Joy Ride (5 Stars)

Today is the fourth time I've watched this film since I started my blog, but it's the first time I've given it a five star rating. I wanted to give it four and a half stars, as I did in the past, but then I asked myself what's wrong with it that justifies deducting half a star. The answer is nothing.

This film, directed by J. J. Abrams, is a story of road rage, driven to the extreme. The brothers Lewis and Fuller Thomas play a trick on a trucker with their CB Radio. Lewis pretends to be a woman and flirts with the anonymous trucker. The problem is that the anonymity only goes one way. They don't know who he is, but he knows who they are. He's observing their car on the road.

Paul Walker made this film in 2001, the same year as "Fast & Furious", but he looks much younger. It's all a question of the make up. He was 27 when he made the film, but he was supposed to be a college student, so a few years were shaved off his appearance.

Leelee Sobieski is beautiful, isn't she? Her age goes in the opposite direction. She was only 17 when she made the film, but she's also a college student, the same age as Lewis, so they're probably both supposed to be about 20.

As a horror film with elements of a road movie, this film is brilliant. It's truly terrifying. At the halfway mark it seems like the story is over, but the suspense quickly builds up again. The anonymous trucker tells them (via CB radio) that he's had his fun and he'll leave them alone. Maybe he really meant it. Maybe he just wanted to lull the Thomas brothers into a sense of false security. Whichever was the case, the worst was still yet to come.

I ought to listen to J. J. Abrams' commentary track. He obviously wasn't sure where he wanted to go with the film. There are three alternate endings on the disc, and one of them is 29 minutes long. They're all worth watching, but I think that the ending that he finally chose is the best one.

The film is now out of print on DVD and Blu-ray. That's tragic. It's worth looking for a copy on Ebay.

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