Aahana Swrup
In the Prime Video romance drama film ‘Tyler Perry’s Finding Joy,’ an unexpected love story unravels against the backdrop of a disastrous holiday season. Joy, an overworked and underappreciated fashion designer based in New York, drives the story as the protagonist. After sporting a long, bad luck in love, the woman hedges all her bets on her new, snail-paced relationship with Colton. Therefore, she jumps at the opportunity when he invites her to his family’s place in Colorado for Christmas. Yet, as it turns out, she has only made the trip to be scathingly let down.
As a result, the young woman makes the ill-advised decision to rent a car and drive away in the middle of a snowstorm. Luckily, Joy is saved from the prospect of being stranded in the middle of ice-bound nowhere when a kind but reclusive man rescues her and allows her shelter in his unplugged, remote cabin. Initially, both individuals get off on the wrong foot, too guarded in their own vulnerabilities to open up to the other one. However, as they’re forced to spend more and more time together, their luck begins to look up. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Joy and Ridge Have an Icy Meet-Cute
Joy’s trip to Colorado proves to be one disaster after another. Initially, when she flies into Ouray County, she’s expecting to meet Colton’s family and maybe even put an official name to her situationship with the man. However, after arriving at his parents’ house, she quickly realizes she has had the wrong idea this entire time. As it turns out, Colton genuinely believes they are platonic best friends, which is why he wants her to be his “best girl” at his wedding to his fiancée, Heather. Naturally, Joy doesn’t react well to the realization that she has created a nonexistent romance in her head, which drives her to flee from Colton’s house by jumping through the guest room window. Afterward, when the upcoming snowstorm makes it impossible for her to find a plane ride back to New York, she decides to rent a car and drive out of the town. Inevitably, her GPS gives out, stranding her in the middle of nowhere.
It’s just Joy’s luck that she manages to stop in the middle of a frozen lake, which quickly gives way under the weight of her and the car. That could have been the tragic end for the fashion designer, if it weren’t for Ridge. Apparently, the latter, a cabin owner, finds the woman during his hunting rounds. After he saves her from the lake, he brings her back to his cabin. Although Joy is initially alarmed to wake up in a strange place, she eventually begins to realize she isn’t in any real danger and that her savior is a good and kind man, who is definitely not a serial killer. Even so, as the two realize they would have to wait out the snowstorm outside, neither makes an effort to lower their guards and bond with their inconvenient roommate. Ridge remains protective of his privacy, while Joy’s lack of outdoorsy skills constantly attracts new problems.
Joy and Ridge Bond Over Quilts and Liquors
A notable turning point arrives in Joy and Ridge’s relationship after the former manages to damage the latter’s beloved quilt in a misguided attempt to collect firewood. As with most of his belongings in the cabin, the owner is quick to annoyance at the incident. Nonetheless, things change when the fashion designer manages to repair the blanket, despite its complicated Native American stitching style. This forces Ridge to open up about the death of his mother, who created the quilt and gave it to her son before passing away. Since her death, the latter has had a difficult time around the holidays, especially given his estranged relationship with the rest of his family. However, the nail in the coffin arrives when Joy learns that she shares the same name as Ridge’s deceased mother. This further explains his guarded and distant demeanor around her.
Yet, in the face of the fixed-up quilt, Ridge has no choice but to entertain the idea that perhaps Joy was sent to him by the universe as a sign to encourage him against constantly running away from his problems. After the two bond about their familial past, with Joy revealing her experiences as a foster kid, some of the ice between them begins to melt. Afterward, Ridge digs out a bottle of whiskey from his supplies, and it becomes a routine of sorts for the two to drink and swap stories. A week passes like so, and the pair gets closer than ever. Eventually, they give in to the growing attraction between them and end up sleeping together. The next morning, the snow clears enough to grant them a hike to Ridge’s truck. Upon hearing Joy’s enthusiasm for returning to town, the latter grows insecure about the reality of their bond. This compels him to grow distant once again, allowing the woman to return to New York with her friends, Ashley and Littia, without so much as a goodbye.
Ridge and Joy Reconnect and Give Their Love a Fighting Chance
A month after the fiasco in Colorado, Joy and Ridge remain out of each other’s lives, mostly as a result of the latter’s making. For the most part, the fashion designer is more concerned with her dead-end job than her similarly doomed love life. Things worsen when Littia’s attempts to help only get her friend fired. For years, her boss, Pat-Treek, has been stealing her designs and branding them as his own. Although Littia’s well-intentioned e-mail proves the same, it also leads the company owner, Claiborne, to assume Joy had made the defaming claims against the label herself. Consequently, she promptly loses her job, accused of disloyalty. Things only get more frustrating when she returns home and finds Ridge at her front door. As it turns out, he had decided to take Joy’s advice, giving his father and brothers a second chance over the holidays.
Inevitably, they had advised Ridge to seek the woman out after easily figuring out his feelings for her. Despite the grand romantic gesture, Joy is reluctant to open herself up to the man, having already been burned by love too many times. Yet, one rousing, romantic speech makes her realize the reality of his feelings for him. Things begin to look up further in the aftermath when Claiborne calls her back to the office. In the hours since her firing, he has realized the error of his ways. For the same reason, he’s now offering her the position of head designer. When Joy expresses some hesitation, borne of a fear of failure, Ridge inspires her to follow her dreams, promising to support her through everything. In the end, Joy gets the job, and she marries the love of her life down the line.
Read More: Is Tyler Perry’s Finding Joy Based on a True Story?
