''Ride Along'' is a 2014 American

buddy cop Buddy cop is a film and television genre with plots involving two people of very different and conflicting personalities who are forced to work together to solve a crime and/or defeat criminals, sometimes learning from each other in the process. ...

action comedy film The action comedy is a film genre that applies to action films where humor plays a much more central role. While early films feature stuntwork and humor, academic Cynthia King wrote that the genre only came into its own as a mainstay of the Americ ...

directed by

Tim Story Timothy Kevin Story is an American film director. He is best known for '' Barbershop'' (2002), ''Fantastic Four'' (2005), and the ''Ride Along'' franchise. He has been nominated for two NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Directing in a Feature ...

and starring

Ice Cube O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...

and

Kevin Hart Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979) is an American comedian and actor. The accolades he has received include the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and nominations for two Grammy Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards. After winning se ...

. The film follows Ben Barber (Kevin Hart), a security guard who must prove to his girlfriend's police officer brother, James Payton (Ice Cube), that he is worthy of marrying her. During their 24-hour patrol of Atlanta, Ben accidentally gets wrapped up in James' hunt for an arms dealer, Omar (Laurence Fishburne). The film was produced by

Relativity Media Relativity Media, LLC is an American independent media company founded in 2004 by Lynwood Spinks and Ryan Kavanaugh. The company brokered film finance deals and later branched into film production and other entertainment ventures. The company ...

, Cube Vision Productions and Rainforest Films, and distributed by

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

. Following two premieres in Atlanta and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, the film was released worldwide on January 17, 2014. A sequel, ''

Ride Along 2 ''Ride Along 2'' is a 2016 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Tim Story and written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. It is the sequel to the 2014 film '' Ride Along''. The film stars Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Ken Jeong, Benjamin Br ...

'', was released on January 15, 2016.

Plot

Undercover detective James Payton is on a falsifying passports operation run by "Omar". After a shootout with the smugglers, his lieutenant tells him to drop the case, which he does not. Ben Barber, a jumpy, short high school security guard who plays video games in his spare time, applies to the Atlanta City Police Academy. He asks James for his blessing to marry his sister, Angela. He insists Ben first go on a " ride along" to prove he is worthy of her. If successful, he will recommend him for the academy, and give his blessing. Taking Ben to the station, James asks dispatch to give him all the 1-26s that are called in, which he has Ben take care of. Questioning the informant Runflat, James uncovers the connection between Serbia and "Omar" and hears a shipment will come in that evening. Leaving the park, James takes Ben to the local shooting range and finds out that Zastava M92's have been given to the store. When a 1-26 is called in, Ben and James go to the

Sweet Auburn Curb Market The Municipal Market is a historic market located in Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia's Sweet Auburn Historic District at 209 Edgewood Avenue, S.W. The market operates as a nonprofit enterprise, with the building leased from the City of Atlanta ...

, where drunken 'Crazy Cody' is being disorderly. Ben is unable to subdue him, so James arrests him. Ben asks to be taken home before Angela's call. He tells her about his stressful day, and she tells him Crazy Cody is James' poker buddy, and that 1-26s are code for annoying situations for newbies as a joke. Seeing Cody laughing with James, Santiago and Miggs at the police station, the upset Ben refuses to go home. He instead takes a 1-26 for a disturbance at a strip club. There, two men get into a Mexican standoff with James and Ben. Believing is another joke call, Ben fools around. James subdues them, then they are tipped off about a gun deal with Omar's men. Ben confronts James about the 1-26s. James receives a call from Santiago in the car, who says Runflat has turned himself in. Ben says Runflat's brother told him in the park Runflat had just got out of prison, news to James so, another clue. They talk to Runflat's other brother, J, to get the location of the gun deal. During the conversation, Ben accidentally shoots J, who reveals the deal's time and place. Deciding to infiltrate the warehouse with Santiago and Miggs, James leaves Ben in the car. They betray him, turning out to be crooked cops working for Omar. James is then tied up, which Ben sees. Santiago mocks and criticizes James for being unsociable and egocentric. As the deal begins, Ben pretends to be Omar (as no one has ever seen the real Omar). Successfully fooling them, Ben wreaks havoc at the deal. Just as he is about to leave with James, the real Omar appears. A shootout ensues, and many of Omar's men are killed. Ben shows his sharp reflexes and knowledge of battle (thanks to his gaming). James and Ben take the money from the deal and escape before the warehouse explodes. Unbeknownst to them, Santiago, Miggs and Omar escape. Santiago and Miggs arrive at Angela's, tying her up. As she was playing one of Ben's interactive games, Ben's fellow gamers hear the confrontation through Ben's headset. At the hospital, being treated for a gunshot wound in the leg, Ben receives a call from a gamer, who tells James something's going on at the apartment. After seeing some cops arriving at the hospital, James and Ben sneak out to Angela's with Omar's money. James injures Miggs, before fighting with Santiago. As Santiago is about to shoot him, Angela knocks him out. Ben gets knocked out by Omar in a fight, who then takes the bag of money and Angela, and leaves. James follows them, confronting Omar. Just as Omar is about to shoot him, Ben slides over a car and kicks him. James shoots Omar twice, injuring him. Police arrest Omar, Miggs, and Santiago, and James finally gives Ben his blessing. In a mid-credits scene, Ben and Angela are engaged, and Ben is weeks away from graduating from the police academy. At a barbecue at James's, Ben blows up the barbecue, flying into the bushes and killing the neighbor's dog.

Cast

as James Payton, undercover police detective *

as Ben Barber, James' sister's boyfriend *

Tika Sumpter Euphemia LatiQue "Tika" Sumpter (born June 20, 1980) is an American actress and producer. Sumpter began her career as the host of '' Best Friend's Date''. From 2005 to 2010, she appeared in the daytime soap opera ''One Life to Live''. In 2010, ...

as Angela Payton, James's sister and Ben's girlfriend *

John Leguizamo John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez (, ; ; born July 22, 1960 or 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and film producer. He has appeared in more than 100 films, produced more than 20 films and documentaries, made more than 30 televisio ...

as Santiago, a detective and Miggs' partner *

Bryan Callen Bryan Callen (born January 26, 1967) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer and podcaster. He studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. Callen initiated his career as one of the original cast members on the sketch comedy series ' ...

as Miggs, a detective and Santiago's partner *

Laurence Fishburne Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. Throughout his career, he has gained recognition for his roles on stage and screen as militant and authoritative characters. List of awards and nominations received by Laur ...

as Omar, a boss of smugglers *

Bruce McGill Bruce Travis McGill (born July 11, 1950) is an American actor. He worked with director Michael Mann in the films '' The Insider'' (1999), '' Ali'' (2001), and '' Collateral'' (2004). McGill's other notable film roles include Daniel Simpson "D-D ...

as Lieutenant Brooks, head of the Atlanta Police department Additional cast includes Gary Owen as Crazy Cody,

Jay Pharoah Jared Antonio Farrow (born October 14, 1987), better known by his stage name Jay Pharoah, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2010 to 2016. In 2015, he was ...

as Runflat,

David Banner Lavell William Crump (born April 11, 1974), known professionally as David Banner, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, Banner's family moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where he was raised. Banner gra ...

as Pawnshop Jay,

Dragoș Bucur Dragoș Bucur (; born 13 June 1977) is a Romanian actor, ambassador for the program ''Youth of the Move'' involved by the European Commission, and TV presenter for the show '' Visuri la cheie'' broadcast on Pro TV . Dragoș Bucur received the S ...

as Marko,

Gary Weeks Gary Weeks is an American film and television actor; he is also a film producer and screenwriter. Biography Gary Weeks was born in Wiesbaden, Hessen, Federal Republic of Germany on a U.S. airbase. He was raised in Georgia, attended high sch ...

as Dr. Cowan,

Jacob Latimore Jacob O'Neal Latimore (born August 10, 1996) is an American actor, singer and dancer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 2016, Latimore released his debut album ''Connection''. As an actor, he is best known for his roles in '' Black Nativity'', ''T ...

as Ramone and Benjamin Flores, Jr. as Morris, Runflat's brother.

Production

On November 29, 2009, ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' announced that comedian

Jason Mantzoukas Jason Mantzoukas (; born December 18, 1972) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter and podcaster. He is known for his roles as Rafi in the FX comedy series ''The League'' and as Nadal in '' The Dictator,'' and he is one of the three co-ho ...

had been hired to write cop-buddy comedy film ''Ride Along'' for

New Line Cinema New Line Productions, Inc., Trade name, doing business as New Line Cinema, is an American film production, film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, a division of the Major film studios, ...

, originally written by

Greg Coolidge Gregory Coolidge is an American film writer, director, and television showrunner. He is best known for creating the '' Ride Along'' franchise, executive producing and showrunning the limited series '' The Continental: From the World of John Wick' ...

, with

set to star in and produce the film along with Matt Alvarez, through Cube's film company, Cube Vision Productions. The film was originally offered to

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

, but according to Cube, the Warner executives reportedly passed down the offer because they told him that an action movie with two Black stars wouldn't sell well overseas; a studio executive claimed that the concerns about the stars were false and that the true reason for passing on ''Ride Along'' was because of script disagreements. On July 11, 2012,

acquired the distribution rights to the film from New Line, with production starting in October,

was set to direct the film, rewritten by

Matt Manfredi Matt Manfredi is an American screenwriter. Early life and education Manfredi is from Palos Verdes, California,Phil Hay, and produced by

Will Packer William Packer (born April 11, 1974) is an American film producer who founded Will Packer Productions, and Will Packer Media. Packer has produced or executive produced a wide range of movies that have grossed more than $1 billion worldwide at ...

and Larry Brezner. On October 31, the studio announced the film would be released on January 17, 2014.

Casting

Ice Cube joined the cast on November 29, 2009, to play the lead role, Detective James; the story was then about a rogue cop who tries to break off his sister's engagement to an upper-crust white psychiatrist by inviting his future brother-in-law on a ride-along.

joined the cast on July 11, 2012, to play Ben, a high school security guard, with his character changed from white to black. On October 16,

joined the cast of the film to play an undercover cop. On October 30,

, and

joined the cast; Sumpter plays Angela, Ben's fiancée and James' sister, while Callen plays an undercover cop, and Pharoah plays a street informant. On November 9, ''

Backstage Backstage may refer to: * Backstage (theatre), the areas of a theatre that are not part of the house or stage Film and television * ''Back Stage'' (1917 film), a silent film starring Oliver Hardy * ''Back Stage'' (1919 film), a silent film starri ...

'' posted that the film's director was looking for adult extras of all ethnicities for the background in the film. On November 16,

joined the cast of the film to play a hard-nosed lieutenant. On December 7, Gary Owen also joined the cast, followed by

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

on the film began on October 31, 2012, in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, and crews were filming some scenes at

Underground Atlanta Underground Atlanta is a shopping center, shopping and entertainment district in the Five Points, Atlanta, Five Points neighborhood of Downtown Atlanta, downtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States, near the Five Points (MARTA station), Five Points ...

on October 31 and November 1. On October 31, ''CBS Atlanta'' posted the news that Atlanta police are warning residents that there would be a simulated gun battle inside the mall area during the filming on Thursday, November 1. It was a 35-day shoot, which wrapped up filming on December 19 in Atlanta.

Music

On April 29, 2013,

Christopher Lennertz Christopher Joseph Lennertz (born January 2, 1972) is an American songwriter and composer of film, television, and video game scores. He is a dual citizen of the United States and Italy. His musical scores have appeared in ''Alvin and the Chipm ...

was hired to score the film. Lennertz previously collaborated with Story on the 2012 comedy ''

Think Like A Man ''Think Like a Man'' is a 2012 American romantic comedy film directed by Tim Story, written by Keith Merryman and David A. Newman, and produced by Will Packer. It was based on Steve Harvey's 2009 book '' Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man''. The f ...

''. The soundtrack was released digitally on January 14, 2014, by Back Lot Music, while a CD version was released on January 28 by

Varèse Sarabande Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and cast recording, original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as ...

Promotion and release

teaser trailer A teaser trailer, also shortened to teaser, is a short trailer (promotion), trailer and a form of teaser campaign advertising that focuses on film and television programming. It is a videography pre-release film or television show advertisement. Sh ...

and an image were released on July 1, 2013. On September 26, studio revealed the first teaser poster featuring Cube and Hart. On November 5, eight new images from the set and the poster were revealed. A second trailer of the film was revealed from studio on November 7. On December 19, Universal released a full length trailer for the film. On the night of January 6, 2014, the film's first premiere was held at Atlantic Station in Atlanta. On January 13, the

premiere was held at

TCL Chinese Theatre Grauman's Chinese Theatre, known as the Chinese colloquially and officially billed as TCL Chinese Theatre for sponsorship reasons, is a movie palace on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United S ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Following the two premieres, the film was released worldwide on January 17, 2014.

Box office

The film's 3-day opening weekend gross was $41,516,170, at 2,663 US and Canadian theaters (an average of $15,590 per theater gross), giving ''Ride Along'' the then-record for highest domestic opening weekend gross in the month of

January January is the first month of the year in the Julian calendar, Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. The first day of the month is known as New Year's Day. It is, on average, the coldest month of the year within most of the No ...

, ahead of 2008's ''

Cloverfield ''Cloverfield'' is a 2008 American Found footage (film technique), found footage monster movie, monster horror film directed by Matt Reeves and written by Drew Goddard. It stars Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller (in his film debut), Mic ...

''. For the 4-day record-breaking MLK weekend, the film grossed $48,626,380. The film held the number one spot at the US box office for three weeks, grossing $21 million and $12 million in its second and third weekends. The North American domestic gross was $134,202,565, with the international gross being $19,059,619, bringing the worldwide total to $153,262,184.

Home media

''Ride Along'' was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

and

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

on April 15, 2014. This release included an alternate ending, a gag reel, deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes documentary and a feature commentary of the film by Story. In the United States, the film has grossed $13.5 million from DVD sales and $8.7 million from Blu-ray sales, making a total of $22.2 million.

Reception

Critical response

''Ride Along'' received generally negative reviews from critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film has an approval rating of 18%, based on 136 reviews, with an average rating of 4.20/10. The site's consensus states: "Kevin Hart's livewire presence gives ''Ride Along'' a shot of necessary energy, but it isn't enough to rescue this would-be comedy from the buddy-cop doldrums."

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

assigns the film a score of 41 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film a grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. British critic

Mark Kermode Mark Kermode (, ; ; born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter, author and podcaster. He is the co-presenter (with Ellen E. Jones) of the BBC Radio 4 programme ''Screenshot'', and co-presenter ...

gave the film one out of five stars, describing it as "an action-comedy short on both action and comedy." Scott Foundas of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called the film "a lazy and listless buddy-cop action-comedy that fades from memory as quickly as its generic title." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

''′s film critic Chris Nashawaty gave the film a "C+" grade."

Accolades

The film received several award nominations, a 2014 BET Award for Best Actor for Kevin Hart, and two 2014

MTV Movie Awards The MTV Movie & TV Awards is a film and television awards show previously presented annually on MTV. It began as the MTV Movie Awards in 1992, when its 1992 MTV Movie Awards, first edition was held, and adopted its current name in 2017, beginnin ...

nominations, Best On-Screen Duo for Ice Cube and Hart, and Best Comedic Performance for Hart. On April 13, 2014, after the best-screen-duo award went to

Vin Diesel Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known professionally as Vin Diesel, is an American actor and film producer. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for portraying Dominic "Dom" Toretto in the '' Fast & Furious'' fra ...

and

Paul Walker Paul William Walker IV (September 12, 1973 – November 30, 2013) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Brian O'Conner in the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. Paul Walker began his career as a child actor in the 1980s, gainin ...

for ''

Fast & Furious 6 ''Fast & Furious 6'' (titled onscreen as ''Furious 6'') is a 2013 action film directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to ''Fast Five'' (2011) and the sixth installment in the '' Fast & Furious'' franchise. The fil ...

'', Ice Cube joked to

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

that they were robbed.

Sequel

On April 23, 2013, the studio announced that there would be a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to the film. On February 18, 2014, it was announced that after the success of the first ''Ride Along'' film, Universal was moving forward with the sequel, which Tim Story would return to direct. Ice Cube and Kevin Hart reprised their roles, with Will Packer producing, and Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi on board again as screenwriters. ''Ride Along 2'' started filming on July 7, 2014; filming locations included

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and Atlanta, Georgia. Universal released the film on January 15, 2016.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ride Along 2014 films 2014 action comedy films 2010s buddy comedy films American action comedy films American buddy cop films Films directed by Tim Story Films produced by Ice Cube Films produced by Will Packer Films set in Atlanta Films shot in Atlanta 2010s police comedy films Rainforest Films films Relativity Media films Universal Pictures films Cube Vision films Films scored by Christopher Lennertz African-American comedy films 2010s buddy cop films Films about the Serbian Mafia Films with screenplays by Phil Hay (screenwriter) Films with screenplays by Matt Manfredi Fictional portrayals of the Atlanta Police Department 2010s English-language films 2010s American films American buddy comedy films African-American films English-language crime comedy films English-language action comedy films English-language thriller films English-language buddy comedy films Teen Choice Award winning films