Ride Along (4/14/2014)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence, sexual content and brief strong language.

Starring Kevin Hart, Ice Cube, John Leguizamo, Tika Sumpter and Laurence Fishburne

Directed by Tim Story (Think Like a Man)

TODD’S WORD: Ride along makes the classic mistake of showing us all of the funny scenes in the trailer.

JONATHAN’S WORD: Not true. There were at least 2 more funny scenes.

When a fast-talking guy joins his girlfriend’s brother—a hot-tempered cop—to patrol the streets of Atlanta, he gets entangled in the officer’s latest case. Now, in order to prove that he deserves his future bride, he must survive the most insane 24 hours of his life. For the past two years, high-school security guard Ben (Hart) has been trying to show decorated APD detective James (Cube) that he’s more than just a video-game junkie who’s unworthy of James’ sister, Angela (Tika Sumpter). When Ben finally gets accepted into the academy, he thinks he’s earned the seasoned policeman’s respect and asks for his blessing to marry Angela. Knowing that a ride along will demonstrate if Ben has what it takes to take care of his sister, James invites him on a shift designed to scare the hell out of the trainee. But when the wild night leads them to the most notorious criminal in the city, James will find that his new partner’s rapid-fire mouth is just as dangerous as the bullets speeding at it.

TODD’S WORD: Ice Cube who makes the scariest “mean face” in Hollywood and Kevin Hart who could make just about anyone laugh make a perfect couple team. They have great chemistry and more than a dozen memorable scenes.

JONATHAN’S WORD: Aha! A dozen. So there are more funny scenes than the preview!

TODD’S WORD: Not many.

JONATHAN’S WORD: I think this film lives or dies by if you think Kevin Hart is funny. If you like him, then you’ll like the movie. If you like Will Ferrell, you liked Elf. If you like Martin, you liked Big Mama’s House.

TODD’S WORD: I would have never guessed when I got up this morning that we’d be talking about Big Mama’s House.

JONATHAN’S WORD: Kevin makes me laugh, and he definitely had me chuckling through this film. I could just name about 1,000 comedies to rent before this one.

TODD’S WORD: In all fairness, the rest of the cast is pretty good especially Lawrence Fishburne as the bad guy. And John Leguizamo is always good.

JONATHAN’S WORD: No argument there.

TODD’S WORD: There is a story, but it should not surprise you that it is just fodder to give Cube and Hart a chance to do what they do best.

JONATHAN’S WORD: Exactly. Don’t expect a lot of range from Cube. I was looking for him to pull up in his same Navigator he drove in Are We There Yet?

TODD’S WORD: It’s a typical PG-13 comedy today. Plenty of suggestive jokes…

JONATHAN’S WORD: And some blatantly profane jokes…

TODD’S WORD: And plenty of eye candy from Tika Sumpter. The director chose to show her completely dressed in only a handful of scenes…sad.

JONATHAN’S WORD: It seems to be what sells the tickets these days.

TODD’S WORD: Truthfully, Ride Along is good for a few laughs and mindless escape. But if you’re looking for a little something more I would recommend looking for something else. This one was worth watching, but “Only If It’s Free.”

JONATHAN’S WORD: I agree on all accounts, but for some reason I’ll grace it with a score of “Rental.”

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
There are no sex scenes, but there are a lot of suggestive scenes where sex is talked about. There is also a strip club scene. We see women dancing and some of them with barely anything on.

There are a few violent scenes where people are shot, but they are not graphic or gory.

There is 1 “F” word, 40 – 50 “S” words and several other profanities.

CONVERSATION STARTER:

1. Why does Ben work so hard to impress James?


2. How important is being accepted to you?


3. What’s the craziest thing you’ve done in order to fit in?

Leader: Be prepared to share a personal story about something you did to be accepted.
4. Read Psalms 94:14
   
   For the LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance.
   
   
5. How does it feel knowing that God will never reject you?


6. Knowing that you are accepted by God, what can you do this week to accept others?