Along for the Ride is an American drama film written and directed by Sofia Alvarez, based on the novel of the same name by Sarah Dessen.
The movie follows Auden West (Emma Pasarow), a smart girl who didn't get the chance to enjoy a lot of childhood activities when she was younger largely due to her determination to do well at school.
Now older, she is graduating high school and has been accepted into Defriese University and decides to take up her father's offer to spend her summer before college in the beach town Colby.
Her plans to spend more time with her father don't work out the way she had hoped and instead, Auden takes up her step-mother's offer of a job at her boutique and it is here that she meets the mysterious Eli (Belmont Cameli), who works in the bike shop next door.
Realising that all is not well between her father (Dermot Mulroney) and her step-mother Heidi (Kate Bosworth), Auden spends more and more time outside of the house and as she keeps bumping into Eli, they start hanging out with each other at night time.
The two embark on a nightly quest to help Auden experience the fun, carefree teen life she never knew she wanted.
Is Along For The Ride Worth Watching?
Along For The Ride Netflix is a perfectly lovely teen romance movie based on young adult literature. Think along the lines of The Kissing Booth or To All The Boys for the genre it slots into.
It is the story of a young woman who is at a crossroads and who wants the chance to have a fun carefree teen life.
Breaking free from the constraints of her parents' impossibly high expectations, Auden begins to live her own life and discovers things about herself she never knew.
She makes friends, she dates a bit, she goes to parties – all the things she missed out on when she lived with her demanding mother Victoria (Andie MacDowell).
Basically, it's a coming of age story and is worth watching if that's the kind of film you like. It won't be to everybody's taste but it definitely has an audience.
Release Date For Along For The Ride
In April 2021 it was announced that production had begun on a film adaptation of Sarah Dessen's 2009 novel Along for the Ride, the rights of which had been picked up by Netflix.
Directed by Sofia Alvarez, nearly a year later and the movie will be ready to stream across the world.
Along For The Ride will be released on Netflix on April 22nd, 2022.
The Cast Of Along For The Ride
Netflix movie Along For The Ride boasts a pretty decent cast, many of which you will already recognise from other movies and shows.
Like all films, there are the main players and then some smaller roles so here we look at the main cast.
Emma Pasarow as Auden West, the main character of Along for the Ride. She lived with her mother after her parent's divorce and before heading to college, Auden decides to spend her last in the seaside town of Colby.
Belmont Cameli as Eli Stock, a fellow insomniac and native of Colby who keeps to himself until Auden finds him one lonely night, and they teach each other to grow and love again.
Andie MacDowell as Dr. Victoria West, Auden's mother and a scholar who has treated her daughter like an adult since she was a child.
Dermot Mulroney as Robert West, Auden's father. He is a professor at a college, is married to Heidi has another young daughter called Thisbe.
Kate Bosworth as Heidi West, Auden's upbeat 26-year-old stepmother who has been married to her father for about a year. She owns a boutique, Clementine's, which is next to the bike shop where Eli works.
Laura Kariuki as Maggie who works at Clementine's boutique and becomes friends with Auden.
Paul Karmiryan as Adam who works at the Bike shop and is in love with Maggie.
Where Is Along For The Ride Filmed?
Sofia Alvarez has previously adapted two of Jenny Han's To All the Boys I've Loved Before and its sequel To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You so she was always going to be top of the list for this movie as well.
She both wrote the screenplay and directed Along For The Ride which was filmed at Carolina Beach, North Carolina.
Additional locations in Wilmington, Kure Beach, and Oak Island were also used.
