On this day in comedy on January 17, 2014, Ride Along was released by Universal
This buddy flick stars Ice Cube as a seasoned cop and Kevin Hart as a high school security guard trying to get his approval, so he can marry Cube’s sister (Tika Sumpter). The veteran flatfoot’s not having it. He doesn’t feel Hart is worthy, so he takes him on a ride along to see what Hart’s made of. At the same time Cube is trying to catch a ring of smugglers (of passports, not opium, diamonds, coffee grounds, etc.) and will stop at nothing to get them. This means a lot of action: car chases, shoot outs, face slapping, hysterical screaming, multiple subduings, little folks flying through the air, things being destroyed by grenades, double dealings, back stabbings, leg shootings, people being hit in the head with frying pans and a little Michael Vickery.
Based on a story by Greg Coolidge, Ride Along was directed by Tim Story and produced by Cube, Will Packer, Matt Alvarez and Larry Brezner. The cast also includes John Leguizamo, Jay Pharaoh, Bruce McGill, Gary Owen, Bryan Callen, Jacob Latimore, David Banner, Gary Weeks, Dragos Bucur and Laurence Fishburne.
The critics turned in mainly negative reviews for the film. The public positively loved it. It not only made $153,262,184 from a $25 million budget (breaking all existing box offices opening records for the month of January), but spawned a sequel (Ride Along 2) less than two years from the original’s release.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
Check out this clip:
