Kevin Hart has become quite popular in recent years. His most recent film, Let Me Explain, was mainly a stand-up special with some backstage footage thrown in and was very successful. His next theatrical effort is a more traditional narrative film that also stars Ice Cube and Tika Sumpter.
Hart stars as Ben Barber, a fast talking high school security guard. Ben has long lived in the shadow of his girlfriend's detective brother James and struggled to win his approval. With Ben and Angela's relationship ready to make the jump to the next level, Ben approaches James to ask for his blessing to marry Angela. James decides that if Ben joins him on a ride along and proves he is worthy of Angela he will give Ben his blessing. The ride along gets a little more exciting than either of them bargained for and since this is a Kevin Hart movie, hilarity ensues.
There are some good bits here and I'm glad that it seems like most of the jokes aren't in this trailer. It's always disappointing when comedies ruin the surprise of a good joke and it seems like we're shown just enough here to understand the basic premise and what kind of movie this is. I enjoy Kevin Hart's manic brand of comedy and I think it contrasts well with the tough guy persona Ice Cube is putting on. There also seems to be a fair amount of physical comedy thrown in which I always enjoy. At the end of the day you probably know if you're on board with this one just from the premise.
Ride Along arrives in theaters on Jan. 17.