-Justin Nordell
The major movie studio raunchy comedy seemed to have gone the way of the dodo in recent years, with little to no offerings coming to theaters in the 2020s. Then, as if an answer to a dirty dirty prayer, moviegoers have been gifted not one, but TWO in less than a month! The Jennifer Lawrence starring No Hard Feelings hit theaters first (starting off strong before settling into sentimentality in its final act), and now we are blessed with the second such comedy, and frankly the more successful of the two, Joy Ride!
Audrey (Ashley Park, “Emily in Paris”) is a rising star at her law firm, unheard of for a woman her age, and has received a partner-making opportunity to sign a HUGE client who just so happens to be Chinese. Audrey herself is Chinese-American, but having been adopted by white parents and never fully embracing her identity, there are not enough Duolingo lessons available to get her ready for the type of negotiations she’ll have to make in China. Luckily, Audrey’s childhood best friend Lolo (Sherry Cola, “Good Trouble”), the only other Asian American girl in their West Coast suburb growing up, was raised by Chinese parents and is fluent enough in Mandarin to join her as a translator. While Audrey has excelled through life as an overachieving overachiever, Lolo has coasted as an artist doing the bare minimum and living in a guest house in Audrey’s backyard while finding new ways to disappoint her parents (her diorama of a penis playground being the latest and greatest).
Audrey and Lolo are unexpectedly joined at the airport by Lolo’s K-Pop obsessed cousin Deadeye (scene stealing standup comedian Sabrina Wu in their feature film debut), aptly named for her blank stare, who is meeting up with some of her best (online) friends abroad. Upon arriving in China, the trio meet up with Audrey’s college roommate Kat (Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All At Once) who lives locally and stars in a beloved period drama series opposite her fiancé Clarence (Desmond Chiam, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”) who is saving himself for marriage, unaware of Kat’s party girl past. Lolo is immediately intimidated by Kat and Audrey’s relationship, attempting to assert her best friend status going into the big meeting.
As with the best business dealings, the ladies meet the prospective client (Ronnie Chieng, M3GAN) at a busy nightclub where Audrey is so concerned with her friends making fools of themselves that she doesn’t realize that between the liquor and the lack of Mandarin… she is doing a fine job of that on her own. Embarrassing herself in front of her one way ticket to a promotion, Audrey is given one more chance to land the client at his mother’s birthday party because family is so important to him. The only catch is, thanks to a white lie from Lolo, Audrey needs to attend the event bringing her birth mother… whom she’s never met! The adoption agency is still operating in China, so our core four head off to track down Audrey’s birth mom and convince her to attend a birthday party to save her career… shouldn’t be too hard, right?
What ensues is truly one of the best madcap road trip buddy comedies in years that goes beyond explorations of friendship to really examine Asian American identity not just as Americans but on this planet. Immensely sex positive, this isn’t “women behaving badly,” but women being women and satisfying their needs, wants, and desires while exploring who they are as people. The not-so-secret weapon of the film is the game cast who feel as if they are an actual group of friends that you want to spend time with, supporting each other and not shying away from really going for the physical comedy and raunchy humor, so often not portrayed in film by Asian women.
The secret weapon of Joy Ride is undoubtedly Malaysian-born and Emerson-educated writer director Adele Lim. After imbuing her script for Crazy Rich Asians with so much charm and heart (and subsequently very publicly getting screwed by the studio by getting offered pennies to the dollar for the sequels as opposed to a white male counterpart), it’s fantastic to see her bring the same to her directorial debut. Audrey exudes the same whip-smart charisma as Constance Wu’s Rachel in Adele’s previous groundbreaking film, but is far more flawed and lived in – her mistakes are messy and relatable. In fact all four main characters feel fully lived in, messy, and relatable – something few ensemble comedies achieve.
Joy Ride may tread a familiar story path, but its outrageously funny script and stellar cast make this the best amalgamation of hysterical comedy and female friendship since Bridesmaids. It is an utter delight that can bring the heart but NEVER forgets the funny, and seeing it in a packed theater only made me laugh more and harder. Joy Ride is, no contest, the best outright comedy of 2023 so far.
Grade: A-
In Theaters July 7, 2023
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