Joy Ride - 10.14.2001

Sure, he gets big named stars in his films. That's for certain... but it might be because those actors want to work with him.

I'll start off with the story.

This is one of those films that, if you've read a lot of film scripts, you can see things coming a mile away. Set-ups seen in this film are poorly done... from my perspective... and I think one of the things that added to my frustration when I saw this film was the trailer. The trailer gave too much of the film away. I knew the order of things before they even occurred.

Clay Tarver and Jeffrey Abrams wrote this script. For Tarver, this was his first writing gig. He'd directed some episodes of The Upright Citizens Brigade. For Abrams... he's been around the block recently. First, he was one of the producers on Joy Ride. He also helped write and produce a few films in the early 90's. Regarding Henry and Forever Young. He's had his hand in television the last few years with Felicity and the new series Alias. He also helped write the script for Armageddon.

So, you have one writer who's had some experience, and another one who... well. This is one of the problems with this film, the writing. I think some of the dialog was fantastic... I think the characters were neatly fleshed out... but I think the suspense was for people who haven't seen that many suspenseful movies before.

The acting.

I'll start off with Paul Walker. He's been in some of those teen movies over the last ten years. Nothing too serious except Pleasantville. Varsity Blues, She's All That, Brokedown Palace, The Skulls and this years breakaway film (shudder) The Fast and the Furious. His acting in this was ok. I haven't seen much of his other work, so I have no real basis for comparison... but I think the major problem here was that he was overshadowed by Steve Zahn.

I've loved Zahn's work ever since That Thing You Do. I think he's made some bad acting choices in the last few years, on independent comedies that really had no reason to be made. He was also in (prior to That Thing) Reality Bites, Crimson Tide and Race the Sun, though I don't remember his roles very clearly in those films.

His other work, after That Thing, was between great and mediocre. SubUrbia, From the Earth to the Moon... just different roles. But when he made the role of Glenn Michaels in Steve Soderbergh's Out of Sight, I think people really took notice. Safe Men, You've Got Mail, Forces of Nature, Freak Talks About Sex, Happy, Texas (one of those bad comedies), Stuart Little, Hamlet (the Ethan Hawke remake), Chain of Fools and Saving Silverman. You can see the natural progression of on screen presence here. Slowly but surely, Zahn made his way to the front lines. Even though with a film like Saving Silverman he had to be paired with Jason Biggs (who has to star in every teen comedy from here til doomsday)... it was still a good vehicle for him... keeping him in mainstream comedy (or what is, for now, mainstream).

In Joyride, I really think he played his smartest role since Out of Sight. He had a fantastic sense of humor about him, with great timing and a great personality. I enjoyed him a lot. He's got a few films coming up in the next year that should be really great for him and his career. I hope he follows through with his performances.

I thought there should have been an alternate title for this film. Joy Ride or Leelee Sobieski shows her nipples.

I mean, jesus christ, in every scene we see this chick, her nipples are out. This is one of her first main roles in a film. She's been in a few other films in the past five years. Deep Impact, Never Been Kissed, Eyes Wide Shut, Here on Earth and My First Mister, which was just released. She's also in the just released The Glass House.

Her role was fine... but, I think for a female role in this film, it was the weakest of the three. The only purpose she served was to being kidnapped. That's about it. So, I would suspect that her role was more of a tool than an actual character, to propel the story along.

The only other person that's worth mentioning is Ted Levine, who was the voice of the mysterious Rusty Nail. Ted, you might remember, was Jame Gumb in Silence of the Lambs, along with many other roles in the past ten years. He was used very well as the voice... and was scary, to say the least.

The directing.

I will give this to John Dahl. He knows how to get good performances from his actors. From Nicholas Cage, Dennis Hopper, Ray Liotta, Matt Damon, Ed Norton and Bill Pullman (among others). I enjoyed the direction of this film, to a point... which means, with the material they were given... with Zahn and his comedic abilities (which stole most of the show)... I think Dahl had something to do with the final product... but I think films like this direct themselves. The actors do not, which is where I give Dahl credit.

The cinematography.

Something I always pay attention to when watching films. This is one of those movies where you have someone who can do good work, but is not a real artist behind the camera.

Jeff Jur's first real mainstream film was Soul Man in 1986. He'd been shooting since 1978... mostly just b-movies. After Soul Man came Dirty Dancing, which did not propel him into a great stratosphere of work, as it (might) should have. Stranded, Hostile Witness, The Big Picture, Tales From The Crypt (television show), and then a lot of television, until 1994 when he hooked up with Dahl for The Last Seduction. He went on to make a few other films... nothing so incredible... but he did stick with Dahl for Unforgettable in 1996. He shot Almost Heroes, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Panic and My First Mister this past year.

The work in Joy Ride was ok. One thing I noticed was particularly well done was the lighting. Atmospheric and well detailed, it added to what suspense there was in the film. But that's pretty much all I noticed about the shooting.

All in all, it's an ok film. The writing, again, is ok... but you can notice most of the set-ups, if you're paying attention. I think the majority of the dialog and the comedic situations were brought upon on set, and I don't attest those moments to the writers. I think Zahn had a lot to do with it, himself.

Worth renting, but I wouldn't see it in the theaters. JoBlo.com has some interviews with Zahn and Walker, if you're interested in finding out more.