The Last Ride

44% of critics liked it

76% of users liked it

Henry Thomas, Jesse James
In theaters Jun 22, 2012
PG-13, 1 hr. 42 min.

Movie Info

Cast: Henry Thomas, Jesse James, Kaley Cuoco, Fred Dalton Thompson, Stephen Tobolowsky, Ray McKinnon, Natalie Canerday, Danny Thomason, Lawrence Hamilton, Graham Gordy
Director: Harry Thomason
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 1 hr. 42 min.
Genre: Drama
Theater Release: Jun 22, 2012
DVD Release: Jun 04, 2013
Synopsis: After a meteoric rise to radio super-stardom in the late 1940's, Hank Williams, who called himself Luke the Drifter, had made a train wreck of his life. At the end of 1952, Hank Williams gathered what was left of his physical strength to make things right and began the long road back. On his way to a couple of New Year's shows in West Virginia and Ohio, he hired a local kid who didn't even own a radio, much less know who this legend was, to drive him to the gigs from Montgomery, AL. Hank

Critic Reviews

  • Paul de Barros, Seattle Times
    Alas, "The Last Ride" doesn't deliver much insight into Williams or the lifestyle that killed him. More...
  • Mario Tarradell, Dallas Morning News
    The Last Ride doesn't give us a complete picture of Hank Williams. But it does ably illustrate the final days of his life. More...
  • Kerry Lengel, Arizona Republic
    James does a fine job of portraying a naïve youth whose eyes slowly open to glimpse both the pleasures and the pain of living. More...
  • Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times
    Dramatically thin, formally uninspired and thematically weak, "The Last Ride" really goes nowhere. More...
  • Joe Leydon, Variety
    Bearing all the hallmarks of a small-budget labor of love, The Last Ride is a leisurely paced but modestly engaging road trip that gets considerable mileage from the byplay between its two lead characters. More...
  • Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
    This one is for Hank Williams fanatics only, and Mr. Thomas puts a dark and subtle sheen on a disappointingly watery script. More...
  • Andrew Lapin, NPR
    The film can't really function as a proper meditation on its subject - because he's not really its subject. More...
  • Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
    Director Harry Thomason takes some unnecessary liberties in imagining Hank Williams' final days. More...
  • Rex Reed, New York Observer
    It's a fascinating film that I enjoyed thoroughly. More...
  • Mark Holcomb, Village Voice
    It portrays Williams in a generally sympathetic light without whitewashing his vice-loving, belligerent ways or mythologizing them in a bid for postmortem psychoanalysis. More...