Finding Joy

Plot

Joy lives and works in New York City for verbally abusive fashion designer Pat-Treek, who steals her designs. Her friends Ashley and Littia are supportive, while she insists it is common practice. Ashley and Littia are unsure of Colton, a man in Joy's life with whom she has an ambiguous relationship, he treats her like a friend but Joy believes they have something more.

After a show, Colton invites Joy to join him to Colorado to meet his parents, to ask her an important question there. Expecting a proposal, she agrees to go. While Ashley prefers to be cautiously optimistic for her, Littia fears she will get hurt.

Colton and his dad pick Joy up at the airport. At their home, she meets his mom and Heather, whom she assumes is his sister. Upon entering, Colton asks Joy to be his "best woman", while Heather videos. Seeing decorations for an upcoming engagement party, she realises he and Heather are newly engaged. Shocked and humiliated, Joy feigns exhaustion, asking to rest.

Calling Ashley and Littia, Joy announces she must leave immediately. Sneaking out her second floor window, she finds her way to the airport. However, all planes are grounded for some days, due to an incoming, record-setting snowstorm. Joy rents a car not suitable for the coming weather, despite the agent’s warnings.

After driving briefly, Joy becomes lost, inadvertently stopping over a frozen lake. She gets out of the car to catch a signal on her phone. However, both she and the car plunge through the ice and she loses consciousness.

Joy awakens unclothed under a blanket in a small hunting cabin with a man. Assuming she has been abducted, she runs outside screaming for help, but the cabin is miles from anyone else. The man, Ridge Philips, endeavors to nurse Joy back to health after her exposure. Ridge recounts she unkowingly drove onto a partially frozen lake. She thanks him, realizing he risked his life to save hers.

Back in New York, Ashley is worried about Joy's phone not being trackable, unaware it is at the bottom of the lake. Back at Ridge's cabin, Ridge has given Joy fresh clothes. He does not reveal who the woman in the photo on the mantelpiece is.

At Colton's parents', Colton and Heather do not worry about Joy after reading her text. Meanwhile at Ridge's, Joy struggles to adjust staying there: Ridge eats mostly what he can kill and she is a vegan. She also initially resists using the outhouse. Ridge promises to drive Joy to town once the storm passes, which could be up to a week.

Joy offends Ridge, calling him "weird". He then disappears to hunt, as they are short on food. Later, Ridge finally reveals his mother, who loved the cabin, died two years ago, and the clothes on Joy were hers. She later unintentionally tears her quilt while getting firewood. However, Joy later mends it perfectly. Ridge tells her the quilt was a gift from his mother, then shows her its tag, which reads "To Ridge From Joy", a Navajo friend of his mother. He apologizes, explaining the holidays are hard because his mom died just before Christmas.

Joy and Ridge get drunk together, sharing more about themselves. She reveals she came to Colorado for Colton, whom Ridge knows. He is estranged from his family as his father remarried soon after his mom's death, which his brothers accepted. Now understanding each other, they become attracted and sleep together.

Meanwhile, Ashley and Littia contact Colton and his family as well as the Ouray police to locate Joy, who has now been missing for a week. Colton assures them the sheriff will help once the storm breaks.

The sky finally clears, and Ridge tells Joy they should be able to get back to town. Joy's reaction upsets Ridge, who interprets her excitement to leave as casting him aside. Hiking down the mountain, they meet the sheriff, Colton, Heather, Ashley, and Littia. They part without saying goodbye.

A month later, Joy is back at her New York job, but is fired when her boss Claiborne receives an email accusing them of ignoring black designers. As evidence, the email contains the original sketches for some of Pat-Treek's "work" as they were created years ago at Joy's college. At home, Joy feels life was better with Ridge. He shows up at her door with flowers. Ridge's family, after reconciling, urged him to find her. Still upset over her job, she tries to brush Ridge off. but he insists she listen. He has not stopped thinking about her since she left, professing his love. Telling her he is flying home tomorrow, before he can leave, Joy kisses him and they reconcile. They agree to return to Colorado together.

On their way out of town, Joy receives a phone call asking her to return to the office. Claiborne has seen further proof Pat-Treek was passing off her work as his. He fires Pat-Treek, renaming the clothing line after Joy. She initially turns it down, but Ridge convinces her to pursue her dream, to not have regrets. They will marry, living between New York and Colorado.

Joy returns to Claiborne's office, accepting the offer only if everyone receives better treatment. Later, Joy and Ridge get married in a boat house beside a Colorado lake.

Cast

Shannon Thornton as Joy

Tosin Morohunfola as Ridge

Brittany S. Hall as Ashley

Inayah as Littia

Aaron O'Connell as Colton

Eric Stanton Betts as Pat-Treek

Jeffery Thomas Johnson as David

A.J. Tannen as Claiborne

Natalie O'Connell as Heather

Whitney Goin as Wynona

Hugh B. Holub as Sheriff Jackson

Production

In February 2024, it was announced that filming had wrapped with Tyler Perry writing and directing a new movie that was previously titled Joy Ridge with Shannon Thornton and more were added to the cast.

Release

The film was released on November 5, 2025.