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IMDbPro

Joyride

  • 1977
  • R
  • 1h 32m
IMDb RATING
5.7/10
580
YOUR RATING
Melanie Griffith, Robert Carradine, Desi Arnaz Jr., and Anne Lockhart in Joyride (1977)
Three teenagers leave Los Angeles and drive north to Alaska, wind up robbing a pipeline and taking one of the employees hostage.
Play trailer2:12
1 Video
20 Photos
AdventureComedyCrimeDramaRomance

Three teenagers leave Los Angeles and drive north to Alaska, wind up robbing a pipeline and taking one of the employees hostage.Three teenagers leave Los Angeles and drive north to Alaska, wind up robbing a pipeline and taking one of the employees hostage.Three teenagers leave Los Angeles and drive north to Alaska, wind up robbing a pipeline and taking one of the employees hostage.

  • Director
    • Joseph Ruben
  • Writers
    • Joseph Ruben
    • Peter Rainer
  • Stars
    • Desi Arnaz Jr.
    • Robert Carradine
    • Melanie Griffith
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.7/10
    580
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Joseph Ruben
    • Writers
      • Joseph Ruben
      • Peter Rainer
    • Stars
      • Desi Arnaz Jr.
      • Robert Carradine
      • Melanie Griffith
    • 15User reviews
    • 10Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:12
    Official Trailer

    Photos20

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    Top cast41

    Edit
    Desi Arnaz Jr.
    Desi Arnaz Jr.
    • Scott
    Robert Carradine
    Robert Carradine
    • John
    Melanie Griffith
    Melanie Griffith
    • Susie
    Anne Lockhart
    Anne Lockhart
    • Cindy Young
    Tom Ligon
    Tom Ligon
    • Sanders
    Cliff Lenz
    • Henderson
    Robert Loper
    • Simon Williams
    Diana Grayf
    • Rhonda
    Diane O'Mack
    • Debbie
    Susan Ludlow
    • Personnel Lady
    Ted D'Arms
    • Site Manager
    Gail Rosella
    • Cashier
    Richard Mazzola
    • Car Salesman
    Michael O'Neill
    • Henderson's Assistant
    Duncan Maclean
    • Diner Owner
    Richard Riehle
    Richard Riehle
    • Bartender
    Richard Tietjen
    • Sam
    Paul Fleming
    • Big Ed
    • Director
      • Joseph Ruben
    • Writers
      • Joseph Ruben
      • Peter Rainer
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews15

    5.7580
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    Featured reviews

    4doorbomb62

    Nepotistic smörgåsbord is aimless, dull, and boring.

    Nothing to see here in this poor attempt at a car chase/on-the-lamb drama, which plays more like a wannabe produced by Columbia Picture's heir Bruce Curtis, and starring 4 children of Hollywood stars. Dezi Arnaz Jr., Robert Carradine, Melanie Griffith, and Anne Lockhart. Film has a run-of-the-mill opening with catchy Electric Light Orchestra tunes introducing us to the uneventful lives of some 3 uninteresting late teen/early 20 somethings longing for something more (Arnaz Jr. Carradine, Griffith). They hatch a rather vague plan to head north to Alaska, something about owning a fishing boat. After landing less-than-desirable blue collar jobs in the cold North, these three upset the wrong people and end up on the lamb with an employee of the top corporation around (Lockhart...the only interesting cast member/character). The film flies south from it's already low standing by this point and there is never an absolution to what these brats want, nor is there any tact in how they go about trying to achieve it. The writing is terribly unmemorable, and the story is never completely clear. Director Ruben has no style in how he captures this uneventful series of even more so pedestrian events. Producer Curtis pulls out all the stops to deliver a product with car chases, sex, drugs, and rock n roll. SNORE. It is simply an afterthought cocktail of left-over iconographic elements which fit so awkwardly into it's own bowl of dry, tasteless crumbs. PASS.
    Lechuguilla

    Free-Spirited Adventure

    Two guys and a girl, all apparently in their early twenties, leave their dreary jobs in the lower forty-eight and head north to Alaska in their hearse, in search of adventure and freedom from "the system". It's a weak script. The main characters are shallow and rather generic. We never learn enough about their back-stories to empathize with them.

    The plot trends repetitive and aimless. Some of the sex scenes seem gratuitous, and included to extend the runtime. I couldn't find much of a theme, apart from the obvious idea that youthful dreams, sans pragmatism, lead nowhere but to disappointment. Much of the script's dialogue is too on-the-nose.

    Color cinematography is conventional. There's a tendency toward dull, grayish, dreary visuals, which is fine, given the geographic setting. Casting is acceptable, except for Melanie Griffith, whose childish face and extremely weak voice seem out of place. Overall acting is below average. Probably the best element is the music of Electric Light Orchestra.

    "Joyride" looks and feels very much like a 1970s film, with its emphasis on free-spirited youth and cheap visuals. It's not an awful film. It's just that the story lacks substance.
    5moviemystic

    The music took the joy out of this ride!

    Hey, it's Joyride, starring the son of Desi Arnaz, a son of John Carradine, and the wife of Antonio Banderas!

    Well, these wacky kids could sure pull crimes and escape local bar patrons, business owners and the police with ease, alright

    But there was always ONE horrible thing they could NEVER escape from:

    All that lousy ELO music!!!

    Yes, regardless of what state they drove to, what restaurant, bar or car radio that played music, mainly only ONE thing kept blaring out of those poor little speakers:

    ELO! ELO! ELO!

    Now THAT was some scary stuff!
    galleon

    Poor video version of dark road-picture flick of 70's teens seeking a better life.

    This is a difficult video to find which is just as well. I had searched for 15 years wanting to view the film I saw in 1977 with a soundtrack from ELO (Electric Light Orchestra). When I recently found a video store that specializes in obscure videos, I rented it and Vestron Video (now out of business) had released this road-pic as "Joyride-special video edition"...now that sounded to me like it was going to better than the original. What it meant was that they had removed all of the ELO music from the soundtrack, then cheaply dubbed a new soundtrack. The story in a word is boring. It would only be worth renting if (like me) you wanted to hear the ELO soundtrack again. It was interesting to see Melanie Griffith and Robert Carradine in their younger days. The clerk at the video store said this title hadn't been rented in five years!

    HOWEVER, a few years later....I have found a copy of the video (thanks to ebay)that was intact with the ORIGINAL soundtrack as released on video in the U.K. Seeing the movie again with its original soundtrack made it a pleasure.
    10SpumoniBiscotti

    Undiscovered Cult Classic

    "Joyride" captures the malaise of the 70's so much better than many films of the era. Think of it as a perfect antidote to "Saturday Night Fever" on many levels. Watch for the Pacific Northwest cinematic quirkiness that comes through later in everything from "Twin Peaks" to "Napoleon Dynamite" and many more. There are many northwest talents that went on to other endeavors in this movie as well - surprising it has not been celebrated a bit more for that. I recommend it highly to college sociology students and Melanie Griffith groupies (get a life!). Truth be told, I've always held a candle for Anne Lockhart. We could have been very happy together, the restraining order was so uncool. Psyche! She's great.

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    Related interests

    Still frame
    Adventure
    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Sharon Angela, Max Casella, Dan Grimaldi, Joe Perrino, Donna Pescow, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Michael Drayer in The Sopranos (1999)
    Crime
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
    Romance

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      All 4 main actors are children of famous parents. Anne Lockhart - June Lockhart, Desi Arnaz Jr. - Desi Arnaz & Lucille Ball, Robert Carradine - John Carradine, Melanie Griffith - Tippi Hedren.
    • Goofs
      The surveillance camera in the pawn shop is in the upper corner of the room yet the still shot of John distributed to law enforcement is shot from waist level.
    • Alternate versions
      All home video releases have an alternate soundtrack which replaces the music originally composed for the theatrical release by Electric Light Orchestra.
    • Connections
      Featured in Trailer Trauma V: 70s Action Attack! (2020)
    • Soundtracks
      Showdown
      Written by Jeff Lynne

      Performed by Electric Light Orchestra

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    FAQ14

    • How long is Joyride?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 1977 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Joyride - Ein gefährlicher Trip
    • Filming locations
      • Roslyn, Washington, USA
    • Production companies
      • Landers-Roberts Productions
      • Joyride Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 32m(92 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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