Summary
6 tech score
Kevin Hart and Ice Cube in “Ride Along”; photo courtesy of Universal Pictures
“Ride Along” (Paramount Pictures)
When I first saw the ads for “Ride Along” I thought it could be a buddy comedy along the lines of “48 Hours” or “Rush Hour.” Both Kevin Hart and Ice Cube are super talented individuals and Hart’s star is certainly on the rise. When I saw the film I did enjoy it but my expectations were set too high. The film is funny but not consistently so, and I doubt there will be a rush to turn this into a franchise.
In the film Hart plays Ben Barber, a policeman wannabe. He feels he is cut out for that career but he also wants to bond with his, hopefully, future brother in law James Payton (Ice Cube) who is a police detective. Ben truly loves Angela (Tika Sumpter) and she wants her brother’s blessing. James is not impressed with Ben as a future relative and he isn’t about to give his blessing. He thinks his sister can do much better.
When Ben gets accepted into the Police Academy he thinks this will impress James. No go. Instead James invites Ben on a ride along to see what police work is all about. Of course this day turns into all kinds of complications for Ben and the bonding does not seem to be materializing.
Ice Cube is essentially the straight man in this movie to all of Hart’s histrionics. He has to maintain his composure while Hart all but eats up the set. He becomes a droll seen it all character while Hart plays a whirling dervish. You can’t imagine how much energy he expends. But Ice Cube’s James comes across as just a bit too stern and his and Hart’s characters never seem to relate to each other.
Bruce McGill, John Leguizamo and Lawrence Fishburne have supporting roles in the movie but they make a very small impression. Sumpter on the other hand is a standout with her beauty and easy way of emoting.
The movie is rated PG-13 for violence and profanity.
There is a lot of potential in the movie but not all opportunities are taken advantage of by the stars. A little easing up of James’ stiffness and a bit more reality to Ben’s hysteria might have made the movie more enjoyable. As is, it has moments of true fun but not enough of them to be the audience pleaser it should have been.
I scored “Ride Along” an accompanied 6 out of 10.
