“RIDE OR DIE” // TRIBECA 2025
BY MATEO MORENO
The pulse pounding Queer Road trip movie RIDE OR DIE has a lot going for it. It’s got a strong cast, it’s sexy and pulpy and moves at a break-neck pace. Written by Josalynn Smith (who also directed it) and Alicia Louzoun-Heisler, it’s also got the pedigree of being produced by Jamie Foxx’s production company, Foxxhole. The film primarily follows two women: Paula (Briana Middleton) and Sloane (Stella Everett) who meet in a St. Louis vintage clothing store. Paula yearns to direct films in Hollywood but seems struck in her life here. She sees Sloane in the store and their flawless chemistry is apparent from the first moment. Sloane, as we learn, was Paula’s high school crush and it’s apparent now that the feeling is mutual. Their flirting leads to a five-finger-discount when Sloane gives Paula her purchase for free. From that point on, they find that they are drawn to each other and end up taking a spur-of-the-moment road trip to California, where the duo is going to set up shop so Paula’s dreams of filmmaking can come true. But their trip is full of detours and violence that shake their relationship, and themselves, to their very core.
Smith and Louzoun0-Heisler’s script is filled with some truly action-packed moments and they’ve written a sizzling romance between their leads. Both Briana Middleton and Stella Everett turn in beautiful and harrowing turns. Middleton’s character is reserved and has a loving family but is misunderstood and not accepted for who she is. She plays that quiet struggle very successfully and you completely buy why she would take off with the madcap character of Sloane. As Slone, Everett plays a bit of a disaster human the way you see them in real life: she makes awful decisions and is selfish but is also the kind of person you gravitate towards. She’s a beautiful contradiction and she truly does care about Paula. Which makes the bad decisions they make together hurt even more. It’s a beautiful and messy tale, told with an original vision, great direction by Smith and a duo (and journey) that will stick in your head long after the credits end.
GRADE: A-
WRITTEN BY Josalynn Smith, Alicia Louzoun-Heisler DIRECTED BY Josalynn Smith STARRING Briana Middleton, Stella Everett, Seth Gilliam, Cody Kostro, Eisa Davis, Guinevere Turner, Ella Jay Basco SELECTED AS PART OF THE 2025 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL. FOR MORE INFO: https://www.tribecafilm.com/films/ride-or-die-2025