Movie Review: JOYRIDE

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: December 23rd, 2022 / 04:25 PM

JOYRIDE Movie Poster | ©2022 Magnolia Pictures

Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Olivia Colman, Charlie Reid, Lochlann O’Mearáin
Writer: Ailbhe Keogan
Director: Emer Reynolds
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Release Date: December 23, 2022

JOYRIDE feels like the one of those amiable indie message movies that used to pop up all the time in the U.S. Even if (like this reviewer) one isn’t wild about said message, it’s gentle enough to be relatively inoffensive.

On the plus side, JOYRIDE has the terrific Olivia Colman and the very adept young Charlie Reid as its leads, plus beautiful Irish countryside. It also has the virtue of never hitting its jokes too hard.

On the less than plus side, the film relies on coincidence and rambles more than is good for it. It also has more secrets than surprises.

After seeing a woman and her little boy frolicking at the seaside, we pull back to see that this is a projected video. We’re in an Irish pub, where a hospice fundraiser is being held to honor the late Rita (Elaine Kennedy).

Rita’s pre-teen son Mully (Reid) and his father James (Lochlann O’Mearáin) are in attendance. Despite his young age, Mully works at the pub, singing “Minnie the Moocher” for the patrons.

For his part, James is a moocher, and not the kind with a heart as big as a whale. James steals the hospice funds. Appalled, Mully grabs the cash, runs, and winds up ducking into the open door of a running taxi. To avoid James, Mully steps on the gas – and partway down the road, finds he has passengers.

These would be cranky Joy (Coleman) and her week-old baby daughter. Joy is determined to get to a town a few hours up the road. When she sees how good Mully is with the baby – he lives with his single-mom sister and takes care of his infant niece – Joy offers not to press kidnapping charges if he’ll drive her to her destination.

But circumstances complicate the journey. Mully has strong opinions on what Joy should and shouldn’t do; Joy has her own views on Mully’s situation. As soon as it becomes clear what’s going on, we can guess a lot of what’s going to happen eventually.

Ailbhe Keogan’s script does throw in some distinctive details, which serve the actors well, and which director Emer Reynolds enlivens with shot compositions. An especially effective bit is a mummers’ parade in a seaside town, with mythic figures cavorting in the sunlight.

JOYRIDE works well enough, thanks largely to Colman and Reid. But its avoidance of specifics and the way its tone lets us know where it’s going mean it’s not very memorable, either.

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A gentle and slow-paced Irish dramedy

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