What the hell has gotten into Helen Hunt lately? The former Mad About You and Castaway actress just starred in Soul Surfer, that film about the chick who lost her arm, and now she’s hitting the waves again with another surfing movie. The new film, entitled Ride, is a romantic comedy about a worried mother who follows her son to California after he abruptly drops out of school to hang out on the beach. She’s a no-nonsense editor who’s baffled by her kid’s life choices, but upon arrival, she discovers a possible new life of alternating paths and sexually-fulfilling relationships.
The forty-seven year old actress will pull double duty as both the mother and Ride’s director. She previously helmed the underseen Then She Found Me; so, it’ll be interesting to see whether her second effort is able to gain more traction. According to Deadline, the film is already being prepped for a foreign sale at Cannes, and if all goes according to plan, principal photography will begin by the end of the year. That timeline, of course, is contingent on finding a male lead, but with Hunt’s star power, attracting a suitable enough college dropout shouldn’t be a problem.
I guess my real question is what the hell is the message behind this film? Is Helen Hunt’s character really going to eventually come around to the fact that her son was right to drop out of school because he wanted to go surfing? That strikes me as ludicrous, but then again, my balance is a C- at best. If I ever tried surfing, my neck would definitely be snapped within the hour.
