Joy Ride

Joy Ride
Starring Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, Sabrina Wu
Directed by Adele Lim

2023 seems to be the year that raunchy comedies made a comeback. It started in June with the Jennifer Lawrence-led "No Hard Feelings" which became the highest grossing raunchy comedy in the last decade, and now there's "Joy Ride," which is slaying the big screen with its blend of Asian heritage and dirty humor in equal balance. While other raunchy comedies (such as the upcoming "Strays") focus just on how many curse word jokes they can tell in thirty seconds, movies like "Joy Ride" and "No Hard Feelings" actually have stories to them that give you a connection to the characters in a deeper way that leaves you feeling invested in their lives. While they still give off crude humor, there's heart to it as well, which helps balance the scales and provides a near-perfect blend of comedy and drama.

Living in the Pacific Northwest, Audrey (Ashley Park) and Lolo (Sherry Cole) were best friends if only for the fact that they were the only two Asian girls in town. Audrey was adopted by a white family while Lolo's parents moved there from California, and as they grew up they faced their own form of racism and prejudice, especially Audrey who was constantly asked about where her real parents were. Now adults, Audrey belongs to a successful law firm while Lolo lives in her garage, serving as a starving artist. When a business opportunity arises in China, Audrey and Lolo plan to head out, before Lolo tries to convince Audrey to find her birth mother as well.

Before leaving Lolo tells Audrey that her cousin Deadeye (Sabrina Wu) would also be coming, but just because she's a huge fan of K-Pop and wants to meet some of her friends she met online. When they arrive Deadeye goes with them to visit Audrey's friend Kat (Stephanie Hsu), a famous Chinese actress. Together the four of them go to meet Audrey's potential business partner, and things begin to spiral out of control. To land the deal Audrey has to find her birth mother, leading them across the Chinese countryside while encountering misadventures and antics along the way that tests their friendship in ways they never thought possible.


The Good:
"Joy Ride" is an excellent raunchy comedy centering on the Asian community, and specifically in how it is to be Asian in America, along with the prejudices that come with it. Audrey is "Americanized" so much that she doesn't even speak Chinese, and thinks all Asians look alike (which Lolo challenges when they arrive in Beijing). Through her encounters in China, Audrey realizes what it really means to embrace your own heritage, and teaches her the importance of learning where you come from.

The humor comes fast and hard from the get-go, and rarely does it let up. The friends find themselves in comedic situations - from being unwitting drug mules to wannabe K-Pop stars - and each situation is somehow more humorous than the last. The jokes land so well it'll require you to watch it again to catch the ones you miss because you'll be laughing so hard you can't hear what's happening. They're more than just jokes about private parts, but blends their heritage into the humor as well, making it smarter than most raunchy comedies.

A film like this is only as strong as your ensemble (look no further than the amazing "Girls Trip" to find this out), and "Joy Ride" again delivers. Ashley Park's Audrey is the leader of the group, the most level-headed, and the most successful, and it's obvious that she'll learn what it means to let loose and have fun with life and not take everything so seriously. Sherry Cola's Lolo is the resident slacker, a girl who seemingly never left the college party lifestyle, and who more than obviously harbors jealousy between Audrey and Kat. Clearly she'll learn what it means to be more of an adult. Sabrina Wu's Deadeye lives up to her name as she delivers the deadpan humor with excessive vigor, which is my favorite type of comedy because you never know if they're serious or not. Yet she struggles with her self image and her only friends are online, and she worries that no one really wants to be her friend - of course she'll learn what it means to not just have friends, but be one as well. Recent Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu stars Kat, the successful Chinese actress who's trying to make it work with her Christian fiancee while hiding her wild past, and of course it's going to come to the surface and she'll learn what it means to live a life without lies. Together these girls will have you laughing til you cry, and give some great dramatic performances that you'll cry as well.


The Bad:
It's not inherently the fault of "Joy Ride" in and of itself, but it does adhere to the stereotypical raunchy comedy motif. Four mismatched friends who are all archetypes of one thing or another have secrets and jealousies of each other that are touched upon at the start which will eventually come to fruition later which threatens to destroy their friendship before a moment of clarity comes and brings them all together again. I don't consider this a spoiler because you can see it coming from a mile away, but thanks to the performances you don't feel like it's a groan-inducing thing but one that occurs naturally and leaves you as broken as they were when it happens.


The Verdict:
Although it does tread in the sometimes-stagnant waters of raunchy comedies of past, "Joy Ride" is heightened by its talented ensemble cast that delivers the laughs fast and furious while also providing a touching story at its center.


The Score: A