My Publicist Note Book

IN THEATERS TODAY! In the movies, casting a hot comedian at just the right time is probably a combination of calculation and luck. How can you know somebody's going to be cresting a year or two before signing him to a contract? Whatever it was for the makers of "Ride Along," they've caught Kevin Hart at an ideal moment. Hart has been knocking around doing comedy specials and stand-up, along with roles in ensembles movies like "This Is the End." His theatrically released standup film, "Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain," did surprisingly strong business on relatively few screens last summer, and his prominence in the ads for "Grudge Match" (in which his role was small) suggested his perceived box-office value. In "Ride Along," Hart gets full co-starring status and lots of room to roam. The movie's blueprint is "48 HRS." and similar cop movies, with Hart in the Eddie Murphy role — which means Ice Cube plays N...

Kevin Hart and Ice Cube  lead the lineup in  RIDE ALONG , the new film from the director and the producer of the blockbuster comedy Think Like a Man. When a fast-talking guy joins his girlfriend’s brother—a hot-tempered cop—to patrol the streets of Atlanta, he gets entangled in the officer’s latest case. Now, in order to prove that he deserves his future bride, he must survive the most insane 24 hours of his life. For the past two years, high-school security guard Ben (Hart) has been trying to show decorated APD detective James (Cube) that he’s more than just a video-game junkie who’s unworthy of James’ sister, Angela (Tika Sumpter). When Ben finally gets accepted into the academy, he thinks he’s earned the seasoned policeman’s respect and asks for his blessing to marry Angela. Knowing that a ride along will demonstrate if Ben has what it takes to take care of his sister, James invites him on a shift designed to scare the hell out of the trainee. But when the wild ni...