MOVIE REVIEW: JOY RIDE

 

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

MOVIE REVIEW: PALM SPRINGS

Stuck in a time loop, two wedding guests develop a budding romance while living the same day over and over again.

Director: Max Barbakow

Cast:  Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, Peter Gallagher, J. K. Simmons, Meredith Hagner, Camila Mendes, Tyler Hoechlin

Release Date: July 10, 2020

Genres:  Comedy, Fantasy, Mystery 

Rated R for sexual content, language throughout, drug use and some violence

Runtime: 1h 30min

Review:

Max Barbakow's debut film will feel instantly familiar to lots of people who've seen Groundhog Day, 50 First Dates or even the recent horror comedy Happy Death Day.  At times, the film feels like an amalgam of those film’s ideas, but the impressive thing is that Barbakow’s film does not come off terribly derivative even though it is.  His direction is breeze and easy to like especially once the general concept is laid out.  The story itself is very much in line with Andy Samburg’s type of humor, sophomoric but there is always an air of sweetness and general lack of cynicism.  People who enjoyed previous Lonely Island productions like Hot Rod, Popstar or even Brooklyn Nine-Nine will feel right at home here.  Samburg being paired with Cristin Milioti makes the film work far more than it would in lesser hands.  They both share solid screen chemistry which can make or break these kinds of movies.  Together they make for a likeable couple so much so that you will probably overlook the fact that there a strong rom-com vibe throughout the story.  The film could have made better use of J. K. Simmons because his storyline would have been fun to explore but he still makes the film pop when his character pops up.  Palm Springs is the kind of fun, breezy film that’s eager please and it does for the most even though it doesn’t bring a ton of new to the table.

B

MOVIE REVIEW: BRIGHTBURN

What if a child from another world crash-landed on Earth, but instead of becoming a hero to mankind, he proved to be something far more sinister? With Brightburn, the visionary filmmaker of Guardians of the Galaxy and Slither presents a startling, subversive take on a radical new genre: superhero horror.

Director: David Yarovesky

Cast: Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn, Matt Jones, Meredith Hagner

Release Date: May 24, 2019

Rated R for horror violence/bloody images, and language.

Runtime: 1 hr. 31 min.

Genres: Horror, Sci-Fi

Review:

Brightburn feels like a “what if” issue of a comic book series.  David Yarevesky plays up the Superman motif at multiple points during his gory superhero/horror hybrid.  Jackson A. Dunn fills the creepy kid well with Elizabeth Banks and David Denman doing strong work as his adoptive parents.  The conceit is solid but even as the film moves into darker territory you get the feeling that they don’t quite get the most out of the idea.  The film isn’t really scary per say, just gory in parts, even though Yarovesky does set up some genuinely tense sequences.  Sadly, there’s not a ton of surprise in store and most everything plays out exactly like you think it would.  The finale does hint at the possibility of a sequel which could be interesting in its own right depending how they decide to play the story.  As an origin story, it’s solid if slightly uninspired.  

B