Joy Ride (2001)
Review by Noel
Eureka!! It exists. A good movie that actor by-name-only Paul Walker headlines. I’m not kidding, and I’m not counting 1998’s Pleasantville because he’s barely in that. And for those of you who think that She’s All That counts as “good”, I’m sorry and I’m sure that there are many qualified mental health professionals in your immediate area. I’m sure that saying the words “She’s All That” and “Good” in the same sentence will get you some kind of too-far-gone discount…
But enough dwelling and swelling on the negative. The rare PW gem in question is 2001’s Joy Ride, director John Dahl’s ( Red Rock West, Rounders), underseen and underappreciated joy ride of horror that opened in September of that year to little fanfare and even less box-office. I remember seeing this opening weekend to a near empty theater (despite positive reviews), but it was a little over a week after 9/11 and understandably a horror film about a relentless murdering trucker was probably not what mass audiences were in the mood for.
But it’s about 7 years later, and I’m sure most of you visiting this site have seen this by now, but I bet it’s been awhile. See it again, or better yet, buy it (it’s about $5 and located near the middle of the discount bin). But if you haven’t, don’t let the fact that Paul Walker’s in it dissuade you, as I’m sure that’s what prevented you in the first place. Rent it. Buy it. It’s mindless, merciless trash, and I mean that in the best way possible.
Louis (Paul Walker) has a thing for Venna (Leelee Sobieski), but he’s can’t seem to say so, and thinks that no one can tell. The dead giveaways: He stays on the phone with her until 3 in the morning, and at the opportunity to give her ride…in a car, he decides to BUY a used car. Yeah… (INSERT whipping sound HERE).
But Louis has to make a detour before he can get the girl. He has to pick up his ne’er-do-well brother Fuller (Steve Zahn) from jail…again.
Because Fuller is just nutty, he decides to have a CB radio installed in Louis’ car for fun, prank calling, and having all kinds of hilarious hijinx ensue…until it goes too far.
An unseen trucker named Rusty Nail (voiced by Buffalo Bill himself, Ted Levine) tunes into the Thomas brothers’ frequency, and due to some quick thinking by Fuller and some over-the-air canoodling by Louis, they set up a practical joke (involving pink champagne and a hotel room) to witness Mr. Nail get punk’d.
Of course, that doesn’t happen, and before you can say Duel, someone gets hurt. Badly hurt, as in ripped-off-your jaw hurt. On top of all of that, it turns out that good ol’ Rusty Nail doesn’t take kindly to being pranked on, and decides to make this a night Fuller, Louis, and Venna will never forget. That is if they make it out…alive…and not dead.
At a fast and furious 96 minutes, you could do worse than dusting this off the old release shelf of your local video store or jamming this near the top of you Netflix queue. If you don’t like it, I will give you your 96 minutes back, in the form of vouchers…
I don’t think you’ll get a better deal from those people that made Prom Night, do you?
What works about Joy Ride:
1.) That a simple scene of seeing a CB radio in truck can cause so much tension. Look…Into…The…Trunk…
2.) That nerve-wracking scene in the hotel room, involving a push shot into a painting. Beautiful, simple direction wrings every ounce of anxiety possible (“That wasn’t a gag, that was a…laugh”).
3.) Paul Walker’s girly-voice rendition of Candy Cane is probably the best acting of his life (“Get him all worked up and in the middle of it, say Guess what? I’m a dude”).
4.) Look, it’s Hostel’s Jay Hernandez…with one line.
5.) There’s a sign in a gas station while Fuller and Louis fill up that reads: Gas $1.32 a gallon. Doesn’t that just make you weep?
6.) Fuller’s spur-of-the-moment exit out of a bar (“Bitch, get over here!!”).
7.) Comic relief provided by Steve Zahn. Few character actors do it better. His scene where he answers the cop’s questions is a minor classic.
8.) Fuller and Louis ordering 12 cheeseburgers. Naked.
9.) Don’t open that hotel door.
10.) We learn a new vocabulary word: “Refreshify.”
11.) By sheer talent alone, Leelee Sobieski brings depth to a angel-hair thin character.
12.) Iron pipe through leg hurt very much.
What doesn’t work:
1.) Paul Walker- Duh… It’s not his worst work, but it’s still pretty bad. Sad enough his character’s not given much to do and is mostly running in the last 3/4s of the movie, but he can’t seem to handle simple dialogue without bumbling and mumbling.
Take the rather simple line- “We’re just friends, okay.”
Now say that line as if it were just one word. And say it with an entire pack of gum in your mouth, and there you have The Untalented Mr. Walker’s acting “style.”
2.) Not much thought is given to characterization, but it’s a minor quibble considering the premise.
3.) A confusingly cut chase through a corn field. You’re always wondering where Fuller, Louis, and Venna are in relation to a huge truck.
4.) A decoy chase involving an Ice Truck. Fake suspense generated, although it does make a case against being a Good Samaritan.
5.) The twist ending seems tacked on, as if the producers felt the need to end it just like…a bad horror movie.
Take a joy ride with Joy Ride. You’ll learn that some practical jokes can turn out to be deadly. And don’t mess with a voice that sounds like it belongs to a 70’s porn star, because the person that could end up fucked…could be you. Happy Motoring…
Watch the Joy Ride trailer:
Popularity: 20% [?]
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