Sam and his father are playing basketball in Utah, their hometown. His father tells him to pick up an
art student from New York at the airport. This girl is the daughter of the father’s regional
manager, she is coming to the city to show her art pieces in an exhibition by her grandmother,
so he asks his son to show her the sights and then take the girl home, but Sam is not convinced.
Therefore, the father gives him some money to take her out, he also lends him his convertible
Mustang and his son accepts. The guy is thinking of having a light dinner, staying at home early,
and keeping the money left. Once at the airport we know about the girl, Charlene Riley. She is
an elegant girl from a wealthy family and when she steps out of the plane, she receives a phone call
from Mark, her fiance. This guy is calling from New York and asks her to get married,
but Charlene seems not interested, so he asks about the guy who is taking her home,
and she asks if he is jealous. Then, she meets Sam who is holding a big sign with her name on it,
she hangs up telling Mark that he has nothing to worry about. When they meet, Sam is impressed by
Charlene’s beauty, but the girl asks if her father sent him, and explains to him she is practically
engaged. She then claims that her father does not approve of her boyfriend, so she thinks
that is why he's sending handsome guys to pick her up. At that moment, Charlene approaches Sam
and with a provocative look tells him, that her father’s plan is working but Sam is perplexed.
Sam invites her to see the city, but she remarks she is not available. When they reach the car,
Charlene shows enthusiasm about the Mustang and while Sam is loading her luggage in the trunk,
she starts the engine and the guy gets inside the car. The girl drives fast and recklessly which
makes Sam a little nervous. He asks Charlene to slow down but she tells him to relax, and
says if she can drive in New York, she can drive anywhere. She also asks him to call her "Charly",
instead of "Charlene". She then stops at a park where there is a Ferris wheel. they buy
several tickets and get on, but before they start the ride, Charly tells the old clerk,
that Sam just proposed to her and that they are going to get married. Although Sam denies it, the
old man doesn't seem to hear him and congratulates them anyway. Once on the Ferris wheel, Charly asks
why he wouldn’t marry her, and Sam simply replies that they don't know each other. Besides, he adds
he does not even know what he wants in a woman, but he is sure that when he loves someone he will
realize it. get married, and stay married. Charly then asks if that means until death but Sam,
in fact, means forever which makes the girl feel tender so she hopes he finds someone.
On the next day at Charly’s home, her parents Eddie and Claire talk about the
guy their daughter is seeing, the father refers to Mark as captain not-commitment,
he is not pleased with him. But the conversation is interrupted by Sam who shows up at the front
door, and Charly’s grandmother points out, that she didn’t know that the boy who comes to see
her granddaughter was pretty handsome. The girl introduces Sam to her family,
she says he has always lived there and he is a Mormon. Although mum and dad are not so happy,
her grandmother really likes the boy and shows her enthusiasm. He is there to show Charly the city,
but it seems that she does that only to bother her parents. That night,
Charly and Sam are having dinner in a restaurant, the man asks her why she invited him out, to which
she responds it was because of his “magnetic personality”. Sam then says she is the oddest
woman he has ever known, she always lies, has no respect, and messes all around. At that time,
the girl confesses that she feels intrigued by him, a grown man that still believes in fairy
tales, but Sam states that is not that way, he strongly believes in the Happily Ever After.
Next, we see they spend a lot of time together, they go fishing, take rides, visit art galleries
and spend a day with Sam’s family. Charly gets slowly charmed by Sam’s attitude, they start
getting closer little by little. One day Sam shows the girl the missionary fields, and he explains
that they collect the harvest and store it. He tries to convince her about God’s existence but
she shows skepticism, she affirms that she does not believe in that and is surprised that someone
as smart as him can believe it. Sam insists on praying so he kneels, and asks Charly to do the
same to pray with him, she does so but is still skeptical and leaves saying that he is crazy.
At home with her grandma, Charly is working on a painting to be exhibited,
but the old lady mentions that artwork is just an exercise,
that she could paint something wonderful but has to reflect her feelings on the canvas.
At Sam’s house, the girl is watching portraits of the boy when he was a child, and while saying how
nice he looked, she gets stuck in a conversation with Sam’s mother. The woman tells Charly some
embarrassing funny stories about her son, she says that once her son told her she wasn’t acting like
a lady, because she was singing and dancing in the kitchen, even as a child Sam was very traditional.
When Charly gets home, her father is there but they barely exchange words, and the man
leaves. Her grandma has a surprise for her, according to the old lady, the girl will love.
That surprise is Mark. He is ready on the other side of the computer screen for a video call,
but far from being happy, the girl is loathed. Mark says he wanted to see her beautiful face,
and shows her some templates of wedding invitations with their names on them. The
girl is not satisfied at all, so she asks him how long he will feel that way towards her,
but Mark’s silly answer is, until the stars fall and the earth stops spinning. However,
Charly is being serious she really wants to know if he believes in the Happily Ever After,
but Mark answers that’s a cliche, he thinks that life is for fun and you have to take the chances
in the best way, but the girl is confused. On one side she likes the idea of spending her
life with someone she truly loves but on the other hand, is not sure that really exists.
One day, Sam invites Charly to go fishing, the girl finds the tranquility boring,
so she starts to speak loudly and bothers Sam and the rest of the people there. Then,
she takes a fishing rod and catches a fish just by luck, so she gives a mocking speech about how to
fish. but this makes Sam uncomfortable, and admits that he feels embarrassed with her. Then Charly
wets Sam and challenges him to a water fight, but the guy doesn't react which makes the girl think
that he is very serious. She tells him that he doesn't even laugh but the man responds that he
laughs responsibly. But Charly insists on making him react, so she takes his phone and threatens to
throw it into the water, and although Sam doesn't believe her, she does it. In an attempt to avoid
it, the boy ends up falling into the water with the phone. After that, they both go to a store to
see if the phone can be fixed, the girl says she is not guilty but Sam is truly upset. While he
is at the counter talking to the shop assistant, Charly’s voice comes from the loudspeakers saying
that is his mommy and embarrassing him again. He heads to the entrance and Charly is there with a
popcorn bag for him, but instead of taking it Sam lifts the girl and carries her on his shoulder.
Although he is still angry, they continue to forge a loving bond through these situations.
Back at home, Charly realizes that she may be feeling something for Sam, she phones Mark,
but he does not answer, so she leaves a voice message asking him to call back. Then
she visits the Museum of Fine Arts, where she watches different religious paintings,
in most of them the figure of Jesus is present, but the one that draws her attention the most,
is a painting of Jesus Christ Crucified, which she sees amazed. She feels such a strong connection
that makes her pray. she takes this visit as inspiration for her paintings. When she
returns home, she sends Mark another voice message warning him, she won’t be at home.
Now in the boat, both Charly and Sam are spending a day fishing alone. They seem distant until the
boy says she doesn’t talk much about church, since they tried to pray together. The girl
then tells him that she had a tour of the museum, and took lessons to learn more about his church.
She also mentions that reads Mormon books which takes Sam by surprise so he excitedly asks her
what she thinks. Charly explains that even though she comes from a completely different background,
and considers herself an intellectual, she ends up believing the story. Sam is so delighted that
he leaps up and with a broad smile on his face, shouts from the rooftops that it is a miracle,
he cannot be happier but the girl is still reluctant to accept her beliefs. She claims
that her family will think she has gone completely crazy, but Sam encourages her to
pray for them. Charly then adds that she is not doing that because of him, she does feel things
when she reads the books. she affirms she is praying and someone is listening to her prayers.
When Charly arrives home, she finds her grandma playing a solitaire card game. The old woman
tells, her parents are worried for her and that she doesn’t believe in the Mormon's way of living.
However, the wise lady supports her granddaughter by saying that she can do whatever she wants,
as long as she does it for the right reasons. Charly thanks her and adds that she feels right
doing it. Next, we see how she is baptized and feels wonderful with this new clean slate,
she asks Sam if he believes it but the guy says that he does not believe it, he knows it!
Nevertheless, problems appear when Mark gets home and listens to the voice messages,
not only Charly’s but also one from Eddie. Charly’s father tells Mark that his daughter
is seeing someone, and he must go to Utah to solve this situation so he rushes there.
In another scene, we see how in love Sam and Charly are. they share a lovely look,
and with a few chuckles in between, they kiss each other for the first time.
Now in the art exhibit, Charly bumps into an old friend from school. The friend is
impressed to see Charly in Utah, but she explains that she is there to visit someone,
and is thinking of making it permanent. The girl asks if she has convinced Mark to come there,
Charly says he is in New York but Sam hears the whole conversation and is confused. Then,
the guy asks Charly if she is living with someone, but she answers she already told him that she was
almost engaged. Sam is worried about the other guy, he wants to know if he is aware of their
relationship, but at that precise instant, Charly’s parents appear accompanied by Mark,
who greets Charly with a lovely kiss on her lips, right in front of poor Sam who is perplexed. The
girl introduces each other but the situation is so tense, that Sam decides to leave but Charly
follows him. Sam cannot believe Charly did that to him, the girl tries to fix things,
she says she had a life before she met him, but she is now different thanks to Sam, who showed her
a new way of living. Charly adds that she loves him and asks what he wants but the guy remains
speechless, then he says he does not know what he wants, so the girl leaves dropping some tears.
At home, Sam tells his mother that Charly wasn’t honest with him and she had a past. The woman
explains to him that most people have it and although she did that, she has recently made
a lot of changes. The boy points out that does not change the fact that she was unfaithful,
but his mother strongly disagrees, she says that maybe she didn’t understand the connection between
intimacy and eternal commitment, and adds that if his feelings towards her have changed, now he
knows about her past, Charly is better off without him. His mother’s words get stacked in Sam’s mind,
while going for a walk he remembers his best moments with Charly, so he decides to see her,
but when he comes back to the exhibit, it has already finished and he finds Charly’s
grandmother instead. The old lady tells Sam that after he left, Charly did the same but she flew to
New York, so without a second thought, the boy goes to the airport and takes a flight there.
Now in New York City, Sam goes to her beloved Charly’s building and he is not allowed to
enter. but he manages to sneak into it and when he gets to Charly’s apartment, he sees that Mark is
right there, arguing with the girl who is in the other side of the door. Mark sees Sam is there
and when Charly opens the door to kick Mark out, she is surprised to see Sam, so she asks what he
is doing there. The boy apologizes and tells the girl he was wrong, but Charly does not give him
great importance which hurts Sam. He insists on saying that he is sorry, he traveled 2000 miles
just to see her, but she just accepts the apology and shuts the door. Sam puts his face against the
door and says that he loves her too, on the other side, Charly listens to him attentively,
she opens the door again but Sam has already left. Then Mark asks Charly for an explanation,
because his feelings towards her haven’t changed, the girl claims that she is not the same person
she was before. Mark is comprehensive and leaves. At the same time, Sam remains in New York waiting
for Charly, he wanders through the streets of the city, and one night he sees a souvenir of a
Ferris wheel in a shop, that reminds him the day they met for the first time. One day she takes
a taxi and he follows Charly to her art class, there he approaches the girl and says he is not
upset anymore, he forgives her and does not care about her past, but these words are not the best,
so Charly tells him to go away. Before he leaves Sam states that he wants to be part of her life,
but Charly says that he couldn’t handle her past, and that life is too short and hard to
not feel safe with someone you love. That night, Charly arrives home and finds Mark is there,
he surprises her with a romantic dinner, candles, and fine wine, but the girl is not pleased at
all. Mark tries to seduce Charly by leaning on her to kiss her but she rejects him. However,
the man is persistent and insists again but Charly denies kissing him, he then claims that even
though Charly affirms she has changed, he believes the girl hasn’t. After a third kissing try, Charly
ceases, but from the street, Sam is watching the whole scene and when he sees this, he manages to
get inside the building and the guards chase him. After the kiss, Charly asks Mark to leave
but at that moment, Sam shows up and says that she can’t marry Mark and that she is the woman of his
dreams, Mark mocks him but Charly feels really touched by his words. The guards come, catch Sam
and take him away. Now Mark and Charly are alone, the woman apologizes for the whole situation, but
Mark says it was fine while it lasted. Sam is sent to trial but the judge says, that everything will
be forgiven if he goes back to Utah immediately, but before leaving, he puts the Ferris wheel from
the shop just in front of Charly’s door, with the tickets from the day he met her.
One day, Sam is sitting on a bench in the park of the Ferris wheel when he sees Charly,
she approaches him and says she is sorry. Then she explains to him that she and God are very
close now, and that she has been talking about him with the Lord. Charly tells Sam that despite being
heartbroken she is still in love with him, Sam pauses to admire her pretty face and says that
he loves her, to which Charly replies with a warm smile saying that they may be forever together.
The guy chuckles and kisses his beloved Charly softly. They get married to live their Happily
Ever After and later on, they have a little beautiful son, they are now a happy family.
While having dinner, Charly teaches her son to say “mama”, but he only says “dada”, which charms Sam
who makes fun of his wife. Once the baby sleeps, Sam asks about a painting Charly is working on,
the woman says that is a painting about Christ. Her husband claims that he looks depressed but
that is what Charly intends, because he has just lost his friend Lazarus. Then they have
a friendly discussion because the woman does not have a painting studio, so she
has to work in the kitchen. they fool and joke around and when Sam tries to lift his wife up,
she suffers from back pain but says it is only a sore muscle because she is tired.
At the supermarket, Charly spots a gossipy old woman, so she convinces her husband to
tease her by acting like an arguing couple. They keep up the joke for a few minutes until Charly
bursts out laughing, but this funny moment is interrupted by a pain in Charly’s back.
This time is much stronger than last time and although the woman says she is alright,
her husband affirms she is not and that has nothing to do with a sore muscle. At the hospital,
Charly undergoes some studies that yield as result of a terminal disease in her pancreas,
and can possibly spread to the rest of the body. The doctor explains to Sam that
his wife has not much time left, because the treatment is rarely effective in those cases,
so Charly is near to reaching eternal sleep. While lying in the hospital bed, Charly feeds her child,
Sam approaches and encourages her to keep on fighting. He affirms that people beat that illness
all the time, but Charly says that the doctors claim there's nothing to do. Sam, reluctant to
accept the reality tells her that he will give her a blessing and God will do the rest, but we all
know how these things actually work. One night, Charly is sitting on the couch with her baby,
when Sam comes and asks what she is doing. She is thinking of her son, she will never know what
he’ll look like when he grows up, Sam encourages her not to give up but she is not giving up,
the woman points out that she wants to be at home with her family, instead of being tethered in a
cold hospital bed. Charly starts to assume what’s going to happen but Sam is not ready yet, he is
still hoping that their faith will help them, so his wife proposes a deal. She will undergo the
treatments, and if it works and starts feeling better, she will continue doing it but if not,
she will quit. As expected, the treatments are not effective and Charly gets worse.
Now Charly is lying in bed playing cards with her grandma. the old lady points out how much
Sam loves her, but the girl says there’s no point, because she can’t reach him. The
wise old lady mentions that it has nothing to do with her, he just acts that way because is
frightened of losing his beloved wife. Charly goes to the room where Sam is and finds him painting,
but she doesn’t understand what’s going on. Sam says it is a painting studio for her, so
the girl reminds her husband that she hasn’t much time left, but Sam is unwilling to accept that,
he relies on God’s promises and their long-lasting faith. But Charly tells him that God never
promised to cure her, only that they could love each other forever. In an uncontrolled fit of
rage driven by his sadness and fear, Sam throws things against the wall and breaks down in tears,
all he wants is a simple miracle so that his wife can live a life with him and his
son. Charly approaches him and with tears in her eyes tells him that they don't need more time,
they have eternity, and who taught her that was him. Besides, in a world where nobody believes
in anything, he believed in living happily ever after with her, so they embrace and kiss.
One afternoon, Sam arrives home and sees a bunch of cars parked in front of his house,
he is confused but when he sees Charly, he calms down. The girl tells him she
is throwing a party and inviting some friends over. Sam would remember this moment forever,
he sees how happy his wife feels that he wants to stop time for the rest of his life.
One night, Sam wakes up and realizes that Charly is not with him in bed so he looks for her. Then,
he listens to his wife crying in the baby’s room,
and she is calling for her son. The man goes and takes a mattress for her and while she lies on it,
he catches the baby to give it to her. The three of them lie together embraced on that mattress.
Nonetheless, Charly is getting worst as time passes, so during the nights,
Sam prays to beg for help and shows how scared of losing Charly he is. In her last days,
Charly is extremely weak but she wants to go out, so Sam has to lift her up with his bare arms. They
go to see their baby and at that exact moment, her son calls her “mama” for the first time,
Charly is touched, and she feels so happy that she cries emotively. Sam
drives to the park where some years ago Charly said they were husband and wife,
carrying her in his arms they get on the Ferris wheel and enjoy their last ride.
Charly finally leaves this world and is now resting in peace. Sam remembers every
moment by her side. At her funeral, Charly’s painting of a depressed Christ is exposed,
and Sam gives a speech about how Jesus acted when his friend Lazarus died. Sam explains
that Christ did not say that everything would be alright because it wouldn’t,
he wept instead and that’s also a way to show love, Sam trust in that love now.
Back at his home, Sam is holding his baby in his arms, enters the room, and leaves him in
the crib. There we see that the mattress where Charly had slept that night, when she called for
her baby is still there, Sam lies down on it and spends the night with his son. The next morning,
he wakes up and goes to the shelf where all the memories of Charly are. her pictures when she
was young. photos of them at their wedding, and even the souvenir of the Ferris wheel that Sam
gave her in New York. Next to it, there is an envelope with his name. Sam opens it and reads
a note that Charly left there for him before leaving. On the paper she wrote that the ride
is not over yet and that she loves him, Sam is filled with joy as he reads this note. The
next thing we see is Sam and his son laughing happily and taking a ride on the Ferris wheel.
While having this ride, Sam remembers Charly’s words when they get there for the first time.