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JOY RIDE

"The Joke’s on Them"

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What You Need To Know:

Paul Walker stars in JOY RIDE as Lewis, a college student who’s anxious to give a ride home to a beautiful female friend of his, Venna, played by Leelee Sobieski. On the way to pick her up, Lewis gets a call from his mother to pick up his wayward brother, Fuller, who’s ended up in jail again. Fuller (played by Steve Zahn) buys an old CB Radio. He cajoles Lewis to play a prank on a truck driver, a seemingly dim-witted hayseed who goes by the name “Rusty Nail.” The prank backfires, and Rusty Nail turns out to be a psychotic stalker who almost murders another guy. Soon, he’s after not only Lewis and Fuller but also Venna and her friend Charlotte.

Needless to say, Lewis and Fuller learn a valuable lesson through their frightening encounter with this psychotic trucker. Also, Lewis clearly makes a heroic effort in the climax of the movie to save both Fuller and Venna’s life. Despite these positive aspects, JOY RIDE contains much foul language, including crude sexual references. There are also a couple gruesome scenes of violence. Finally, the villain escapes ultimate justice, thereby making way for JOY RIDE 2

Content:

(B, LLL, VVV, S, N, AA, D, M) Mild moral worldview; about 75 obscenities, 11 strong profanities, 14 mild profanities, & some lewd comments; strong violence including hospital scene showing that man’s lower jaw was ripped off, truck driver smashes car against tree, truck driver malevolently chases young pranksters, woman tied up with shotgun ready to fire into her face, gunfire, man’s leg impaled, & truck driver tries to run people down with his vehicle; attempted fornication, verbal sexual references & young man poses as sexy woman to entice, humiliate truck driver; rear nudity & totally nude young men hold their hands over their groins; alcohol use & drunkenness; smoking; and, humiliation & kidnapping.

More Detail:

A thoughtless prank backfires in JOY RIDE, an R-rated piece of popcorn entertainment that provides plenty of thrills and chills. Despite a positive message, the movie regrettably contains some sleazy material so that its youthful audience won’t feel like they’re at a Sunday sermon.

Paul Walker stars in the movie as Lewis, a college student who’s anxious to give a ride home to a beautiful female friend of his, Venna, played by Leelee Sobieski. On the way to pick her up, Lewis gets a call from his mother to pick up his wayward brother, Fuller, who’s ended up in jail again. To help the long ride to New Jersey pass by quickly, Fuller (played by Steve Zahn) buys an old CB Radio. Fuller cajoles Lewis to play a prank on one of the truck drivers, a seemingly dim-witted hayseed who goes by the name “Rusty Nail,” played marvelously by Matthew Kimbrough. The prank backfires, and Rusty Nail turns out to be a psychotic stalker who almost murders another guy. Soon, he’s after not only Lewis and Fuller but also Venna and her friend Charlotte.

Needless to say, Lewis and Fuller learn a valuable lesson through their frightening encounter with this psychotic trucker. Also, Lewis clearly makes a heroic effort in the climax of the movie to save both Fuller and Venna’s life. Despite these positive aspects, JOY RIDE contains much foul language – including at least 100 obscenities and profanities. In fact, despite the MPAA rating for this movie, which says that JOY RIDE received an R-rating because of violence, terror and language, some of the movie’s language contains crude sexual references. Not only that, but the rating doesn’t tell viewers about the movie’s brief nude scene, where Rusty Nail forces Fuller and Lewis to show up completely naked at a truck stop. So much for Hollywood’s rating system, which, as MOVIEGUIDE®’s Founder and Publisher, Dr. Ted Baehr, has often noted, is a deliberate sham.

Of course, the villain escapes ultimate justice, obviously to make way for JOY RIDE 2. The clumsy way in which this is handled is particularly disappointing, however.

JOY RIDE holds viewers’ interest, but it would have been a more effective thriller if the filmmakers had gotten rid of the movie’s sleazy elements and concentrated on giving their movie some depth. Because of its similarity to Steven Spielberg’s TV movie DUEL, where an anonymous trucker menaces Dennis Weaver, JOY RIDE also invokes memories of Spielberg’s classic fright-fest JAWS. Unlike DUEL and JAWS, however, JOY RIDE aims low and fails to give viewers the kind of original material that makes a true popcorn classic. It’s a derivative movie that few people will remember 15 (or even 10) years from now.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.