Directed by Trent O’Donnell
Written by Jake Johnson and Trent O’Donnell
Starring Jake Johnson, D’Arcy Carden, Susan Sarandon, J.K. Simmons
Runtime: 1 hour 28 minutes
In theaters, digital and on demand July 30

by Audrey Callerstrom, Staff Writer

During COVID (which was then, but also now?) New Girl co-stars Max Greenfield and Jake Johnson were making cute videos asking each other questions. Greenfield had an unfortunate pandemic mustache, and Johnson had a full beard and was recording from inside a small cabin. I assumed that, well, maybe that’s just how Jake Johnson lives. Maybe he owns a small, rustic cabin. And I don’t know, maybe he does. But what is more likely is that Johnson was doing these videos while filming Ride the Eagle, an unremarkable comedy/drama where actors rarely share the screen at the same time.

Ride the Eagle’s greatest asset is its likable, familiar faces. Johnson was one of New Girl’s many strong comedic performers. His voice provided some of the best lines in Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse. In Ride the Eagle, Johnson plays Leif, a character that’s a lot like Nick Miller on New Girl. An affable manchild. Leif lives in a small dwelling on the property of friend and bandmate Gorka (Luis Fernandez-Gil). Leif’s companion is his black lab, Nora (prominently featured on the poster). Nora provides some great Doggy Reaction Shots, especially in one-sided conversations with Leif. I’m jealous of how easy dogs can get a reaction shot with their dumb expressions which seems to say “What?” or “That sounds sad” or “I dunno man, beats me!” Leif is whisked away when he finds out his estranged mother, Honey (Susan Sarandon) has died, and that he’s inherited her Yosemite cabin provided he completes a list of tasks, which Honey explains to him via a VHS tape.

The recordings of Honey talking to Leif accomplish two things. One, it keeps the actors apart, and two, it makes it so Sarandon can appear in a movie with Johnson and not have to fly to another location. But it does sever what little attachment we might have had to these people, or this story. We have to take everything at face value, accept that Leif had a complicated relationship with Honey because she abandoned him at a young age to live in an unexplained cult. Honey has a cabin stocked with enough marijuana to supply the all tourists travelling to Yosemite for a week, a plot element which is introduced and quickly dismissed. With each task, Honey attempts to impart wisdom and advice from behind the grave, and to get Leif acquainted with the grand wilderness. Sarandon is unconvincing here, staring blankly at the camera while telling Leif to do things like paddle across the water or reconnect with the one who got away (played by D’Arcy Carden, Janet from The Good Place). Meanwhile, Leif faces some drama from a nearby irate neighbor, played by J.K. Simmons, who harasses him.

It’s a cast of capable, likable actors. Johnson proves that he doesn’t just play well off others and can hold a film on his own. He manages chemistry with Audrey* (Carden), although they’re never seen in the same room and only through phone conversations. It’s all pleasant to watch, albeit hokey, and the emotions at the end feel hollow. It’s a shame that Simmons and Sarandon weren’t able to have scenes together, because I love their chemistry (and her performance) in Lorene Scafaria’s The Meddler. In fact, for a better film about a parent and child relationship, check out The Meddler, which is on Netflix. For a better Jake Johnson film, there are many to choose from. Safety Not Guaranteed, Into the Spiderverse, or the overlooked The Pretty One. Ride the Eagle is harmless and Johnson carries the film well, but it just seemed like an easy way to make a movie during the pandemic and also get to film in a very, very pretty place.

*That’s my name!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!