RIDE ALONG – The Review

By Michael Haffner

A little chemistry can go a long way.  That might be one of the only redeeming qualities of Tim Story’s take on the buddy-cop formula.  Rote with the usual laughs and expected gunfire that we’ve seen before, RIDE ALONG is a breezy time waster that thankfully knows its limits and doesn’t strive for much more.  Ice Cube and Kevin Hart are both game for a little fun.  But just as so many of the jokes aimed at Kevin Hart’s height point out, little is the key word here when gauging the level of enjoyment to be had.

James (Ice Cube) is hot on the case of the criminal “ghost” of Atlanta, Omar.  His investigation is put on temporary hold (or is it) when he takes on his sister’s soon to be fiancée Ben (Kevin Hart) for a ride along to see if he’s good enough for his sister.  Ben is a videogame nut that just got accepted into the police academy and desperately tries to impress James while dodging a wide variety of miscreants and petty lawbreakers. As you would expect, the two soon find themselves deeper into the Omar investigation with each road stop than they originally intended.

Ice Cube barely cracks a smile as he stubbornly holds on to the typical hard-ass persona throughout the film.  His one note performance does play well against Kevin Hart’s clueless and innocent man-child.  Hart plays the requisite punching bag with a charming smile, even if the act becomes a little tired after awhile. Just like any child whose experience stems from videogames like ‘Call of Duty’ and ‘Mass Effect,’ he seems intent on comparing these real life shootouts to the simulated violence on screen.  “Look for ammo on the ground!” he urges to Ice Cube in a dangerous scene.  It’s amiable that the four screenwriters on the film – yes . . . four people wrote this – are quick to respond with, “This is not a video game!”  However, a few seconds later he does indeed find said ammo lying on the warehouse floor.  You half-expect a +10 points’ sound effect to accompany the find.  To make matters worse, not but twenty minutes earlier, James gives Ben a lecture how shooting someone in real life isn’t equivalent to shooting an online gamer like “Assface” in the virtual world.  It’s as if the writers want to have it both ways.  They attempt to address a real issue that may actually plague our trigger-happy society but then turn around and do the exact thing they are speaking against.  The moral implications of the film are questionable.  I just wish the film had enough laughs thrown-in that I wouldn’t have to think about the insinuating message.

RIDE ALONG wants to be the carefree good time that Story achieved with his 2002 breakout hit BARBERSHOP.  Occasionally moments of hilarity ensue including the duo’s venture to a shooting range and their eventual encounter with Omar.  For what it’s worth, you can’t blame the film for not trying.  Between Hart’s motor-mouth and the constant set-pieces the writers throw the duo into, RIDE ALONG serves as a passable buddy-cop flick, albeit an entirely forgettable one.  It’s just too bad that the tired shenanigans are made even more offensive by a mixed and possibly objectionable message.

2 out of 5