in Stephenville, Texas, the cowboy capital of America, John Hawkins (C. Thomas Howell) was once a legendary bull rider, but he gave that up decades ago when his son Peter was born. It looked like Peter (Jake Allyn) was going to continue the family legacy, but an addiction to drugs and alcohol sent him in a downward spiral. And a tragic accident sent him to prison for a year, which turned into four. But Peter is finally being released, and his grandfather Al picks him up at the prison. During the four years he was locked up, none of his family visited him—his father John, stepmother Monica (Annabeth Gish), or younger brother Noah (Josh Plasse). At the time of Peter’s accident, his youngest sibling, sister Virginia, was diagnosed with cancer. She had received treatment and went into remission, but John never caught up with the bills. Now the cancer is back, and John desperately needs the money for her treatment, but his credit cards are maxed out, the bank won’t let him access his pension—he has tried everything to get the money, and is constantly haunted by nightmares of his daughter’s potential death.
Meanwhile, as soon as Peter gets out of prison, he sets his sights on getting back into bull riding, with the help of his grandfather, Al (Forrie J. Smith, Yellowstone), and is sure that he’s going to win the upcoming redo competition and top prize of $10K. However, it isn’t long before Peter also gets back to his old habits, visiting his favorite drug dealer, Tyler (Patrick Murney), promising all of his upcoming winnings from the competition in exchange for an advance on some drugs. But when Tyler hears that his sister’s cancer is back, he wants to help out. At first John doesn’t want anything to do with his estranged son, and doesn’t want any money he’s offering—John doesn’t know that his son has started riding again, and assumes the money came from some illicit activity. However, as time is running out to get the payment in for Virginia’s treatment, John becomes more desperate. He agrees to work with Peter on a less than legal way to get the money, but things go awry and soon they find themselves in a dangerous situation, with a pair of industrious cops on the case—one of whom is his wife Monica, the town Sheriff. Monica knows this family all too well, and immediately suspects that Peter is involved, and that John is hiding something from her.
Photos by Fab Fernandez, Courtesy of Well Go USA
Given the title, I was expecting Ride to focus more on the bull riding competitions, and Peter’s rising through the ranks. While the film does have some exciting bull riding moments (which were filmed during a live 3-day rodeo competition), the film is more of a familial drama, focused on the fractured relationships in the Hawkins family, particularly the father John and his estranged son Peter. John feels like he already lost one son, and is now in danger of losing his daughter. But if he has any hope of saving Virginia, he’s going to have to accept Peter back in his life. But doing so puts both of them in a dangerous situation, which ultimately tests his relationship with his wife as well.
The film features a strong cast, with the film’s first-time writer/director Jake Allyn also taking on the role of Peter. However, Allyn manages to balance all these roles, delivering a commendable performance alongside the more-veteran cast. I still think of C. Thomas Howell from his younger days as 1980s teen star, so I almost didn’t recognize him with white hair and a beard. But he plays the gruff cowboy well, and does an excellent job of conveying the pain and desperation John is going through as he tries to raise the money to help his daughter. Forrie J. Smith is also wonderful casting as John’s seasoned cowboy father. Annabeth Gish rounds out the more recognizable cast, as the woman conflicted between helping her daughter, and performing her role as town Sherriff. It’s also clear that the situation with their daughter, has taken a financial and emotional toll on the relationship between John and Monica.
The film also has this side story of middle sibling Noah, who is eager to reconnect with his brother once he’s out of prison. Noah even takes his new girlfriend Libby (Laci Kaye Booth) to see Peter compete in the rodeo. However, Libby has dreams of moving to Nashville and becoming a music star, and starts to recognize that Noah will likely never leave this town, like his brother and father. I was not familiar with Laci Kaye Booth, but she makes her acting debut in this film, and also gets a chance to sing.
As I said earlier, the bull riding is less of a focus for the film, but the scenes we do get are exciting and feel quite authentic, thanks in large part to filming them with a live crowd. I wish we had gotten a little more of this, but we only get to see the start of Peter’s possible bull riding career in the film. Based on the interviews in the disc’s bonus material, the story for the film was originally written as a pilot, with a whole season mapped out, but when COVID hit, that outline for the season was compressed down into a movie. This could be why the ending of the film felt a little bit abrupt to me, leaving a few of the story threads hanging. That said, I did enjoy the story and performances overall.
Well Go’s Blu-ray looks good and sounds great, especially when we get the roar of the crowd in the rodeo scenes. The picture is generally quite strong, with a solid level of detail, and a bit of a muted palette that helps set the cowboy tone of the movie. Dialogue is clear throughout, and the surround sound is well-utilized to give more of an immersive feel during the rodeo scenes.
In addition to the usual trailer and previews, Well Go’s Blu-ray release actually includes some bonus material this time around, over 48 minutes of cast interviews. The Blu-ray disc comes packed in a locking HD keepcase. There is no digital copy, but our review copy did include a nice cardboard slipcover.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:53:46)
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Blu-ray:
- 1080p / Widescreen 2.35:1
- Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Stereo
- Subtitles: English SDH, French
Extras:
- Interviews with the Cast
- Annabeth Gish – Monica Hawkins (11:27)
Star Annabeth Gish (“Monica Hawkins) talks about her character, how she relates to Monica, what appealed to her most about the film, the most challenging aspect about the film, how she had to pivot on the film, her most memorable scene, working with a first time director, who she was most excited to work with, how she has maintained her career longevity, and what she would tell the audience. - C. Thomas Howell – John Hawkins (10:13)
Star C. Thomas Howell (“John Hawkins”) talks about the story and his character, his co-stars, what appealed to her most about the film, his own real life rodeo experience, the film’s theme of family, the musical performances in the film, and working with a first time director. - Forrie J. Smith – Al (9:06)
Star Forrie J. Smith (“Al Hawkins”) talks about his character, how he relates to his character, the religious nature of cowboys, the importance of authenticity in the film, what appealed to her most about the film, working with a first time director, and what he would tell the audience. - Jake Allyn – Peter (6:38)
Writer/director/producer/star Jake Allyn (“Peter Hawkins”) talks about what inspired him to make the film, the research process for the film, the Stephenville, TX setting for the film, some of his biggest challenges, filming at a live rodeo location, the authenticity of the scenes, and working with his co-stars. Includes some behind-the-scenes photos. - Josh Plasse – Noah Hawkins (6:05)
Writer/star Josh Plasse (“Noah Hawkins”) talks about his character, playing a middle sibling, how long it took for the film to get made, the most challenging aspect, working with his best friend, and who he was most looking forward to working with. - Laci Kaye Booth – Libby (4:15)
Star Laci Kaye Booth (“Libby Browning”) talks about her character, what interested her about acting in the film, how she prepared as an actress, her favorite aspect of the film, setting the film in Texas, singing in the film, her experience on set, working with Jake as a co-star and director, the most memorable part of making the movie, and the love story between Libby and Noah - Zia Carlock – Virginia Hawkins (3:32)
Star Zia Carlock (“Virginia Hawkins”) talks about how she first heard about the film, her character, how it felt playing someone stuck in the hospital, about the scene singing with Libby, being directed by Jake, working with her co-stars, and playing The Haunting version of Virginia.
- Annabeth Gish – Monica Hawkins (11:27)
- Trailer (2:19)
- Previews
- Sting (2:20)
- The Last Stop in Yuma County (2:13)
- Monolith (2:17)
Final Thoughts:
Ride has a modern Western feel, focusing more on the relationship drama between an estranged son and his father, while also mixing in elements of a promising bull rider trying to continue his family’s legacy as a rodeo star, and a bit of a crime-thriller. While I did enjoy the film overall, I think it tries to bite off a little too much to cover in a single two-hour movie, and ultimately leaves some things unresolved or glossed over at the end. That said, it features some strong performances and is defintely worth a look for fans of the genre or cast. Well Go’s Blu-ray release feature solid picture and sound, and includes some entertaining interviews with the cast.
Ride Blu-ray
$17.99 $14.99 (as of November 25, 2024 02:29 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Ride DVD
40% Off $24.98 $10.70 (as of November 25, 2024 02:29 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Ride
$5.99 (as of November 25, 2024 02:29 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
