“Joy Ride” Review

(From Left) Stephanie Hsu, Ashley Park, Sabrina Wu and Sherry Cola try to bypass airport security as K-Pop stars in “Joy Ride,” an incredibly funny raunchy comedy that has arrived in theaters.

Here's how “Joy Ride” starts. The film begins with two of the main characters as children on the day they first meet on the playground in White Hills, Washington. The only Asian children at the park, they approach the slide to play when a white boy, albeit in a more vulgar manner, tells them that the slide is “off limits” to Asians. One of the girls yells “fuck you” and punches the boy in the throat. If you find that funny, as I did, then “Joy Ride” is going to be a wild ride of insanity, heart and friendship that is sure to entertain those who love summer comedies. 

Audrey and Lolo (Ashley Park and Sherry Cola) have been best friends since they were little kids although their lives have become wildly different despite a shared cultural heritage. Audrey, who was adopted from China by two white parents, is a successful lawyer who is on the verge of making partner at her prestigious firm. Lolo, whose parents immigrated to the United States from China, is an artist who has yet to catch a break and who lives with her best friend. When Audrey is sent to Beijing to close an important deal, she decides to take Lolo along with her as a translator and soon meet up with Kat (Stephanie Hsu), a famous actress and Audrey’s college roommate, and Deadeye (Sabrina Wu), Lolo’s K-Pop obsessed cousin. Together, the four protagonists go on a wild trip across China when an opportunity arises to find Audrey’s birth mom and resolve her insecurities over her past and heritage. 

With a comedy of this type, which depends so greatly on the main ensemble instead of just one or two leads, it can be difficult to find the right mix of players. Not every film can capture that natural comradery that enlisted between the characters of “The Hangover,” “Bridesmaids” or “Tropic Thunder.” “Joy Ride” manages to have that strong ensemble and the amount of talent these four have combined is like a lit match next to a comedic trail of gunpowder next to a powder keg next to a case of grenades, all of which is located inside of a fireworks warehouse in Indiana. That is how much talent we’ve got to work with.

All four of these actors come from different backgrounds within the world of entertainment with Park being best known for her Tony-nominated role in Broadway's “Mean Girls,” Cola and Wu for their extensive work in stand-up comedy and writing and Hsu just coming off of “the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and being nominated for an Oscar for her work in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” With such diversity in their talents, the four of them have created a group of characters that are dynamic, have great group chemistry and are extraordinarily funny. All four of them get great laughs and I especially found that Hsu’s performance was exceptionally daring and raunchy. 

While director Adele Lim and screenwriters Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao have done great work before, this film represents them all entering new territory. Lim, who came up with the film’s story with the screenwriters, has worked in the past as a screenwriter, cowriting “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Raya and the Last Dragon,” and now makes her directorial debut. As for Chevapravatdumrong and Hsiao, they have an extensive history writing for television comedy series like “Awkwafina is Nora from Queens,” “Family Guy” and “The Orville” but haven’t written a feature length film yet. Seeing all three of them come together and approach this new venture with such enthusiasm is incredible when you see the result.

“Joy Ride” is an exceptionally written film with a wicked sense of timing and humor. Not only do the jokes hit well, but just when you think a joke has ended, it will come back twenty minutes later and catch you completely off guard. The film is also not afraid to go off the rails at times and I mean that in the best possible way. There are jokes that really go out there and you’re not quite sure what relevance they have but they’re making you laugh hysterically so who cares? One such scenario involves Audrey, Lolo, Kat and Deadeye impersonating K-Pop stars in order to get past security and the film turns into a music video with all four of them singing “WAP” by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion with an incredible payoff that had the entire theater stunned silent then in tears with laughter. 

Along with raunchy humor, vulgar language and delightfully implausible setups, all of which I love, the film also possesses quite a bit of heart. While all of these people are connected to each other by friendship, it’s not universal amongst the group. Kat may be great friends with Audrey but she does not get along with Lolo since they are somewhat in competition to be Audrey’s best friend. Deadeye is related to Lolo and seems to get along with her okay but Deadeye doesn’t really relate to the rest of the group and they are very socially awkward. Seeing the collective friendship develop between all four of them is truly special, especially around Audrey’s goal to find her birth mom. 

With passion in front of and behind the camera, “Joy Ride” is the kind of summer comedy that is going to be crowd pleasing for all the right reasons. It’s the kind of film that has much more to it than meets the eye but ultimately works as a wickedly fun comedy.