Joy Ride (2001) Dir:  John Dahl CAST: Steve Zahn, Paul Walker, Leelee Sobieski, Jessica Bowman, Ted Levine (voice) Rated R, Approx:  93 minutes Twentieth Century Fox DVD

"It Started as a Joke...Now the Joke is on Them."

Terrific Suspense/Thriller Builds Tension Perfectly.

Written by Clay Tarver and J.J. Adams (who created TVs Alias and co-created Lost), Joy Ride is an excellent spine-tingler, mixing in elements of action, horror and black humor, all handled deftly by director John Dahl (Red Rock West).  The spoiler-filled trailer dropped my expectations when going into the film, but I was pleasantly surprised with the results here.  This little gem has to be one of the better thrillers I've seen in a long time.

Lewis (Paul Walker) is a likable college student who has plans on picking up his long-time friend (Leelee Sobieski), whom he has always had a crush on.  Ready to confess his romance for her, he buys a used vehicle and embarks on a cross country trek to pick her up at her college.  Along the way,  Lewis has to bail out his screw-up brother Fuller (Steve Zahn) from prison.  Despite a few conflicts, they enjoy the company together on the road and for kicks, Fuller gets a CB-Radio installed into the car.  When tampering around with it, they come across an interesting persona who goes by the name of Rusty Nail.    Upon stopping at a motel for the night, Fuller has a run-in with an obnoxiously rude man in the room next to them and they decide to use a fake CB personality (complete with Fuller attempting a female voice) named Candy to attract Rusty for a little get-together at the other mans room late at night.  From then on, things start to go downhill for the two guys when the joke turns on them and they're stuck finding a way to get Rusty off their back.

Why it took 20th Century Fox longer than a year to finally release this film is a big mystery to me.  Sure, you have to turn your brain off a little bit, but its an easy film to get into and moves at a frantic pace for the crisp 93 minute running time. After a long decade of tired and clichéd "hip" teenage films, Dahl's handling of the picture is perfection.   It is never relying on horror-movie formulas or gore for building up heavy suspense.  It masterfully takes full advantage of the deserted settings where Rusty Nail stalks the lead characters.

Good Performances Carry This One Through Some Minor Flaws.

Zahn gives a breakthrough performance as Fuller, showing off a great deal of range in the lead role. He can be charming and downright funny, yet terrified and troubled at other times and such range makes him a believable character.  His face expressions are particularly priceless in the film, like an early moment at a motel, that is made far more disturbing by his jolted looks.

Walker does a fine job and makes his character likable enough to root for throughout the movie.  Although Sobieski (right) isn't used much in the film, she still gets a chance to shine as the potential love interest and I can't say I complained about the bra-less tops she wears throughout the film either. We never see Rusty around, but he's still an incredibly creepy presence and the voice provided by Ted Levine is powerful.

There are some bumpy moments in this film. There's a love-triangle subplot in the middle of the movie between our three leads that never goes anywhere. It doesn't hog the screen time too much, but it seems like something was missing since they never go anywhere with it.  I also though the ending, despite getting your adrenaline rushed, was somewhat disappointing at the same time since it takes an easy route out.

Otherwise, this movie should please anyone looking for a great tension-getter will find a lot to be pleased with here. It keeps you on the edge of your seat during the length and in the midst of the suspense, Zahn's performance should keep you smiling.

Adam's Rating: * * * *  out of 5 Reviewed by Adam Eshack  1/26/02