SCREEN IT! PARENTAL REVIEW: JOY RIDE

"JOY RIDE"
(2001) (Steve Zahn, Paul Walker) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Moderate	Heavy	Extreme	Extreme	Moderate

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Moderate	Moderate	Extreme	None	Extreme

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Heavy	Minor	Minor	Moderate	Heavy

QUICK TAKE:: Suspense/Thriller: A vindictive truck driver terrorizes two brothers and their friend after the young men pull a prank on the anonymous trucker.

PLOT:

Lewis Thomas (PAUL WALKER) is a college student who's going to drive across the country, picking up his hometown friend, Venna (LEELEE SOBIESKI), along the way. He makes a small detour beforehand, however, to bail his estranged brother, Fuller (STEVE ZAHN), out of jail.

As the two become reacquainted, Fuller persuades Lewis to pull a prank on an anonymous trucker they overhear on the CB radio. Acting like a woman named Candy Cane, Lewis tells the trucker - known only by his handle, "Rusty Nail" -- to meet "her" at a motel that night, giving the truck driver the number of the room next to theirs. Believing they're in for some fun, the brothers eavesdrop on the trucker's arrival next-door that night, but are horrified when they discover the next morning that he severely beat up the occupant of that room.

Back on the road, the two hear Rusty Nail on the CB again and learn to their horror that he knows who they are and is apparently following them. After a close call with the vindictive trucker where they apologize, the two pick up Venna and believe their troubles are behind them. Little do they know, however, that the trucker has more in store for them. From that point on, they and Venna do what they must to avoid the deranged truck driver.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: If they're fans of anyone in the cast or of suspenseful movies, they just might.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For violence/terror and language.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: PAUL WALKER plays a young man whose plan for a fun cross-country road trip is derailed when he bails his estranged brother out of jail and the two then pull a prank on an anonymous trucker. From that point on, he does what he must to survive. He also drinks some and uses strong profanity.
STEVE ZAHN plays his brother who's had various run-ins with the law (the last for being drunk and disorderly) and finds himself in the same precarious situation as his brother. He also drinks and uses strong profanity.
LEELEE SOBIESKI plays Lewis's friend who accepts a ride from the brothers and then finds herself in danger due to the trucker's actions. She also drinks.; STEVE ZAHN plays his brother who's had various run-ins with the law (the last for being drunk and disorderly) and finds himself in the same precarious situation as his brother. He also drinks and uses strong profanity.
LEELEE SOBIESKI plays Lewis's friend who accepts a ride from the brothers and then finds herself in danger due to the trucker's actions. She also drinks.; LEELEE SOBIESKI plays Lewis's friend who accepts a ride from the brothers and then finds herself in danger due to the trucker's actions. She also drinks.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated suspense thriller. Profanity is listed as extreme due to at least 18 uses of the "f" word, with other expletives and colorful phrases also being used. Some brief, but explicit sexually related dialogue occurs, while we see a young woman in her underwear and two men's bare butts in unrelated, nonsexual scenes.

The film is filled with all sorts of suspenseful scenes (and accompanying music and a few jump scenes) as a vindictive, but anonymous trucker terrorizes a small group of people, and includes various violent moments (with some bloody results), although most of the worst material occurs off camera. The trucker and other characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, while some imitative behavior is present. Finally, some drinking and smoking also occur.

If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may want to see it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed content listings for more specific examples of what's present and occurs in it.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: We hear that Fuller was arrested in Salt Lake City for being drunk and disorderly.
The guys tell Rusty Nail that Candy Cane likes pink champagne (and he later tells them to bring some to him in a later scene).
We see beer inside a case in a convenience store.
We see Fuller, Lewis and Venna all drinking beer and shots of tequila, and Lewis later appears to be passed out from doing so.
A person holds some liquor.
Fuller makes drinks for himself and Venna.

BLOOD/GORE: We hear that a victim of an encounter with the trucker is in a coma and we see a brief shot of him in the hospital and see that the lower half of his jaw is missing.
We see that something has pierced a man's leg with bloody results (after he's fallen onto it).
We see a bloody body.
We see a bloody hand.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: We hear that Fuller was arrested in Salt Lake City for being drunk and disorderly.
The guys decide to have fun with a trucker via a CB radio, making him think some woman is interested in him and wants to meet him at a motel.
A man is rude to a motel clerk.
Some older man tries to pick up Venna in a bar and then he and others act disrespectful and menacing toward Lewis when he comes to her rescue.
The anonymous trucker obviously has both for taking his revenge upon the guys too far, including kidnapping and killing others.
The guys hotwire and steal someone else's vehicle (so that they can go and try to rescue Venna).

FRIGHTENING SCENES: Scenes listed under "Violence" may also be suspenseful or unsettling to viewers (especially as accompanied, as are many of the scenes below, by suspenseful/ominous music).
The ominous voice of the trucker might also be unsettling/scary to some viewers, particularly when he seems to be watching the guys and then them and Venna.
The guys pull off the road to get gas at night and suspect that anyone they encounter could be the killer. This includes a suspicious looking man who enters a convenience store carrying something resembling a big bat and then nearing Lewis who's on the phone.
The guys find a truck pursuing them at night and then find themselves on a dead end road, with the trucker then getting out and approaching them.
A huge truck drives through the middle of a smaller truck, tearing the latter one in half and then pursuing the guys.
The guys accidentally smash their car into a tree when fleeing. A large truck then approaches and begins to push their car (turned sideways but still upright) against the tree, slowly crumpling it with them inside it.
The trio flees from a motel after getting a call from the trucker indicating that he's watching them.
After passing words written on street signs that say to look inside their trunk, the trio slowly does just, not knowing what to expect.
The friends flee through a tall cornfield at night as the trucker drives his rig after them, that includes them ducking down into a ravine and him passing over them, and then them trying to hide - separately -- from him.
We see that the trucker had tied up Venna and aimed a shotgun at her face, with its trigger attached to a string over to the door (so that when it's opened, the gun will fire). The guys then try to come to her rescue, unaware of the booby trap (which she obviously sees) and this goes on for several minutes, with the guys opening various doors and having various close calls with danger. Later, others nearly open that door.
We see that something has pierced a man's leg with bloody results (after he's fallen onto it). Another person then pushes down on that to inflict more pain on the first person.
A person tries to get another person out of the way before an approaching truck hits them.

GUNS/WEAPONS: Shotgun: Set up in a booby trap intended to kill someone when a door is opened.
Handguns: Used to shoot at an approaching truck.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "What the f*ck?" "Bullsh*t," "Take care of your own sh*t," "Oh sh*t," "Sh*tty," "(That) sucks," "This job kicks ass," "Horny," "My ass," "Loser," "Who the hell is it?" "That is the pain in my ass," "Sorry ass punks," "Retards," "Freak her out," "Shut up," "Is this your bitch?" (what some guys ask Venna about Lewis), "What the hell /are you doing/do you want/is this/is he doing?" and "Jeez."
The guys decide to have fun with a trucker via a CB radio, making him think some woman is interested in him and wants to meet him at a motel.
Fuller, Lewis and Venna all try to tie knots in cherry stems with their tongues.
The guys hotwire and steal someone else's vehicle (so that they can go and try to rescue Venna).
We see that the trucker had tied up Venna and aimed a shotgun at her face, with its trigger attached to a string over to the door (so that when it's opened, the gun will fire).

JUMP SCENES: The sudden sight of a man missing his jaw might startle some viewers.
The trio suddenly runs into someone as they try to flee from a motel.
Some suddenly grabs Venna.
A person suddenly breaks through a window and grabs Fuller, pulling him inside.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): An extreme amount of suspenseful and ominous music plays during the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None.

PROFANITY: At least 18 "f" words (2 used with "mother," 2 used sexually, as is the term "boink"), 20 "s" words, 6 slang terms using male genitals ("pr*ck" and "d*ck"), 1 slang term using female genitals ("p*ssy"), 13 hells, 12 asses (2 used with "hole"), 7 damns, 9 uses of "G-damn," 6 of "Oh my God," 5 of "God," 3 of "Oh God" and 1 use each of "Jesus" and "Oh Jesus" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY: We see Venna in her underwear and thus see part of her bare butt as she lies on her bed and talks on the phone.
Talking about Venna, Fuller asks Lewis "Did you boink her" and then, "Are you f*cking her?" When Lewis won't answer that, Fuller adds, "Okay, you're not f*cking her...But you want to."
Talking about truckers, Fuller says, "Those guys are so f*cking horny." As Lewis then impersonates a woman coming on to Rusty Nail over the CB radio Fuller jokingly says, "This is turning me on." Lewis then continues, saying, "I'll make you feel good," and goes on about how if "she" were there "she'd" make him unbutton her blouse, etc.. He then asks Rusty Nail what he'd then do with "her," causing him to reply that he's never done this before, but then adds that he'd take off her bra.
Fuller, and the camera, slowly look up a young woman's clothed body.
Fuller and Lewis watch adult movies in their motel room, with Fuller asking Lewis if he's in the mood for a story or a collection of scenes (but we don't see anything explicit).
We see several views of Lewis and Fuller's bare butts after the trucker forces them (via a verbal command) to walk into a diner completely naked so that they'll feel humiliated (they have their hands over their crotches).

SMOKING: A few miscellaneous characters smoke, while we see Lewis with an unlit cigarette over his ear.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: We hear that Lewis and Fuller haven't seen each other in five years.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: The potential repercussions of pulling a prank on a stranger.
What to do if someone is chasing/stalking you.

VIOLENCE: A mean man pushes Fuller aside.
Fuller and Lewis suddenly hear sounds of violence (struggling, etc.) coming from the motel room next to theirs.
We then hear that the victim of the above is in a coma and we see a brief shot of him in the hospital and see that the lower half of his jaw is missing.
The guys accidentally drive over a mailbox at night.
A huge truck drives through the middle of a smaller truck, tearing the latter one in half.
The guys accidentally smash their car into a tree when fleeing. A large truck then approaches and begins to push their car (turned sideways but still upright) against the tree, slowly crumpling it.
Someone suddenly grabs Venna and we see the signs of struggling in a cornfield at night.
The guy find their car engulfed in flames and then watch it explode.
A person suddenly breaks through a window and grabs Fuller, pulling him inside.
We see that something has pierced a man's leg with bloody results (after he's fallen onto it). Another person then pushes down on that to inflict more pain on the first person (with more resultant screaming).
The police open fire on an approaching truck, causing it to crash through a fence and into a motel room.
We see that the trucker apparently killed another man (the actual killing isn't seen, but the body is).

Reviewed August 20, 2001 / Posted October 5, 2001

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