Finding Joy (2025) [Movie Review] — A holiday-tinged rom-com that never quite finds its spark

Tyler Perry’s Finding Joy (now streaming on Amazon Prime Video) sets up a predictable holiday-romance template — a city woman lost in a Colorado blizzard, unexpected cabin refuge, and a potential second chance at love — but the film’s production shortcuts and limp screenplay make it feel like a string of missed opportunities rather than a comforting seasonal escape.

Premise & Plot

Joy gets literally and figuratively off course

Shannon Thornton plays Joy, a fashion designer whose work is co-opted by an opportunistic boss. After a humiliating discovery — her boyfriend Colton (Aaron O’Connell) has secretly been engaged and intended her to be a bridesmaid-stand-in — she flees into a blizzard. Stranded, she is rescued by Ridge (Tosin Morohunfola), a brooding woodsman who takes her to his log cabin. The set pieces (ice, falling through thin ice, cabin life) are all in place, but the story that unfolds between Joy and Ridge is oddly paced and often tonally uncertain.

Performances

Solid turns in a sinking ship

Shannon Thornton brings warmth and a grounded presence to Joy, and Tosin Morohunfola’s Ridge has genuine chemistry on paper — when the script allows it. The supporting trio of friends, led by Inayah and Brittany S. Hall, supply the film’s liveliest moments, offering comic relief and loyalty. Eric Stanton Betts’s office rival/antagonist fills the predictable role of the exploitative boss, but the characters rarely get the arcs they deserve.

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Direction & Tone

Too many genres, too little focus

Perry’s hand is all over the film — from casting to pacing — but this is one of his quieter, more disjointed outings. The movie flirts with comedy, romance, and drama without committing to any, and the result is a tonal wobble: jokes land inconsistently, romantic beats feel muted, and dramatic revelations are undercut by clumsy editing. Production values occasionally read low-budget (snow effects and sparse set dressing), which undercuts the cozy holiday atmosphere the film aims for.

Humor, Romance & Chemistry

Moments, not momentum

There are small, occasionally funny beats — chiefly from the friends — and a few tender exchanges between the leads. But the film takes too long to reach emotional payoffs, and when intimate moments arrive, they lack heat or emotional payoff. Scenes meant to be charming or sexy register as flat because the screenplay relies on clichés rather than building believable emotional stakes.

Verdict

Stream if you’re a completist; skip if you want a satisfying rom-com

Finding Joy is watchable in short sittings: Thornton’s performance and the supporting trio keep it afloat. Yet the film ultimately feels like a middling holiday special dressed up as a feature film — promising premise, thinly realized. For viewers craving a crisp, heartwarming rom-com, this one falls short; for fans of Perry’s prolific output or of the cast, it offers a few small pleasures.

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Bottom Line — Stream It Or Skip It?

Skip it, unless you’re curious about Shannon Thornton or collecting Tyler Perry titles

Rating: ★★⯪☆☆ (2.5/5) — charm and effort exist here, but they’re buried under a rushed, unfocused production and a screenplay that needed more polishing.