By Sean Kang ‘14

When you think of Kevin Hart, you think “funny.” When you think of Ice Cube, you think “gangster.” Well, what happens when you put the two together in a buddy cop movie? Boring. “Ride Along” merely offers a mediocre plot, bland characters, and a plethora of clichés, with a few gunfights and car chases here and there.

Kevin Hart plays Ben Barber, a jumpy, high-school security guard who wishes to marry his longtime girlfriend, Angela. However, he must first acquire the blessing of her brother James (Ice Cube), a stern and intimidating Atlanta cop. Since their first encounter, James has constantly expressed his disapproval of Ben, believing his sister can do much better than a someone who stays at home and plays first-person shooter video games all day. In order to prove himself, not only as a man but also as worthy of being Angela’s husband, Ben agrees to join James on a “ride along” around Atlanta.

The purpose of every comeddic movie is to entertain its audience but the glut of clichés in this film make it really difficult for the audience to enjoy it. Most of the clichés were somewhat excusable, but a few were so bad that they make you cringe for a slight moment. One scene in particular, which occurs during a car chase towards the beginning of the movie, the audience sees the large, red truck driven by Cube’s character, flying out of the flames from a massive explosion, towards the camera.

The clichés wouldn’t have been so bad if there were an actual solid storyline holding them up but that can’t really be said for “Ride Along.” You have two characters with completely contrasting personalities, forced to work together to catch a Keyser Söze-esque crime kingpin named Omar, played by Lawrence Fishburne. But in reality, it just seems as if the writers wrote the script’s plot simply as an excuse to pair the two up for successful cash in at the box office. This movie could have been about two men selling ice cream, and it probably would have ended up being the same quality.

But what was most disappointing about “Ride Along” is how predictable it was. It almost appeared as if the writers were too lazy to finish the movie by the time it got to the second half. But if any praise were to be given at all, it would be for Hart and his still somewhat humorous performance. Although his character failed to live up to the hilarity found in his widely popular stand-up specials, Hart’s presence and delivery somehow manages to momentarily distract the audience from how dull and just plain bad the rest of the movie actually is. If you are a fan of Kevin Hart and want a couple of laughs, then this movie might be worth it for you, but if not, then you should probably just wait for the next ride.