Adam Foidart
"Joy Ride" might not be a groundbreaking thriller and sometimes it's pretty silly but it's got its moments and I had fun with it overall. Yes, I realize now that the franchise has turned into full-on horror, but this movie is actually a thriller. It's about a nice guy (Paul Walker as Lewis), his screw-up of a brother Fuller (Steve Zahn) and Lewis' longtime crush Venna (Leelee Sobieski) traveling on the highway when they mess with the wrong guy. After a prank that is not really all that mean-spirited, a trucker begins mercilessly stalking them, and the guy's idea of "getting even" is much too close to "murder" for everyone else's tastes.What I liked about the movie above all is that Steve Zahn and Paul Walker make a convincing set of brothers. I feel like they had some really good, organic dynamics together. I also enjoyed the overall pace of the movie. It keeps moving and coming up with interesting concepts and setups to keep its audience entertained as these people are chased all over the place by this villain. Speaking of which, "Rusty Nail" (as he is called) works as a villain that is partially threatening, psychotic, sympathetic and funny. It keeps the violence to a tasteful level and if you're looking for a horror/thriller film that has a bit of bite but never goes into very gruesome levels (save maybe for a brief scene in the beginning) it's fun and has some good laughs too. I just happened to own this movie on DVD and if you do too, or if you're renting I have to point out something that I usually don't for these reviews. The DVD includes what is without a doubt the most extensive set of alternate endings I've ever seen. One of them is almost a completely different film due to its 30+ min. running time so there's some good bang for your buck here too. Good stuff. (On DVD, October 30, 2012)
videorama-759-859391
Bar none, the best road movie since The Hitcher, Joyride, better known as Roadkill see two brothers make the fatal mistake of pranking a hitchhiker, Walker, believably masquerading as a woman, faking a voice, shows another side to his talents. I must say I was impressed, and he doesn't do a bad job, convincingly dramatic in bits. He's hounded by his older, troubled, and immature brother, Fuller (Zahn, a great comedic asset to the movie) who keeps landing in the nick. This time, even he knows he gone too far, this prank may'be costing him the rest of his life. The psychotic trucker, who goes by the name of Rusty Nail, ends up basically playing a relentless stalking game, showing them, the much fatal error of their ways, after pranking them with a sexual rendezvous at this motel, the brothers stay at overnight. When you think about it, the brothers must of been pretty dumb to leave the c.b. in sight where Rusty Nail would of seen it, and added up the dots, although they weren't expecting him to be a nut, even though, he weirded out Walker in bits earlier, and he's quick, like a pussy, to ring the manager, when they hear a ruckus nextdoor, with Walker's character, looking worried or tense, even before that. while big brother is laughing his arse off. This movie than runs high on a good flow of suspense, and a bit of disturbing violence, has been well crafted, successfully terrifying viewer, with a great plot. Rusty Nail's intentions so clear, like Max Cady, he's gonna keep tormenting these people, where in 2002, I myself, dealt, with a similar situation, but on a much smaller scale. The performances are good, yes even Walker, Rusty Nail's voice, of course that of Ted 'Silence Of The Lambs', who also worked with Walker, in the first Fast And Furious, which Levine fits those terms definitely. The climax is intoxicatingly suspenseful, it's most richest, as if we've had so much tension and suspense already. The twist of ending reinforces the tragic error, their prank has cost them, where there's a message there too. A road movie better than you expect, and Dahl throws some nice shots in, one close up in slow motion, favouring girlfriend, Sobieski's goods. Her collegiate roommate, Bowman, mesmerizingly hot. Don't overlook it.