Paxy

The Summary as it appears in January of 2026 — influential to anyone considering whether to watch Joyride — brought back the old dread of writing a pop quiz on a book you haven’t read. Even the basic facts in the summary are wrong. Is it “predictable?” It isn’t a mystery or thriller so, yeah, I understood the structure going in. What kept me engrossed from beginning to end was how a fine and funny script in the hands of the right director working with an extraordinarily talented cast, at every turn defied any structural predictability with dark humour and an avoidance of maudlin sentimentality. After decades of watching Hollywood films, I have an expectation of how a scene will go; I’m happy to say, while watching Joyride, I usually got it wrong. This is a character-driven film. Watching Colman and Reid spar was all the action I needed.