Film

Joyride

Name: Joyride
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Thriller
Released: 1997
Cast: Tobey Maguire, Amy Hathaway, Wilson Cruz, Christina Zilber, Adam West

Other titles called Joyride: the 2022 film.

A bored motel clerk steals a car for a joyride and discovers a fresh corpse in the trunk—and the vehicle belongs to a professional assassin. This 1997 thriller pitches dark comedy against escalating danger, riding the line between indie quirk and genuine menace. It's for viewers who like their crime stories weird and their heroes reluctant.

TMDb rating

2.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like crime capers where a small, sweaty mistake snowballs and the comedy curdles into real menace, and you enjoy watching a likable loser try to talk his way out of it.

Skip it if the tone swings between farce and nastiness, and if that tonal whiplash grates, the sudden turns toward violence will feel jarring rather than clever.

What it asks of you: A brisk ninety-three minutes with a tight plot that rewards attention; the mood moves from loose and goofy to tense and grim, so stay with it.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Fargo1996

The Coen Brothers balance brutal crime with Midwestern understatement and dark humour. Two criminals out of their depth trigger chaos they can't control, much like Joyride's spiralling protagonist.

But It's slower and more deliberate in its pacing. If you want nonstop momentum, you'll find stretches that breathe too much.

Kalifornia1993

A road movie where ordinary people get pulled into a killer's orbit. David Duchovny and Brad Pitt navigate moral quicksand while the landscape darkens around them—same queasy energy.

But It's bleaker and less fun than Joyride. The comedy drains away; by the end, it's all dread.

Bottle Rocket1996

Wes Anderson's debut follows small-time criminals with more charm than competence. Two buddies stumble through crime like tourists, creating tension and comedy from sheer wrongness.

But It's deliberately offbeat and mannered. If you prefer your thrillers grounded and conventional, this artificial quirk will feel affected.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Joyride

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Eating Raoul1982

Both trap ordinary people in escalating criminal situations through accident, not ambition. The moral vertigo comes from watching sympathetic characters become complicit.

A repressed married couple murders eccentric intruders and discovers a side business. It's a horror-comedy about ordinary people crossing a moral line, shot with documentary naturalism. Darkly funny in ways that feel dangerous.

But It's genuinely trashy and deliberately cheap-looking. The tone is willfully weird and the plot sounds ridiculous—it's an acquired taste, not a crowd-pleaser.

Pulp Fiction1994

Tarantino's crime stories loop and digress, mixing hitmen, boxers, and adrenaline shots into something that feels both comic and lethal. The tonal whiplash is the point.

But It's long, fragmented, and self-consciously clever. Some scenes feel like indulgences; the pleasure is not immediate.

Out of Sight1998

Soderbergh and Leonard spin a con between a bank robber and a federal agent into something stylish and funny. The chemistry and the reversals keep you off-balance.

But The plot is intricate enough to demand attention. Look away and you'll miss the setup for the next twist.

Blood Simple1985

The Coens' debut. A simple job in a Texas motel balloons into a chain of misunderstandings and murder. Paranoia and dark comedy collide in a debut that redefined American noir.

But It's Texas-slow and visually austere. Modern audiences used to quicker cuts and exposition sometimes find it tedious at first.

After Dark, My Sweet1990

Jason Patric drifts into a kidnapping plot with a woman and her partner. It's a forgotten 90s gem: seedy motels, moral slipperiness, and the feeling that everyone's about to lose.

But It's not well-known and shows its low budget. Visibility is limited and the pacing is uneven.

Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead1995

A crime crew assembles for one last job. The film weaves multiple timelines and characters into something funny and tragic. It feels like a comic book for adults.

But The structure is busy and the tone shifts can feel disjointed. It wants to be clever more than it wants to be clear.

Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead poster

Very Bad Things1998

A bachelor party gone wrong in Vegas spirals into blackmail and murder. Jon Favreau's dark satire about white-collar men descending into savagery has real bite and nervous laughter.

But It's aggressively cynical and mean-spirited. The misanthropy is the point, but it can feel exhausting and bleak.

The Long Good Friday1980

Both follow a protagonist realizing they've entered a game run by professionals. The difference: Hoskins knows the rules and is losing anyway. Same dawning horror, different trajectories.

Bob Hoskins as a London crime boss watches his empire unravel in a single day. It's taut, funny, occasionally brutal, with the claustrophobia of a man losing control while the walls close in.

But It's very British and assumes some knowledge of Irish-British politics. The accent is thick and the cultural references are local.

After Hours1985

Both films trap their heroes in a darkening night where they cannot escape and cannot call the police. The difference: Scorsese makes it Kafkaesque and surreal; Joyride keeps it grounded in pulp. Same structural cage, opposite registers.

Scorsese's only comedy. A man leaves his apartment for a night in SoHo and enters a Kafkaesque fever dream where every stranger is hostile and every choice backfires. Paranoia as slapstick.

But It's deliberately nightmarish and hostile to its protagonist. If you want catharsis or resolution, you won't get it. The mood is exhaustion and dread.