Joyride

I watched this movie because it starred Tobey Maguire. I read some comments and a review or two beforehand and as a consequence I expected it to be dire. However it wasn't, though it wasn't particularly good either. The performances were average, except for Benicio del Toro who was awful. The script definitely needed some work - there were a lot of loose ends dangling around that could have been tied together. Tobey Maguire is the lead actor, but towards the end of the film it seemed that his role tapered off in relevance to the story.The direction was flashy in a pointless sort of way. There were hardly any close ups used. I would recommend this film only really for die-hard Tobey Maguire fans as it is interesting to see him in a early role, before he got to work with first class directors of the likes of Ang Lee, Lasse Hallstrum and Woody Allen who he has obviously learned a llot from,since his performance in this film is a million miles away from his work in Spider-Man or Pleasantville or any of the other excellent films he has done in recent years.

First off, this is certainly not a "great" movie, however is is endearing. The quirky direction, style and simplicity makes this movie memorable and worth watching. It's just one of those movies that is just enough outside convention, yet manages to still be entertaining and purposeful. In "daring to be different", lies it's appeal, and shows that even with a low budget you can make a good movie, and you can have good actors driving it.

Tobey Maguire had to start somewhere before becoming Spiderman. His acting is quite good even if his aimless and clueless character makes no sense. Here's the plot: a motel owner's son hooks up with a hooker tenant, hangs out with his gay buddy (who seems to have a crush on him) and steals a car from an icy villainess assassin. Then a lot of other plot points occur that have nothing to do with each other. The first half is OK but then quickly disintegrates into this tangled non-sensical mess. Wilson Cruz does his best as Tobey's gay friend but his acting is too good for the amateurish script. Adam West as a father who pimps his daughter is an interesting stunt cast but who cares by the end. I bought the DVD for five bucks and paid about $4.79 too much.

This isn't award material. The dialog is pretty bad, and the story really doesn't go as far as it could have.

It is, however, a chance to see Tobey Maguire before he fell in love with Mary Jane. Here, he is all ga ga over Tanya (Amy Hathaway - "My Two Dads"), who is the first woman to show him her body.

You also get to see a young Benicio Del Toro, who played a detective trying to solve a murder.

I would have liked to see the character played by Christina Zilber beefed up. She was a hit-woman whose car they stole for a joyride.

Adam West, who was "Batman" in the 60s, played a pervy father that pimped out Tanya for blackmail.

Worth a watch for historical value.

The only reason to watch this movie is to see just how awful it is and how far Tobey Maguire and Benico Del Toro have come as actors. The script and dialoge are awful, and appear to be written by high school level talent. The premise is absurd and loaded with ridiculous sub plots to further waste viewers time. In short, three just out of high school kids tango with death so they can keep a car. Adam West is good for a laugh as some sort of pimp/daddy business man. If you're a collector of some sort and want this film, the good news is you should be able to get it for about three bucks at any Target or WalMart style store. However, I certainly don't bother messing with this one.