“The Ride” begins with a scene of unexpected brutality, engineered by a racist, feral kid. Even so, its “inspired by a true story” promise at the start rings a little tinny. And early on, the BMX-meets-“love wins” drama about a boy whose white supremacist roots and abusive home life land him in juvenile detention has an afterschool-special veneer, albeit somewhat gritty. The over-emotive score, particularly at the outset, punctuates the violence and the sentiment unnecessarily.
But the movie, streaming on Amazon, gains emotional traction when seven years later, John McCord finds himself released to an interracial foster couple. The reason for the film’s emotional resonance owes less to the screenplay — which teases too many easy tropes — than it does to the slow-burn chemistry between Shane Graham, who plays John of the set jaw and racist quips, and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, who portrays the foster father who has seen a lot worse.
But the movie, streaming on Amazon, gains emotional traction when seven years later, John McCord finds himself released to an interracial foster couple. The reason for the film’s emotional resonance owes less to the screenplay — which teases too many easy tropes — than it does to the slow-burn chemistry between Shane Graham, who plays John of the set jaw and racist quips, and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, who portrays the foster father who has seen a lot worse.
- 11/15/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
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