Tyler Perry is putting his spin on the classic holiday movie genre with his latest rom-com, “Finding Joy.”
The movie, now streaming on Prime Video, follows the unlikely love story of Joy and Ridge, played by Shannon Thornton and Tosin Morohunfola. The plot centers on Joy (Thornton), a New York-based fashion designer, who is overlooked at work. With the encouragement of her friends, Ashley (Brittany S. Hall) and Littia (Inayah), Joy, a hopeless romantic, follows her crush, Colton (Aaron O’Connell), to Colorado to meet his family — under the impression that the trip will take their relationship to the next level. But upon arrival, Joy quickly gets friend-zoned when her crush reveals he has a fiancée. Joy attempts to book a flight back to the city, but finds herself stranded in the middle of a snowstorm and suffers a near-fatal car crash. Ridge (Morohunfola) not only saves her life but also reshapes her outlook on everything — especially, love.
But “Finding Joy” isn’t your typical Hallmark-esque film where a successful single woman from the city adopts a newfound appreciation for Christmas in a small town after falling for a handsome, local man. Instead, the film separates itself from the genre’s cheesier elements by inviting audiences on a heartfelt journey that explores the true meaning of love, resilience and personal growth found in unexpected circumstances. Plus, Perry puts an emphasis on spotlighting Black love.
“It’s Black,” Thornton tells Variety, emphasizing what makes this story unique. “It’s the Black experience. It’s how we actually talk to each other.”
Over the years, audiences have critiqued Perry for perpetuating negative stereotypes and centering Black women in limited storylines that are mired in struggle, hardships and trauma. However, “Finding Joy” veers away from those tropes and combines themes of grief, heartbreak and sisterhood to highlight hope, healing and the transformative power of love.
“I love that it’s just unexpected, and they’re kind of just going with what they feel, and not really playing games,” Thornton says. “They’re forced together in almost unnatural circumstances, and they just came together in a beautiful and unexpected way. It’s a really nice, really adorable way to show Black love on screen.”
Shannon Thornton, Inayah, Brittany S. Hall in “Finding Joy.”
Chip Bergmann/Prime
Working with Perry was an adventure all its own. While it wasn’t Thornton’s first time taking part in one of Perry’s productions — she was a supporting player in his Netflix movie “Mea Culpa” — it was both the actors’ first time as his main stars.
“He welcomed me with open arms,” Morohunfola says about meeting Perry for the first time. “He empowered me to feel like I could make the character my own and also honor his vision at the same time. I knew I was in good hands.”
Perry’s famously fast production schedule took some getting used to, though. “Finding Joy” was shot in just five days, so the pressure was on.
“It was a fun and exciting challenge for me as an actor,” Thornton says. “I’m like, ‘What can I do if I had this amount of time and not be reliant on so many takes?’ I’m really happy with what I did given the amount of time I had.”
But Thornton can’t take all the credit for memorizing the script so quickly; Perry had a group of readers on set who helped run lines. “I wasn’t sure I could do it, or if I was capable of memorizing so much in a short amount of time, but I did it,” she adds. “As an actor, I was able to make very honest choices and still be fully in it, and have little moments of nuance.”
Aaron O’Connell and Shannon Thornton in “Finding Joy.”
Chip Bergmann/Prime
Audiences might recognize Thornton as Keyshawn from the Starz series “P-Valley.” But her role on the ensemble drama didn’t compare to what stepping into her first leading film role required, and she battled instances of “imposter syndrome” and “self-doubt.”
“I had a little bit of experience while shooting ‘P-Valley’ Season 2, when Keyshawn gets her own episode. I got that little feeling in my belly like, ‘Can I do this? Am I capable of carrying something like this on my own?’” Thornton says of preparing for the part. “It’s the little moments of doubting yourself. And you have to say, ‘I deserve to be here. I’m going to receive all of these great things coming my way. I’m absolutely capable.’ That’s when the training comes in, and all the hard work that you put in for years leading up to this moment.”
That’s one of the ways Thornton resonated with Joy, whose pursuit of launching her own fashion line resembled Thornton’s journey as an actor. (Thornton lived in New York for 11 years, trying to get her big break.) “That’s how I can relate to her,” Thornton says of sharing a similar backstory with the character. “The hustle of having something to do and somewhere to be as soon as you wake up. The discomfort of your situation being the catalyst that gets you going.”
Similarly, Morohunfola also identified with Ridge’s country upbringing — raised in Greensburg, Kan., Morohunfola’s was the only Black family in the small, rural town — but what resonated most was the love story unfolding between the two characters.
“That happens all the time: people whom you don’t think that you’re supposed to be connected to, somehow you feel a connection with, and they unlock something in you that you never knew needed to be unlocked. That’s as human as could be,” he explains. “I’ve experienced that in the past. The best part of life is the magic of love in unexpected places.”
Morohunfola admits he isn’t the biggest fan of holiday movies, but when he first read the script for “Finding Joy,” Ridge’s range of emotions stood out.
“Not every holiday movie has depth, and that’s something that drew me to this one,” he explains. “When I saw Ridge, I immediately saw somebody more than two-dimensional. On the outside, he has a rough exterior, but underneath that, you’ve got a vulnerable, loving and caring person who needs the help of the right person to bring that out.”
He adds: “I always look for characters with layers that remind me of men that I’ve seen in my life and can identify with. There are a lot of people walking around with pain that makes them seem tough on the outside, but they’re capable of love like anybody else.”
Morohunfola hopes that audiences will come away from the film having learned something about love.
“This film does a good job of depicting how love doesn’t care about those boundaries,” Morohunfola says. “Joy thinks she’s high class and above Ridge as a city girl. Ridge is a rural, country boy who doesn’t care for social media or any basic modernity. But it doesn’t matter how different they are culturally, because what brings them together is stronger than any of that.”
Shannon Thornton in “Finding Joy.”