Netflix has a new movie that is melting hearts and enjoying strong word of mouth as it continues to rise higher up the streamer’s most-watched list.
The film is called Along for the Ride, and it’s based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Sarah Dessen. The movie was written by and is the directorial debut of Sofia Alvarez. That name may be familiar to genre fans, as Alvarez also wrote Netflix hits To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, and its 2020 sequel To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You.
The romantic drama revolves around Auden (Emma Pasarow), a recent high-school graduate and insomniac, who plans to spend her summer visiting her father and his new wife in the small town of Colby Beach.
While there she meets Eli (Belmont Cameli), a fellow insomniac, and the night owls decide to explore the beachside town together. The pair soon bond as Eli introduces Auden to the fun, carefree teen life she never knew she wanted. And their deepening connection leads to romantic sparks flying.
Along for the Ride might on the surface sound like a schmaltzy teen flick full of cringe-worthy dialogue and overly dramatic character, but don’t be fooled by first impressions. The movie is surprisingly thoughtful and has received a far stronger critical reception than movies of this ilk tend to enjoy.
Over on Rotten Tomatoes (opens in new tab), Along for the Ride has scored a respectable 60%. Critics have praised it for its ability to capture the feeling of first love and its relatable message. Viewers appear to be more impressed with the film scoring a 74% audience score, which is fairly strong.
Along for the Ride is making a serious splash on Netflix. It’s currently ranked the No. 4 on the most-watched list of films in English. Plus, in its first 48 hours on Netflix, the film racked up almost 11 million viewing hours worldwide (per Top 10 Netflix (opens in new tab)). Right now we see it as No. 3 in the U.S. through the Netflix app.
Meanwhile, Netflix is enduring another turbulent week. While the service has got plenty of new content to offer subscribers, including several new movies and shows to watch this weekend, the streamer has received substantial backlash after confirming it will launch an ad-supported tier and crackdown on password sharing before the end of the year.
These announcements have led to grim predictions that a tidal wave of Netflix cancelations could be on the horizon, but to others, these changes aren’t quite such a dealbreaker.
If you’re looking for more to stream, check out our guide to the 11 new shows and movies to watch this weekend on Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max and more. And in other streaming news, Netflix could be embracing new tech to tackle its subscriber slump.