Joyride (1997) User Reviews

A look at young, and no-so-young stars

[lastliberal · 6/10 · 14 November 2008]

This isn't award material. The dialog is pretty bad, and the story really doesn't go as far as it could have.

It is, however, a chance to see Tobey Maguire before he fell in love with Mary Jane. Here, he is all ga ga over Tanya (Amy Hathaway - "My Two Dads"), who is the first woman to show him her body.

You also get to see a young Benicio Del Toro, who played a detective trying to solve a murder.

I would have liked to see the character played by Christina Zilber beefed up. She was a hit-woman whose car they stole for a joyride.

Adam West, who was "Batman" in the 60s, played a pervy father that pimped out Tanya for blackmail.

Worth a watch for historical value.

Not NEARLY As Bad As People Are Saying

[luvkittys7 · 6/10 · 20 January 2011]

I really CANNOT BELIEVE the amount of negativity being directed at this movie! I really enjoyed it! Amy Hathaway is HOT and fun to watch. She sort of reminds me of Alicia Silverstone in Excess Baggage. I was transfixed watching Toby Mcguire and Benicio Del Toro, as I have been fans of both of theirs for years.. The movie actually has quite a bit of tension and suspense, and it works, because you really feel for these kids, and the situation they are stuck in. Sure, there are some definite continuity errors, and the acting is far from perfect, at times, but somehow these don't detract from the storyline and the overall feel of the movie. I watched half of the movie last night, and was hooked enough to come back and finish it,today. A strong 5, but maybe even a 6, in my book. Definitely worth a look, if you're into these types of movies.

Decent Movie, Great Cast

[BareNakedJimmy · 6/10 · 3 January 2003]

I rented this movie knowing nothing about it except what I read on the box. Believe it or not, I didn't even know who Tobey McGuire was, altho I just saw Spiderman last month (and damn, he's cute!) So, needless to say, I didn't expect much.

I was pleasantly surprised and amused by its portrayal of a boring, redneck small Texas town (like where I presently live) and its hick residents, and the typical bored teenage boys and the trouble they get into, just like I used to (well, not QUITE like I used to!)

Like many other reviewers, I'm very surprised that Christina Naify hasn't appeared in many other films, because I felt that she was the best player in the cast. I also loved Wilson Cruz, as a scared, whiney, (and cute!) Gay boy, and really got off seeing him kick the crap out of a redneck from school. The concept of Adam West playing the part of a pimp was quite entertaining too.

The plot was a bit twisted, with several unexpected turns that kept me guessing what would happen next. Unlike some other reviewers, I'm not bothered by slight inconsistencies and/or loose ends, I mean, come on, I paid a buck (for all three of us to watch it), and we got an hour and a half of decent entertainment!

All-in-all, I give it 2.5 stars on the Leonard Maltin scale. And I'd watch it again if I can catch it on late-night TV.

Awful!

[pdsca21 · 27 June 2004]

The only reason to watch this movie is to see just how awful it is and how far Tobey Maguire and Benico Del Toro have come as actors. The script and dialoge are awful, and appear to be written by high school level talent. The premise is absurd and loaded with ridiculous sub plots to further waste viewers time. In short, three just out of high school kids tango with death so they can keep a car. Adam West is good for a laugh as some sort of pimp/daddy business man. If you're a collector of some sort and want this film, the good news is you should be able to get it for about three bucks at any Target or WalMart style store. However, I certainly don't bother messing with this one.

Trainwreck of a Movie

[jangehr · 2/10 · 17 September 2005]

Tobey Maguire had to start somewhere before becoming Spiderman. His acting is quite good even if his aimless and clueless character makes no sense. Here's the plot: a motel owner's son hooks up with a hooker tenant, hangs out with his gay buddy (who seems to have a crush on him) and steals a car from an icy villainess assassin. Then a lot of other plot points occur that have nothing to do with each other. The first half is OK but then quickly disintegrates into this tangled non-sensical mess. Wilson Cruz does his best as Tobey's gay friend but his acting is too good for the amateurish script. Adam West as a father who pimps his daughter is an interesting stunt cast but who cares by the end. I bought the DVD for five bucks and paid about $4.79 too much.

No Joy

[Barclayandrew · 3/10 · 28 January 2007]

After having watched Benicio Del Toro in some brilliant and engrossing roles, i decided id give 'Joyride' a watch. Toby Maguire isn't one of my favourite actors, and I've often found him to be a fairly boring, and in the hands of a movie such as this, Maguire is stretched far beyond his limits. The story is laughable for all the wrong reasons, and the movie plods on and on, without many scenes of any real depth. Del Toro is also slacking, mostly mumbling his way through the terrible script. As if all this wasn't bad enough, the movies production and soundtrack kill what little merit 'Joyride' had. I've tried to think of some good points to raise, but upon reflection, there are non.

3/10

Dullride!

[gazineo-1 · 3/10 · 2 September 2002]

Silly and ludicrous thriller (if one could say so!) about two young friends who robbered a beautiful car just to find out a corpse in the trunk. A ordinary premise that never hit the point. There's only one curiosity in this misfire: old Adam (Batman) West living a pimp.Believe me, don't lose your precious time. I give this a 3 (three).

Worth a look

[srussell10036 · 7/10 · 11 August 2003]

Watched this almost by accident on a Sunday afternoon with nothing to do and nowhere to go. This movie was much better than any expectations I might have had. Tobey Maguire and Wilson Cruz are fine together as is Amy Hathaway (not familiar with her). Adam West is fine as a sleazy father pimping for his daughter. Though the "losers making bad choices" plot can bore the heck out of me, this one kept my attention. Certainly not great in any way, it's not boring or stupid and can sometimes be surprising.

Worst Movie Ever?

[pattay72 · 1/10 · 23 February 2004]

I saw this because I am a fan of Toby McGuire and Benicio Del Toro. I never expected a movie in which the two appear to be so horrible. It was like a film school production, beyond bad. The acting was embarrassing, especially the woman who played the blond assassin. Benicio seemed like he didn't memorize his lines or something. You should see it if you want to learn about acting and what not to do.

Quirky and Original

[michael-daniels-84521 · 7/10 · 8 February 2018]

First off, this is certainly not a "great" movie, however is is endearing. The quirky direction, style and simplicity makes this movie memorable and worth watching. It's just one of those movies that is just enough outside convention, yet manages to still be entertaining and purposeful. In "daring to be different", lies it's appeal, and shows that even with a low budget you can make a good movie, and you can have good actors driving it.

Oh HEEEEELLLLL NO!!

[mimiybyazphil · 1/10 · 24 July 2020]

The script must have been greenlighted by the producer's housepet! No SANE human would let this HOT MESS get made!! AWFUL!!

A surprisingly engaging "B" movie

[lhunt · 9/10 · 19 May 2003]

Clearly a "B" movie, this feature lacks the wooden acting that so often typifies low budget fare. In fact, all the characters are engaging in this somewhat improbable fantasy, which manages to address a number of very serious issues in ways that are alternately gripping, humorous, and tragic - e.g., child abuse, the need for young people to have goals, contrasts of social class, hypocrisy, etc.

Having started watching this with very low expectations, I was surprised at how memorable and thought-provoking this moral parable - almost a fable really - turned out to be.

Fun, funny, sad, shocking, frightening, and redeeming. This is worth a watch for those willing to look beyond the minimal budget to the accomplishment not only of the actors, but also of the screenwriter and the director!

A surprisingly good suspense!

[Slug-3 · 6/10 · 15 December 1998]

I wasn't expecting much from this movie. What do you expect with a name like Joyride? I expected some silly sexist comedy, which wasn't funny, and failed miserably to keep my attention with quick over-used one-liners. So, it was a pleasant surprise to find that this movie actually wasn't all too bad.

Checking up on Christina Naify, known only as Smith in Joyride, revealed how few movies she has done and I'm left wondering why. Her performance was outstanding to say the least. Unlike most action figures Naify's character uses her intelligence as her main weapon. In one scene where Tanya (Amy Hathaway) is beaten by a client she's hooking for, Naify's character busts in the room, shoots the assailant, takes a picture of stunned Tanya with gun in hand over the assailants dead body and proceeds to threaten Tanya with the picture if she doesn't get her car back which Tanya had helped steal.

She is the freshest face I've seen in a long time and would like to see her in bigger roles in the future because she certainly appears to have the talent to pull off a big production.

Never cast a good actor in your crappy movie

[H_Spengler · 1/10 · 30 November 2008]

I watched this the other night purely because there was nothing else on. I am actually dumbfounded as to how inanely bad this movie is. The sad part is, almost ever actor in here has been in much better movies. Tobey Maguire(Cider House Rules, Seabiscuit), Wilson Cruz (Party Monster), and perhaps the biggest shame of them all Benecio Del Toro (Traffic, The Way of the Gun).

The acting was god awful, the script was absolute messy non sense, the story: b o r i n g and it made no sense. I've seen better films from student filmmakers.

Look I know that every actor has to cut his acting chops on something but there are thousands of better ways to do it than this film, which felt more like a cheap low budget porno with a she-assassin and a few cops thrown in on the side. Not one character in this convoluted mess reacts like anyone would in real life to the situations they find themselves in. For example: I'd be pretty freaked out if I found a dead guy in the truck of a car, Tobey and company look at him as though he's nothing more than a spare tire. Seriously not one yelp.

The only actor who even attempts to do anything resembling acting is Del Toro as your stereotypical police detective, and he's not in the film nearly enough I suppose that's good for his resume though considering. Avoid at all costs!!

Better than expected

[LadyLanyon · 2 October 2002]

I watched this movie because it starred Tobey Maguire. I read some comments and a review or two beforehand and as a consequence I expected it to be dire. However it wasn't, though it wasn't particularly good either. The performances were average, except for Benicio del Toro who was awful. The script definitely needed some work - there were a lot of loose ends dangling around that could have been tied together. Tobey Maguire is the lead actor, but towards the end of the film it seemed that his role tapered off in relevance to the story.The direction was flashy in a pointless sort of way. There were hardly any close ups used. I would recommend this film only really for die-hard Tobey Maguire fans as it is interesting to see him in a early role, before he got to work with first class directors of the likes of Ang Lee, Lasse Hallstrum and Woody Allen who he has obviously learned a llot from,since his performance in this film is a million miles away from his work in Spider-Man or Pleasantville or any of the other excellent films he has done in recent years.

Trashy and Stupid

[sithornia · 1/10 · 2 April 2009]

The scriptwriter should have been shot in this movie. They took a fairly good plot and left it going nowhere. Three dumb kids get drunk, steal a killer's car, find a dead body, and make a drunken decision. Okay. Now a killer lady who loves her job and her car is ticked off at them. Not bad. The police are running around asking questions and looking for clues. They see nothing. They look smart professional, but see nothing to amiss. Cute. The dumb kids are still making even better choices now that they are sober. Well, on we go with the killer lady and the three really dumb kids. The cops are still looking around, and yes, we let the killer go and the three dumb kids continue with their bad choices. The end. Time- do not waste it because it is a bad choice in this movie. Yes, they even get paid to film this crap!

Terrible movie

[iansmiler-2 · 2/10 · 28 January 2009]

Do not go out of your way to see this movie it was awful, Tobey is such a good actor and to see that this well he had to start somewhere but this was terrible i bought this when it came out on DVD and i paid 20 bucks for it. Being honest i wouldn't suggest you to watch it unless you get paid to watch it. I was looking forward to this so much and was let down it looked great but in reality it was crap well at least Tobey did make great movies like seasbuiscuit and spider-man. I was never let down as much as this in any movie at all except for oceans twelve but what a bad bad f*cking s*it movie you can watch it of course but i wouldn't suggest i would rate this 1.5/10.

Honest to god dreadful fun

[ChristinaWeston · 5/10 · 8 July 2007]

I watched this film as a bet that I couldn't get through the full hour and a half. But I did, and now I can warn you. It's absolutely amateur and filled to the brim with continuity errors, but it is oh so much fun. Tobey Maguire's accent is strangely evolving throughout the film, but makes for a fun guessing game on what he's trying to accomplish. Benicio del Toro is absolutely careless, but he could very well be the best part of the whole thing. If you must watch it, be wary of some strange nudity and don't worry when the screen becomes blurry; that isn't your tired eyes unable to focus, that's the "cinematography." Also, watch the level in lighting to see how quickly day and night alternate throughout those precious 93 minutes.

Warning: This is NO 'Spider-man'.

[kirk-246 · 7/10 · 8 October 2009]

Tobey Maguire goes from swing from webs to stealing an assassins car in 'Joyride', a rather underrated feature that has a lot of potential and didn't disappoint.Know that this movie is not at all like 'Spider-man'.What I'm saying is that 'Spider-man' was a kid targeted movie about an ordinary teenager who goes from zero to hero.In 'Joyride', he and his friends steal an assassins car and they discover a dead body in the trunk.While they try to deal with this problem, the owner of the car finds out that it was stolen and she will stop at nothing to get it back.Kids absolutely loved Tobey Maguire's performance in 'Spider-man'.This movie will definitely change their minds once they see it.He even uses the F-word a couple of times. and has sex with his girlfriend in the car.I was absolutely shocked and kids will be too.Still, that's not to say that the movie isn't in the least bit entertaining.I enjoyed the ride, and if you like Tobey Maguire and movies with interesting twists, then you should enjoy it too.

The Opening Scene....

[Zantara Xenophobe · 4/10 · 17 December 2002]

I wasn't going to comment on this movie, but something has been bothering me about this since I watched it a few weeks ago. First off, let me state that I rented this because I wanted to see Adam West, who I always have liked and think should be in more big movies. The only people who were any good in this movie were West and Wilson Cruz (and maybe James Karen, but that short scene is hard to judge). Everyone else was just awful, particularly Tobey Maguire and Benicio Del Toro. Maguire is always smug and annoying. He's certainly one of the stupidest protagonists I have ever seen. Del Toro is really lazy here, mumbling his lines and giving nothing to his part. Hard to believe this is the same guy I saw in `Traffic' last year. And Quinton Peeples doesn't help much when it comes to his writing. Some of his directing is nice, but it can't cover up the weakness of his pen.

All that said, let me get to what is bothering me: the opening scene. There is a short scene where we see Maguire and Amy Hathaway helping a dazed and confused Adam West to his feet. I assumed this was a foreshadowing of a final scene. Yet this is not exactly what happens in the film's real end. SPOILER ALERT. Instead, West is arrested by Del Toro. This scene really seems tacked on because the man getting into the police car isn't really West, but some stunt double and we hear West's voice muttering how he is innocent. Peeples must have rewritten something, either by his own accord or by order of a producer or executive, yet he left in the opening scene which does not fit in with the rewrite. END OF SPOILER ALERT Anyway, that was really troubling me. If you watch it, check out the opening scene and try to make sense out of it in conjunction with the rest of the film. I sure can't figure it out. Zantara's score: 4 out of 10. Thanks, Adam, for trying and making this a little better than what it would have otherwise been.

A gritty tale with a heart.

[redrift_hi_lilly · 7/10 · 13 August 2004]

Joyride was a fantastic piece, a classic mix of dark comedy, gangster/cop-ish, teenage drama with maturity.

This film is about two guys from a small town trying to find some entertainment. Together with a girl who was currently living at the motel to which one of the characters fathers' owned, one night stole a car. Unfortunately the car belonged to a killer, on finding the dead body in the trunk, they disposed of the body in the lake, to where all the trouble started.

I really enjoyed this film it was funny and it never took things to seriously. Tobey maguire is nothing like his usual roles. It was a nice chance to see him out of character and what seemed "free" at times. Considering that this film is practically un-heard of, i think the acting was superb. Each actor/ess got into their characters wonderfully.

In all i think this was a decent film, i would even go as far as calling it good. There was little to fault in this film and throughout the whole 93 minutes i was glued to the screen (not literally) in anticipation of what was going to happen next. Its a sweet sexy and slick film, which ends magnificiently.

Any Tobey Maguire fans?--its right up your street! Anybody else?-- its worth seeing to, its not over the top and its a really pleasant film to watch.

After seeing this I died a little inside.

[cjohantges · 1/10 · 19 November 2008]

Honestly I saw this film accidentally I thought it was Joy Ride (2001) by JJ Abrams. But no it was the worst piece of F***ing S*** I have ever seen. 1st the movie starts out slow for about the first 45 minutes and the movie is an hour and 33 minutes. This movie was awful the acting oh my God like the detective with the sunglasses oh my God I have seen Ed Wood movies with better actors. He is always is monotone why I don't know. But Toby he was even worse he just always smiles and is a sex machine is bothered me this movie should not exist. The plot was about these 3 kids who steal a car which is owned by an assassin and they find a body in the trunk and now the assassin is going to kill them if they don't give her the car back that's about it. So if you find this movie buy but don't watch run it over with your car because that is what it deserves this was it's time for gaming and movies too videos coming soon.

Flawless, absolutely flawless

[MarilynManson · 10/10 · 15 October 2001]

All I can say is that Amy Hathaway is an outstanding actress and I just can not understand why she is not massive. After her performance in this film Amy should have gone onto bigger and better things and be a household name by now...I am confounded as to why she isn't.

Great film anyway with an ecclectic cast including Benico Del Torro and Toby Maguire, I loved the whole ambience and sultriness of it. Very understated.

Lucky number 7

[JermaineM · 7/10 · 10 December 2017]

This film is good enough to purchase. Not a ground breaking film, but a well composed one, which makes it special considering how difficult it is to find those. The common film watcher will not enjoy this, no more that they would enjoy listening to His Name Alive on a Saturday evening. It would also help if the viewer understood the meaning/message of the story, or even resonated with the characters a little.

Pros

• I knew the script might've been an issue when I saw the writer, but when your acting cast is solid enough to support the greener members, it pans out. This would be a good example of when not to blame the writer, or the dialog, it's delivery.

• There's "flow", simply meaning that there were no long blank spots of "when is something going to happen" or large missing pieces of the story that makes you feel as if entire segments of the screenplay where chopped out at the last minute, making you say "I think there was suppose to be a connecting scene there". I hate it when films do this, and I've seen bigger budget film completely screw up because there are too many hands in the story and no one can keep it straight. This is why I always give Director/Writer films special attention, simply because it gives them the power they need to see their vision through to the end.

• Thank you Ivo Watts-Russell for the splendid OST, literally already had almost every song that played. I imagined a movie that ended with a Dif Juz top 10, just didn't think it was out there, but here it is. Well done. I always say that the music makes the movie. It's the element that people often ignore, but only when broken down do the realize how crucial it is.

Cons

• Wilson Cruz's acting came off very "Disney" (So scripted it was almost comic). I tried many times to excuse it, telling myself that this is how it was supposed to be, "this is his role", "this is what they wanted". I like to believe there's a measure of logic behind these things, not in this case.

• Christina Zilber's acting came off the same way, but with hints of "I'm not really an actor", which is understandable considering she isn't, actually Joyride could be considered her only feature. She wasn't horrible, just decent enough to tolerate.

• In some scenes, you would expect something to happen, and it does, but not the they way you were expecting, which is how it should've happened. An example of this is in the mirror shattering scene where she hits the ceiling light instead of throwing something onto the mirror causing a dramatic shatter... only to (moments later) hit the same mirror with her hand, causing several cracks, but no shatter. That was a very disappointing build up.

• There were a few scenes where a little extra dialog could've gone a long way, for example, one scene where someone ask J.T "have you seen/done/gone to xyz" and Tobey responds with a simple "not really", if you saw the movie, you would hear these missed opportunities, as if he meant to say "No, not recently", that one change would've added so much to the scene, and a few others where the dialog sounds as if it were cut short, not that what was already there wasn't good, it just could've been better.

I've seen some trash Sci-fi productions receive more praise than this film. I think people are upset because of the trailer, honestly, that trailer does no justice to the movie at all. It panders to people looking for a certain flavor, but doesn't deliver, merely because it can't. I only found this movie when reviewing the filmography relationships of the cast members, a tailored search that doesn't tend to disappoint me.

7/10

The beginning credits are ear screeching bad!

[funkid8877 · 1/10 · 7 January 2022]

The movie is even worse. Nothing worth seeing here. It just gets lost, the longer it goes on. No connection to the characters and no connection to the story line. This is why teachers seduce their students. Not a pretty movie.