Joy Ride (3 Stars)

This film is called "Road Kill" in England, which is a better choice than the original title.

Lewis Thomas, a young college student in New Jersey, drives to Colorado to meet a high school crush of his, Venna, when he hears that she's broken up with her boyfriend. On the way he takes a detour to Salt Lake City to bail his brother Fuller from jail, who's been arrested for being drunk and disorderly. With a CB Radio that they've purchased to get help avoiding speed cameras they play a prank on a truck driver with the handle Rusty Nail. Unfortunately the truck driver is a deranged murderer who pursues the two boys from state to state. They think they're free after escaping him, but after picking up Venna he appears again.

I have problems with this film. Considering the screenplay is by J. J. Abrams it ought to be a masterpiece. In fact, most of the reviews I've read rate it highly, and it was a box office success in 2001. Somehow it just didn't grip me. As a horror film it didn't make me jump in my seat. I felt disappointed when the truck driver had the chance to kill the two boys and then released them. The only thing that really lifted the film was Leelee Sobieski's outstanding performance as Venna. Yes, Leelee is my favorite actress, as my regular readers will already know. She's almost 30, isn't it time for her big breakthrough?