The coming-of-age genre has been vastly explored by twenty-first-century filmmakers. Yet, there is always something special about each of the genre films, at least most of them. The newest addition to the genre is the British-Irish comedy “Joyride,” directed by Emmer Reynolds.
Reynolds is known for her work in documentary filmmaking, particularly for films like “The Farthest” and “Here was Cuba.” Along with direction, she works as an editor and has won awards for both. Joyride, of course, is much different from her previous work, but it has a fascinating premise; and a big name in the form of Olivia Coleman.
In the center of Joyride, there are two main characters, a thirteen-year-old boy named Mully, who has just lost his mother, and a solicitor named Joy, who just had a baby. Two completely unrelated people have a chance encounter, as fate would have it, and from there on, they take on a road trip. Eventually, a bond is forged between the young teen who just lost his mother and this woman who becomes a mother figure to him. The one and half hour movie are filled with twists and turns and ample amounts of drama. Most essentially, it is the coming-of-age of both of these characters, riddled with tricky life situations.
With Coleman in the cast, the film is supposed to get enough attention from critics and the audience. The already legendary actress, whose recent work consists of Netflix’s “Heartstopper” and Sam Mendes’s award contender “Empire of the Light,” is expectedly getting rave reviews for her performance in “Joyride” as well, unsurprisingly.
However, the same can’t be said for the movie, as the critics haven’t been kind to the movie overall. Despite her skill in documentary filmmaking, Reynolds couldn’t pull it off when it came to feature filmmaking. Most of the reviews labeled the movie as something strictly average, and the only redeeming factor about it is Coleman’s performance. In fact, the actress actually makes it watchable. Currently, it stands at a pretty dismal score of 45% based on 33 reviews on the Rotten Tomatoes website.
Joyride Cast:
Along with Coleman, young Charlie Read has been cast as Mully.
Irish actor Lochlann Ó Mearáin whose credits include television series like “Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog,” “Vikings” and “Outlanders,” is playing Mully’s dad.
Rounding off the supporting cast are Evan Doody and Rory O’Connor, both of whom are playing footballers.
WHERE TO WATCH AND STREAM ‘JOYRIDE’ ONLINE?
After premiering in the Galway Film Fleadh back in July 2022, Joyride was released in the UK in the same month. Magnolia Pictures acquired the distribution rights and released it in US theatres on December 23, 2022. Right now, the only way to watch the movie is in a movie theatre. Head over to Fandango to book tickets.
As far as streaming is concerned, none of the OTTs have picked it up. However, since Magnolia Pictures usually stream their titles on both Hulu and Netflix, you can expect it to come there soon enough. As of now, you can watch the movie online via VOD services like iTunes, Amazon, and VUDU, along with Magnolia Pictures’ very own VOD service Magnolia Selects.