The dudes of “The Hangover” walked so the women of “Bridesmaids” and “Girls Trip” could run, leading now to the talented cast of “Joy Ride” causing all manner of raunchy international chaos.
Four very different Asian American friends go on a gut-busting trip to Beijing that explodes tropes and stereotypes and bursts with heart in the smartly paced, fabulously unhinged and proudly explicit comedy (★★★½ out of four, rated R, in theaters Friday), the directorial debut for “Crazy Rich Asians” writer Adele Lim. It’s the kind of film where everybody will have their own favorite characters and riotous episodes but it doesn’t need A-list cameos or needle drops to make a mark – though it does boast one instantly memorable K-pop remix of a Cardi B hit.
Ashley Park stars as Audrey, a successful lawyer adopted from China as a little girl by white parents. She and her childhood friend Lolo (Sherry Cola), a trash-talking free spirit making sex-positive art while living in Audrey’s backyard, have long talked about one day finding Audrey’s birth mother, and an opportunity arises on a business trip to Beijing to do that plus land an important deal.
Lolo comes along as a translator (since Audrey isn’t fluent in Chinese) and brings her awkward BTS-loving cousin Deadeye (Sabrina Wu), and they meet up with Kat (recent Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu), Audrey’s college bestie who’s now an A-list Chinese soap-opera star. The quartet hit the road seeking Audrey’s long-lost parent and dive into a series of madcap shenanigans, from doing an excessive amount of drugs to meeting up with ex-NBA star Baron Davis to disguising themselves as a K-pop quartet called Brownie Tuesday just to catch a plane. (And that’s just the stuff we can mention in a family newspaper, folks.)
But what makes “Joy Ride” special is getting to know the personalities and their quirks, with each of the four main characters wrestling with identity issues and needing a dose of self-discovery. Audrey feels out of place both at home and in China. Lolo has big artistic dreams she worries never will come to fruition, and because she’s a bit of a slacker, she frets about losing her lifelong connection with her ambitious BFF. Kat is engaged to her hunky and deeply devout co-star, who’s saving himself for marriage, yet the image-conscious actress hasn’t told him of her far-from-virginal past. And Deadeye is a sweet beatboxing sort struggling with her insecurities who desperately holds on to anything resembling friendship.
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The primary cast is spot-on from top to bottom, but Cola is a delight to watch letting loose with her character’s riotous side – she’s also impressive in the upcoming Sundance Film Festival comedy “Shortcomings” – and Wu is a nonbinary stand-up comedian with flawless timing. “Lost” fans will adore a stellar supporting turn from Daniel Dae Kim: He misses all the sex-fueled revelry but shows up late in the proceedings for the most heartfelt scenes.
Like last year’s Oscar-winning “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and this year’s “Past Lives” and “Return to Seoul” – albeit with more threesomes, tattooed genitalia and slap fights – “Joy Ride” is a superbly crafted film that centers on and celebrates Asian people and culture yet also is wholly relatable on a wider scale. Everybody’s had an Audrey, Lolo, Kat and/or Deadeye come into their lives, perhaps even akin to the four forces of nature here. And with this group of hilarious stars and thoughtful filmmakers, the hard-R comedy couldn’t be in better hands.
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