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"Free Ride" More at IMDbPro »
| Index | 7 reviews in total |
19 out of 27 people found the following review useful:
You might be surprised..., 16 February 2006
Author:
jak2103 from United States
I just watched the pilot and second episode and I have to say I was impressed. I'm typically hard to please when it comes to sitcoms, so I wasn't expecting much from "Free Ride," thinking it would be another, typically dumb FOX attempt at the genre. But I actually found myself laughing from the very beginning. Most of the jokes were subtle, which might be an acquired taste, but I appreciate it. More importantly, the drama was subtle too (a la "The Office," a huge favorite). I was also impressed by the acting, since I'd really never heard of any of the cast. In all, it was funny and surprisingly real. "Free Ride" is definitely worth a test drive.
9 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
Surprisingly Funny, 12 March 2006
Author:
th3w0z from United States
As an Arrested Development disciple (let's all pause for a moment of silence), I was shocked at how funny this show was. I just caught an episode and the first thought that popped into my mind was how ridiculously stereotypically the best friend was (the crazy party animal). But I let that go and continued to watch and before I knew it I was holding my sides. All of the character (in the same style as AD) are uniquely crazy, except of course for the lead kid. The story seems very 'real'; you quickly forget how crazy the story is and get caught up in the characters. There are some great one-liners, and with the absence of a laugh track, you don't feel nearly as dumb watching this as most other sitcoms. Watch this show- I'm hoping that it makes the big time because it was very enjoyable.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
The first improve comedy aimed directly at the Gen-Y crowd, but "Ride" is aimless, obnoxious and drags itself to death at 30 minutes. You can do better., 7 May 2006
Author:
liquidcelluloid-1 from www.liquidcelluloid.blog.com
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Network: Fox; Genre: Improv Comedy; Content Rating: TV-PG; Perspective:
Contemporary (star range: 1 - 4);
Seasons Reviewed: Series (1 season)
After graduating college without any clue what to do next, Nate (Josh
Dean) moves back in with his parents and must re-adjust to drastic
changes in the life he once knew. His unrequited crush, Amber (Erin
Cahill), is engaged, his parents have returned to the sexual
ambitiousness they had before he came along and refuse to go back now
that he is back home and his friend, Dove (David Sheridan) - hasn't
changed at all, and from high atop his monster truck, serves as an
opposing force, pushing Nate away from responsibility and into trouble.
Creator/writer Rob Roy Thomas is synonymous with the improv comedy
after Bravo's neo-classic "Significant Others", so it is a shock that
"Ride" is the least amusing of the recent improv options, which include
ABC's look-at-me-I'm-improv "Sons and Daughters" and Pam Brady's "The
Loop" (which takes this exact set-up one surreal step further). To be
honest they are all starting to blur together. "Ride" is the one where
a search for a lost cat ends in the animal's death, the parent's
willy-nilly decide to get divorced, but can't keep their hands off each
other, and where Nate takes out a girl from work, which takes them on a
night-long odyssey with Amber and Steve Moss (not to be confused with
Steve Holt), through Dove's party and ending with a battle over a
chair.
As in other Improv comedies, the characters all talk back-and-forth
quickly, overlapping each other, like a sloppy, witless "West Wing".
But "Ride", if I'm not mistake, is the first improv comedy to play
directly to the slacker Generation-Y crowd that has now reached Nate's
age and is facing the same identity crisis. It should be said that
Bryan Fuller delved into this kernel of truth far better with his Gen-Y
metaphor "Wonderfalls", but to compare the two would imply that "Ride"
has a sense of creativity, intelligence and depth that it definitely
does not. Still in the realm of inappropriate comparisons, "Ride" is
shot in the same single-camera documentary style that "Arrested
Development" and "The Office" is.
It is a simple show aiming for simple chuckles. It is aimless and dull,
dragging itself to death to fill 30 minutes. With the comic credibility
balancing on his shoulders, Dean does a reasonable job (in a dead-pan
straight-man performance) and Cahill fits the "Dream Girl" bill.
However, it may only seem that way because everyone else in the cast is
jockeying to be the most annoying character in the show. The show is so
phobic of touching anything real, that it draws all of these characters
as broadly and loudly as possible. Between the typically child-like TV
parents, the typically clueless TV crush, the typical uptight, perfect
TV rival, and the typical TV brain-dead wacky cool guy who is always
the source of the trouble - it is hard to choose the most offensive.
What's a TV show without an unrequited love story, so Nate has a crush
on childhood crush on Amber, who, like in all these show is engaged to
wealthy gentleman Steve Moss (Dan Wells). This is the only driving
storyline throughout the series and you've seen it a thousand times
before. As a whole, "Free Ride" has little to offer that you haven't
seen in any other witless sitcom. Although thanks to the failed attempt
at improv pulling the show down onto its face without a safety net, it
is actually a more of a mess than any other witless sitcom. You can do
better. In fact, you can do a LOT better and that show is called
"Significant Others".
* / 4
Funny for me, others may not get it, 11 January 2007
Author:
belkej from United States
To me, this was a pretty funny show. I've never commented on these before, but had to, as the only comment here was so negative. So, it doesn't follow the typical sitcom formula. It is, in fact, realistic. The improvisation provides realistically awkward moments. In real life, there is no script, you see. The story is great, I've been through similar things and so have a lot of people I know - after college, a lot of people don't get jobs immediately. That is also realistic. It is awkward to return to your home-town, see old friends who never moved on, girls you had a crush on, try to party and have fun, but still feel a bit out of place, see your family differently, it is funny, awkward, real life. I wish this show would come back, but I guess it is too different.
0 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
i worked on the 6 th episode, 26 March 2006
Author:
Frankie Ray (hollywoodbadguy1@yahoo.com) from United States
i worked on the 6th episode. and had a great time. Many may not know
but the entire show is Improved. it is not scripted. so the comedy is
and filming is fast.
i play mayo the dog catcher.
i was treated great and had a wonderful time. i hope the show continues
and the network picks up some more shows. not often does an actor get
the chance to have an open book to work from we always get stuffed into
the writers work that has been hashed over by many other people that
should have left it alone. the director Mr Thomas was great allot of
fun to work with and i hope i get a chance to do so again.
he was giving and kind.
Frankie Ray.
p.s. go dove.
go to my space and find Free ride and check out some of the behind the
scene video interviews mine is the last one.
3 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
Eh... We'll see where it goes., 2 March 2006
Author:
Indie_Mod from Washington, DC
Ever seen the classic "Ordinary People?" Remember when Conrad is
dealing with his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder with his brother's
death? Remember "Stand By Me" and the main character's missing his dead
brother as well?
It's not like any of these.
It's much more like "Orange County." The main character, Nate (Josh
Dean) came home from college. He's had a change of plans in terms of
what he will be doing. His parents' marriage is on the fritz and
they're going through marriage counseling while making inappropriate
comments to Nate. Nate's old buddy (sort of) named Dove is like an
imitation Jack Black('s character in Orange County). Only one episode
has aired, so we'll see what happens to the series... I have a feeling
it won't last too long, but for some reason, Josh Dean's character made
me chuckle.
Why was I watching Fox anyway?
4 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
Terrible show, 19 April 2006
Author:
betch9 from United States
This show is not worth the time. The acting is pretty bad and the story line is just over the top. The kid graduates college but can't/doesn't want too/won't join the real world. The writing is really predictable and not funny. I've that a lot of the dialog is improvised which explains the lack of wit and really nonexistent story lines within the episodes. This show may hit home with some but if it does you probably will find it and his friend 'Dub' funny. I wouldn't expect it to be around for long as it has no redeeming qualities other than Fox proclaiming it the "funniest new show." Saying it as much as they like won't make it true. Production dollars would be spent better elsewhere.
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