Follows four Asian-American friends as they bond and discover the truth of what it means to know and love who you are while they travel through Asia in search of one of their birth mothers.
Audrey (Ashley Park) and Lolo (Sherry Cola) have been best friends since childhood. Audrey is an overachiever, while Lolo is a slacker. Audrey becomes a lawyer and is sent on a business trip to China to seal a deal with a hotshot client. She takes Lolo as her translator, taking her cousin Deadeye (Sabrina Wu). They also meet up with Audrey’s college friend, an actress, Kat (Stephanie Hsu). However, the trip quickly goes sideways.
“Joy Ride” is reminiscent of “Girls Trip” but with an all-Asian-American cast. The film is outlandish, surprising, and hilarious. Each friend has their own personality and is distinct from each other. Audrey is the responsible one, Deadeye is the awkward one, Lolo is the inappropriate one, and Kat is famous. The comedy is refreshing; I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard at a movie in a long time.
All four actresses were great, and each got their moment. Friendship and identity are the film’s heart, though there is plenty of sex, drugs, and alcohol along the way too. There is a lot of wild stuff going on, and the film is unapologetic about it. Writers Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao are unafraid to push jokes to absurd levels that work. They can also balance the comedy with more serious questions regarding identity, including one scene which made me tear up. Audrey, raised by white parents, feels lost in Asia and is often told she isn’t “Asian enough” since she grew up in a practically all-white neighborhood. I can relate to this feeling of being of mixed race; I often feel that I am not “Mexican enough.” The film’s humor, characters, and camaraderie make “Joy Ride” a stand-out comedy. It was a fun time at the theater and a blast to see these girls let loose.
In Theaters Friday, July 7th
