The Popkorn Junkie

The idea of man being pursued by an unstoppable force has been the theme to many a movie, from the enormously powerful "Duel" to the enormously absurd "Maximum Overdrive". Sometimes the unstoppable force is a machine, sometimes it is a mysterious creature, and sometimes it is another human. In "Joy Ride", the unstoppable force is a pissed off trucker named 'Rusty Nail' who goes psycho when two brothers (Steve Zahn and Paul Walker) play a little love game with him via CB radio.

Paul Walker plays Lewis Thomas, a college freshman who embarks on a cross country trip to New York to pick up the girl of his dreams (Leelee Sobieski). However, his plans change when, along the way, he must rescue his prank-playing older brother Fuller (Steve Zahn). Fuller convinces Lewis to assist in a CB prank with a mysterious trucker named Rusty Nail as the target. However, things don't go as planned and the maniacal trucker begins stalking the two brothers. Everywhere they go--he is there. Everything they say--he can hear. Rusty Nail almost seems superhuman in some aspects.

Director John Dahl ("Rounders") has not got an original movie here. He takes elements from three films--(1) "Duel", (2) "Breakdown", (3) "Scream" and weaves them together in a patchwork quilt of other suspense classics. However, "Joy Ride" does manage to entertain in a very fulfilling way. The younger cast add excitement to the screen, especially Steve Zahn, who is always wonderful and comedic even when he doesn't mean to be. There are some very tense scenes in the film, and any film that can make a corn field sequence as creepy as the one in "Children of the Corn" has to be doing something right.

The main problem with "Joy Ride" is that the plot is a little absurd. I know, I know--it is a fantasy. But--seriously--how many psychos are going to go berserk when a couple of kids play a small prank? Now, if they had got on the CB and told him they were going to kill him, that would be understandable. Alas, all they did was pretend to be some woman named Candy Cane and asked him to meet them at a motel. What the movie never reveals is whether Rusty Nail was going to harm Candy Cane all along, or whether he attacked the guy in the room because he wasn't Candy Cane? Hmmmmm? Those details would have helped.

All-in-all, this is a good popcorn movie and, with the events of the past couple weeks, that's just what America needs. "Joy Ride" is aimed at a teenage audience, but I feel it will please just about anyone who goes to watch it. It is not a GREAT movie, but how many "Breakdown's" can you get in a decade?

-- Billy Ray ( 2 1/2 out of 4 pops )

Talk about this film with other Popkorn Junkies

Other Junkie's opinions.....

Mike ( 2 out of 4 pops )

"Joy Ride" is a fairly silly and over-the-top movie, as well taken from several past movies of the same genre (most noticeably the TV movie "Duel" by Steven Spielberg). But yet, it's pretty entertaining and I liked it. It has it's share of suspense and all the actors are pretty good. It even has a fair amount of good humor. It's certainly not a great movie but it moves along quickly and is a lot of fun to watch. And what a name for a bad guy - Rusty Nail (who sounds exactly like the psycho in "Silence of the Lambs").

Liz ( 2 1/2 out of 4 pops )

Are you ready for an adventure? These kids get more than they bargain for -- hold on to your popcorn! This is a bumpy ride. And like the best roller coasters, the bumps are what makes it fun. Just don't think too hard, or you'll likely smooth out the twists before they start to turn.