When Audrey's business trip to Asia goes sideways, she enlists the help of Lolo, her childhood best friend, Kat, a college friend, and Deadeye, Lolo's eccentric cousin. Their epic, no-holds-barred experience becomes a journey of bonding, friendship, belonging and wild debauchery that reveals the universal truth of what it means to know and love who you are.
Director: Adele Lim
Cast: Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, Sabrina Wu, Ronny Chieng, Meredith Hagner, David Denman, Annie Mumolo, Timothy Simons, Daniel Dae Kim
Release Date: July 7, 2023
Genre: Comedy
Rating: R, For strong and crude sexual content, language throughout, drug content and brief graphic nudity.
Runtime: 1h 32m
Joy Ride is a raunchy ride that isn't scared to push the envelope at any point during its brisk runtime. Adele Lim's directorial debut has a sort of chaotic energy from the outset, something she has some difficulty maintaining as the film has some noticeable peaks and valleys during its runtime. To her credit, Lim keeps the film moving at a steady pace so that when a joke or scene doesn't land it never lingers too long before we move on to the next bit of craziness. The sequences that work hit that sort of amplified hilarity that these kind of films crave case in point a sequence in a hotel that rotates between all four characters. There are other moments that are just as funny, but the film's marketing decided to use them in the trailer which lessens their impact. If you haven't had any of those sequences spoiled there are plenty of laugh out loud moment that gives its ensemble cast plenty of time to shine. Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu and Sabrina Wu make up the main foursome with each set up as a particular character type. Park does well as the straight-laced overachiever who's story is the driving force of the film. Sherry Cola and Stephanie Hsu are clearly having a great time playing the more outlandish and bawdy characters while Sabrina Wu brings an understated sweetness to socially awkward character. The four of them bounce off each with relative ease which gives them an organic, believable dynamic that works in the film's favor especially as it hits some surprisingly emotional beats in its final act. It’s a testament to the cast and director that those moments work as well as they do since the film plays like Road Trip or Eurotrip from the early 2000's but it sneakily creates some tangible emotional connections with the characters.
B
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