![[box cover]](../../reviewimgs/j/joyride96.jpg)
Joyride (1996)
It's official that Tobey Maguire is a Big Frickin' Star when the Z-movie crap that Hollywood's Spider-Man made years ago resurfaces on home video with his name prominently emblazoned across the cover art. And in 1996's Joyride, no less, Maguire's star appeal eclipses that of both Oscar-winner Benicio Del Toro and cult favorite Adam West, both of whom also appear in this marginal slackers-with-guns effort and yet didn't even get their names on the front of the box. Maguire plays J.T., a listless hotel clerk in a buttwater town with his eye on the foxy young blonde, Tanya (Amy Hathaway), accepting gentleman callers in room #8. However, he also has his eye on the cool ride belonging to the no-nonsense chick (Christina Naify) in room #7, and in a moment of ill-informed carpe diem, Maguire loads the blonde — and his killjoy friend (Wilson Cruz) — into her convertible and takes off for a night on the town. Naturally, what follows is mayhem and murder, but there's little distinction beyond Maguire's lazy charm and Hathaway's striking beauty. It's not the worst specimen of this prolific straight-to-video genre, but it never tries hard enough to crack the top 1,000. Also with Barry Corbin. Artisan's DVD offers a full-frame transfer and Dolby 2.0 Surround audio. Keep-case.
—Gregory P. Dorr
