Amazon.com
When Leta (Melissa De Sousa) gets a job as an assistant to a big-time rap video director, she doesn't realize her duties will consist of chaperoning a bus full of would-be rap stars from Harlem. Ride follows this collection of hip-hop misfits on a smelly, broken-down charter bus that they have to take to get to Miami for a video shoot in 24 hours. Naturally, there's bickering, breakdowns, impromptu jam sessions, and a lot of bonding. Leta finds an ally in Poppa (Malik Yoba), an old friend of the music producer who wants to start a program for youth in the inner city. Meanwhile, Poppa's younger brother has stolen a backpack full of money from a couple of thieves who are not happy about it and are tracking him down--but story isn't really the point in Ride. This is a movie about elaborate insults and verbal riffs, a nonstop flow of talk ranging from the bad-girl back and forth of a female rap duo to the crazed mixture of bragging and trash from the middle-aged bus drivers who cast an unfazed eye at these aspiring ghetto stars. Fleshed out with scatological humor, loony dream sequences, and a soundtrack featuring the Wu-Tang Clan, Onyx, and Naughty by Nature, Ride is slapdash but entertaining. Also featuring cameos from Snoop Doggy Dog, Dr. Dre, Downtown Julie Brown, Redman, and others. --Bret Fetzer