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Cast: Bella Thorne (The Duff, The Babysitter, “Scream: The TV Series”), Jessie T. Usher (Shaft, Almost Christmas, “Survivor’s Remorse”) and Will Brill (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “The OA")
A struggling actor by day, James pays his bills by driving people around Los Angeles for a ride sharing service. His night starts out like any other, but he can’t believe his luck when he picks up the beautiful Jessica, and they immediately hit it off. His next fare, the fast-talking Bruno, convinces James to go back and invite her to join them for a wild night out. But things take a shocking turn when Bruno, armed with a gun and a twisted idea of fun, forces them on a terrifying, white-knuckle ride that quickly spirals out of control.
'Ride' tells the story of James, an actor who is struggling to get work so he works for "Ride,” a ride sharing service in L.A.. His night starts off good when his first customer is Jessica, a young lady who is headed out for a night of fun. The two of them seem to hit it off and there seems to be some sort of chemistry between them. So much so that she invites James to come back to the bar when he gets off. James' next ride does not go as well. He picks up Bruno, you get a sense this guy isn't all together there right from the start but he does have one thing going for him, he can bullshit and it isn't long before he convinces James to go back to the club and ask Jessica to join him and Bruno on a fun filled night out which she says yes to.
Everything seems to be going good until Bruno pulls out a .44 and demands James to rob a convenience store or he will kill Jessica. Things go down hill from there as Bruno holds the two hostage in the car while having them ride around getting into trouble so that he can have his fun.
'Ride' was a mixed bag for me and it wasn't quite what I was expecting or hoping for. I guess I can best sum it up by saying there is too much talking and drama and not enough thrills that the trailer promised. The film starts off well enough but as time moves by there just wasn't enough action or suspense and tension that there could have been.
Now don't get me wrong. I didn't dislike the film, in fact I enjoyed it for a number of reasons. For starters the film is character driven. It replies on its cast and the chemistry between them to be successful and it works in that aspect. The three main leads, Bella Thorne, Jessie T. Usher and Will Brill all give excellent performances. Brill was the standout though with his performance as the crazed Bruno looking to get his kicks off of the other two's agony.
The performances alone are worth the price of admission but I can't help but think of how much better the film could have been. Another thing I wasn't really crazy about was the ending but that is just my opinion and others might enjoy it more. 'Ride' will be on DVD and Blu-ray on December 4, 2018 . Like I said before, I was looking for more thrills and a bit more suspense but there is still enough good things happening to recommend a watch. To me the pay off wasn't there after sitting through so much drama but at the same time the performances kept me engaged so I recommend checking it out.
Released by RLJE Films
*** Out Of *****