Movie fans haven't been flocking to many of the new summer comedies in theaters like No Hard Feelings or Joy Ride, but they are enjoying the arrival of a fan-favorite comedy that is new on Netflix — 2014 Kevin Hart and Ice Cube movie Ride Along. Since debuting on the streaming service on July 16, the movie has quickly shot to the top of the Netflix Top 10 for movies in the US.
On Wednesday, July 19, Ride Along is the second most popular movie among US Netflix subscribers, trailing only animated movie Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and ahead of recent Netflix original movies Bird Box: Barcelona and The Out-Laws.
In case you have never seen Ride Along, the movie is about a security guard named Ben (Hart) who wants to prove himself to his future brother-in-law James (Ice Cube), who is an Atlanta cop. James decides to take Ben on a ride along, hoping that he'll scare him enough not only to drop his dreams of being a cop, but of dating his sister. However, they soon find themselves in the middle of a criminal conspiracy where they are the only ones they can trust.
Starring alongside Hart and Ice Cube in the movie are Tika Sumpter, John Leguizamo, Bruce McGill, Jacob Latimore, Jay Pharoah and Laurence Fishburne. The movie was directed by Tim Story.
Ride Along wasn't well-received by critics, as the movie has a "Rotten" score of 18% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, but it did have a solid showing at the box office. The movie made $134 million at the US box office and $154 million globally. That was good enough for it to be given a sequel, Ride Along 2, which came out in 2016.
Nine years later and people seem happy to rewatch the comedy or give a try for the first time from the comfort of their couch as a new addition to the Netflix library.
If you are not a subscriber to Netflix but this is making you want to watch Netflix, your only other option to do so right now in the US is to rent it via digital on-demand platforms. Ride Along 2, meanwhile, is only available through on-demand. UK movie fans can stream Ride Along on Prime Video.