Ask Me Anything”) and is elegant and playful at the same time, making for a likeable female lead. Rounding up the exceptional starring cast, Alda brings genuine feeling to his role through his soulful acting. He plays with the audience’s emotions like an expert.

While Ira and Ruth’s love story is an interesting addition to the plot, Tillman does a poor job integrating it into the movie. Their story, told mostly through the letters as Sophia reads them, feels choppy and incomplete. However, Young Ira (Jack Huston) and Ruth own the screen with a timeless charm that effortlessly outshines Eastwood and Robertson. Ira and Ruth’s problems make Sophia and Luke’s seem insignificant and petty. After all, what’s a professional bull rider and a college student to a World War II soldier and his wife awaiting his return? It’s a shame to see two stellar, young actors suffer because of poorly written characters.

“The Longest Ride” is a classic-country-boy-meets-city-girl story that I felt like I’ve seen many times before. Nevertheless, the talented cast and engaging trip to the past gives the film a unique likability. It’s no doubt that within weeks, girls will be in search of their very own cowboy.