By 
A HILARIOUS AND RAUNCHY
COMEDY ENDEAVOR
While there has been a variety of comedy movie endeavors throughout the famous film genre, the raunchy comedy ones produce some of the best laughs in this category. While becoming more widely known to the masses in the late 90s / early 2000s timeframe, this subgenre in the comedy field of filmmaking (sometimes referred to as R-rated comedies) have the common practice of delving into the humorous realm of storytelling, with a large emphasis on crazy / wild situations and scenarios that are often filled with crude jokes and crass gags. This, in turn, has been able to produce some big “laugh-out-loud” moments throughout these endeavors, inviting moviegoers to find plenty of humor and fun while viewing these projects. This mixture of cinematic storytelling and R-rated adult humor does have its merits, with such pictures like 1999’s American Pie, 2007’s Superbad, 2009’s The Hangover, 2011’s Bridesmaids, 2017’s Girls Trip, and 2019’s Booksmart, sharing critical success / praise for their efforts. Now, Lionsgate and director Adele Lim present the latest offering of the raunchy comedy films with the release of the movie Joy Ride. Does this feature find its merit (and laughs) within its R-rated humor or is it a dud of the project that never came find its own proper footing?
THE STORY
Lifelong friends since childhood, Audrey Sullivan (Ashley Park) is a young and aspiring lawyer dealing with pal Lolo Chen (Sherry Cola), who’s a wayward freeload that is struggling with her erotic anatomical art. Audrey is an adopted Asian child, with white American parents , Mary (Annie Mumolo) and Joe Sullivan (David Denman), raising her to more of a traditional Caucasian suburbia upbringing, yet the young woman has always felt a search for longing on her who her biological parents were. Receiving a “big break” opportunity to become a partner at her firm, Audrey is sent to China to close a business deal with Chao (Ronny Chieng), bringing along Lolo along as she prepares to reunite with her college roommate, Katherine Huang (Stephanie Hsu), who’s now a successful actress. The threesome is also joined by Deadeye (Sabrina Wu), Lolo’s eccentric and K-Pop superfan cousin, who is eager to tagalong for the ride. When Chao reveals how important family is to him, Audrey is forced to confront her past as an adopted child, with Lolo hatching a plan for the young women to seek out Audrey’s birth mother in China to help win her client over. As they journey across China, everything goes wrong for the group of women, who deal with crazy people, legal hassles, and sexual opportunities as they travel from one destination to the next, while Audrey and Lolo also confronting the bonds of their friendship, which is severely test during this trip.
THE GOOD / THE BAD
I do like a good comedy movie and (yes) I usually do like a good raunchy R-rated comedy film. There is something about them that makes it quite appealing to watch. Most definitely is the movie’s humor, which amps up the vulgar and crass jokes and gags throughout the endeavor that produces the most laughs. It can also be how it is presented, especially from the director’s vision for the story or how the dialogue of such crude remarks is written (may not be the sharpest or wittiest, but on how its delivered). Then there is also acting talent that performs such R-rated comedy angst in how they perform such situations and raunchy quips in said scenario. It’s a combination that came be done and (in the correct way) have plenty of laughs and humor throughout the picture. Some of my personal favorites would have to be American Pie, Office Christmas Party, The Hangover, Good Boys, and Girls Trip….just to name a few. On the other hand, there have been a number of bad / forgetful raunchy comedy movies out there that have “soured” the subgenre a bit too much and diluted the potency that these features once had. Overall, much like art itself, raunchy comedy film endeavors are a bit of a “acquired taste” and (if presented the right way) can have some tremendous fun while watching various characters get into all sorts of mischief and wild situations.
This brings me back around to talking about Joy Ride, a 2023 comedy film and the latest offering of raunchy comedy endeavors from Hollywood. To be quite honest, I really didn’t hear much about this movie when it first came out. There wasn’t a whole lot of “buzz” on the internet during the film’s production or even its initial announcement. I think I got wind of the upcoming movie when the feature’s movie trailers began to appear on both online and in theaters (during the “coming attractions” previews). From what I saw in the film’s preview, it looked pretty fun and amusing to watch, seeing a bunch young women getting in a ton of crazy shenanigans on what appeared to be a sort of road trip. In truth, previews shown made the movie look like 2017’s Girl’s Trip, a movie that followed a group of women through a lot of wild and brazen comedic situations while also dealing with some serious issues and bond during such a journey together, and a film that I really did like. After that, there wasn’t a whole lot of marketing campaign material to follow Joy Ride, but it was going to be released in theaters on July 7th, 2023. Though, from the previews alone, I was quite gamed to see this movie. Plus, several weeks before its release, advanced reviews were coming out and gave some great positive thoughts on the project, which was a really good sign. So, I decided to check out the movie during its opening weekend. Unfortunately, the road to getting my review done for this movie would take a very long time as it sort of “fell through the cracks” and I kept on pushing this review back as other films came out and decided to review them instead. Now, reaching my final reviews of the 2023 releases, I am finally ready to share my personal thoughts on Joy Ride. And what did I think of the comedy feature? Well, I actually really liked it. Despite a few minor problematic areas in being formulaic, Joy Ride is hilariously fun and zany cinematic ride that is quite a joy to watch and relishes within its comedic raunchy bits as well as several surprising sentimental moments of identity and friendship bonding. It doesn’t break any type of new ground, but it definitely reinforces a lot of ideals of a raunchy comedy endeavor….and that’s a good thing.
Joy Ride is directed by Adele Lim, who makes her directorial debut with this movie. Having a background as a producer or writer for several projects (both on the big and small screen), including a few prominent Asian-inspired endeavors like Crazy Rich Asians and Raya and the Last Dragon, Lim attraction towards doing such a project is indeed a likeable and suitable one as well. However, doing a raunchy comedy movie with pockets of heartfelt moments does seems a bit jarring…at least on paper. Fortunately, Lim does find a way to make it work and actually succeeds in capturing the humor and tender-filled scenes in Joy Ride. The film’s basic concept idea is actually quite a fun and poignant way to sort of “get the journey off” in a correct way, with Lim making the film almost like a girl’s road trip adventure where they bond, getting to sticky situations, and learn more about each other. It’s definitely familiar (more on that below), which is where the feature struggles in a few spots, but I felt like Lim did have a good grasp on that particular concept idea and did maintain a steady hand throughout the production, with the four friends having different / distinct personalities, as well as different ambitions, which are clearly defined, and go off on their own personal journey arc that is splashed with self-revelations and crazy shenanigans. Speaking of comedy, Lim does a great job in handling the comedy angle of the film’s premise and does know when to suppress it or let it go full throttle. The comedy jokes and gags are (to my liking) pretty funny, with each scenario and situation that they movie’s plot throws at us (the viewers) to be filled with plenty of sharp crude comedic levity that definitely works. Some sight gags might be a little bit too much for some viewers out there, but I didn’t bother me. Basically, the humor in Joy Ride was filled with great laughs and remarks that definitely make up the feature’s humor-based moments, with Lim knowing how to handle such delivery of lines from her cast as well as coming up with them.
The movie’s story itself, while can be seeing by many as generic and predictable plotting, still manages to find a lot of poignant moments along the way. While crude humor and raunchy sight gags are in abundance throughout the movie, Lim does steal those moments away with some heartfelt / thematic messaging. Of course, the bonds of friendship (and the complex relationships that come with it) are easily visible throughout the movie and do play an instrumental part of the movie’s signature make-up and overall plot. However, Lim utilizes Audrey’s journey to China to find her biological birth mother to be a crucial part of the film’s story; heavily leaning into such powerful themes of identity and paternal longingness (something that many are coping with it during various points in our lives). This particular aspect caught me off-guard in the movie and took me for a quite a surprise as I didn’t know that it was going to be that deep in its character drama and something that I didn’t expect from an R-rated comedy endeavor. So, I quite enjoyed it and gave the story and its characters a lot of deeper meaning and understand, which I do greatly have to applaud Lim’s direction for the feature. Overall, I felt that Lim directorial debut film does mostly succeed in what it wants to tell and does a little bit more than what was probably indeed. Some parts could’ve been extended upon (more on that below), but the film’s viewing experience does have entertainment merits within its raunchy jokes and humor as well as in its messages of identity and bonds of friendship.
For its presentation, Joy Ride is actually pretty good and does meet the “industry standard” for a modern comedy theatrical production quality. Given the fact that the movie doesn’t need to travel remote / exotic locales or build intricate / elaborate set-pieces, what’s presented definitely works in the feature’s benefit and showcase some great locations throughout the film that doubled for shots of the group traveling to China. Thus, the Asian influences and visual aesthetics were utilized as well as modern day nuances were incorporated in a correct and fashionable manner. Thus, the feature’s “behind the scenes” key players, including Michael Norman Wong (production design), Josh Plaw (set decorations), Beverly Huynh (costume designs), and John Alvarez (art direction) should be commended for their efforts in bringing the film’s visual background / setting to life. Additionally, the cinematography work by Paul Yee is relatively good throughout the entire picture. Don’t let that statement fool you to believing that Yee’s work in filmmaking techniques comes across as mediocre or anything like that, it’s just that the movie doesn’t rely heavily on such cinematic blockbuster level of swooping camera angles or incredible usage of shadowing and lightening. Thus, Yee’s work is good and definitely gets the job done. Lastly, while the film’s score, which was composed by Nathan Matthew David, is relatively good throughout the movie (hitting all the right notes of excitement and tender sequences), the movie does shine through its soundtrack, which boasts plenty of songs and artists in and out of the picture’s runtime and is definitely a great listen from onset to conclusion.
While there is a lot to like about Joy Ride’s comedy and sentimental values, there are a few snags that thee feature can’t overcome. It’s not enough to derail the project or become a distraction, but it felt like there was just a couple of “missed opportunities” that could be better handled and / or improved upon the film’s final cut. How so? Well, for starters, the movie (as a whole) does feel a tad formulaic and predictable throughout. Much like comedy movies (or even rom coms), the film follows a very proven narrative path that draws to a familiar conclusion. The scenarios and situations that follow in Joy Ride’s story are tad bit different in a few areas, but the overall plot / journey follows some well-too-familiar narrative trajectory that comes off as a bit too formulaic. You know what I am talking about…. the straightforward plot of a group of individuals go on, get caught up in wacky / crazy scenarios, have a larger obstacle during the transition between the second and third act, which they all overcome during the resolution part of the movie. It’s all quite familiar and maybe if the film took a bit more different paths of narrative storytelling, Joy Ride could’ve been that much better. Basically, Joy Ride doesn’t break the mold from what has come before, but rather keeps the integral mold of storytelling by reinforcing it a bit more than usual. That being said, it would’ve been nice to see a bit more creative differences gone into the production.
In a similar manner, Joy Ride does have a lot of good ideas, but that aren’t exactly implemented in the correct manner. While I do praise the project for having a very breezy runtime, it does cause for certain story elements and characters to feel very laxed or lacking depth. With so many characters and wacky situations of comedy sketches being scattered throughout the narrative, this comedy project doesn’t seem to know how to handle them in a few scenes; presenting some individuals and situations that definitely are fun and hilarious, yet could’ve been developed further. Even some additional scenes would’ve worked. This (and the problem with the feature being too conventional in its narrative path) comes down to the feature’s script, which was penned by Lim as well as Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Tersea Hsiao, which could have benefited for a lengthier runtime (maybe an extra 15 minutes) in order for a few more scenes to be added of (at the very least) expanded upon. The potential is there and would’ve made the movie all the better for it, but it just comes off as a little bit of a missed opportunity.
The cast in Joy Ride definitely helps propel a viewer to overlook most of those negative points, with the selective talents to play these colorful characters in all of the feature’s zany antics and comedic gags as well as hitting the necessary drama filled moments when needed. Some of the supportive players could’ve been fleshed out more (as mentioned above), but the primary quartet cast definitely shine throughout the entire picture. Leading the charge in the film would be actress Ashley Park, who plays the movie’s central protagonist character of Audrey Sullivan, a young adopted Asian woman who is looking to find her biological birth mother. Known for her roles in Emily in Paris, Beef, and Only Murders in the Building, Park has certainly become a young and upcoming actress of late, appearing in more and more prominent roles and in equally prominent productions. Thus, to see Park in the film’s lead role is indeed a welcomed sight and (for her part) I felt that she did a solid job in playing the role of Audrey, a young woman who was raised by adopted white parents and travels to China to find her birth mom. Of the four female characters, Audrey is the “straight laced” individual, who is a tad naïve of her new surroundings while they ladies travel through China, which Park plays up quite nicely. In addition, her characters get a lot more of the emotional beats in the story, which (again) Parks do a commendable job in selling those moments perfectly. Is it her best role of her career (so far)? I would say no, but it shows quite a great job of what Park is capable of doing in mainstream film outlet and has an enough gumption and ability to make her comedy / drama parts in the movie compelling and humorous throughout.
Who actually makes the standout performance of the group would have to actress Sherry Cola (Good Trouble and Shortcomings), who plays the character of Lolo Chen, a crass and wisecracking aspiring artist that is Audrey’s best friend since childhood. Cola, who isn’t quite the household name, is given plenty of room, material, and memorable moments throughout Joy Ride to give her a chance to shine….and that she does. Most, if not all, the best jokes (gags or dialogue lines) coming from her character of Lolo and Cola delivers all of them flawlessly. She’s doesn’t have a character arc as heavy hitting as Audrey, but she does show a bit of maturity throughout the course of the movie and does the right thing by aiding her best friend…. even though it’s through her crass and vulgar remarks. Overall, Cola is probably the most memorable in Joy Ride as her performance as Lola is filled with crude jokes and some hilarious scenarios where she can improv such humorous lines.
Behind her, actress Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once and Girl Code) does a solid job in playing the character of Kat Huang, Audrey’s former college roommate who is now a famous Chinese actress. Of the four, Hsu has the most acting experience and certainly does come across as such in a few scenes, but the character of Kat wasn’t molded to win any type of nominations for any type of awards. Still, Hsu seems to be having a lot of fun playing such a character, who loves being a celebrity icon yet still harbors some erotic tensions that are suppressed, which explodes in some humorous ways. Plus, seeing her and Cola going at it with some laugh-out-loud moments between Kat and Lolo are some of the best jokes in the movie. The last of the quartet is no-binary acting talent / writer Sabrina Wu (Abbott Elementary and Doogie Kamealoha M.D.) who plays the character of Deadeye, Lolo’s eccentric / awkward cousin who is obsessed with everything K-pop. Wu certainly knows how to play up the deadpan comedic angst throughout the feature, which makes the character of Deadeye so amusing and (more often than not) hilarious. When comparing her to the rest of the four main characters, there isn’t much growth to Deadeye (as a whole), but is there to have some goofy interactions (most in dialogue lines) as well as trying to keep the group together as each of them face their own challenges / problems. Still, Wu is rather good in showcasing Deadeye’s quirkiness.
The rest of the cast, including actor Desmond Chiam (Partner Track and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) as Kat’s celibate fiancé Clarence, actor Ronny Chieng (Crazy Rich Asians and M3GAN) as potential business partner for Audrey’s company Chao, actor Timothy Simons (Veep and Draft Day) as Audrey’s boss Frank, former NBA basketball star / actor Baron Davis (The Night Before and Another Shot) who plays himself in the movie, actor Alexander Hodge (Insecure and Wellmania) as basketball player on Baron’s team / Kat’s ex-boyfriend Todd, actor Chris Pang (Crazy Rich Asians and Charlie’s Angels) as basketball player on Baron’s team Kenny, actor Rohain Arora (Superman & Lois and Cruel Summer) as basketball player on Baron’s team Arvind, actor Victor Lau (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies) as basketball player on Baron’s team Jiaying, actress Meredith Hagner (Search Party and Vacation Friends 2) as drug dealer Jess, actress Annie Mumolo (Bad Moms and Barb and Starr Go to Vista Del Mar) as Audrey’s adopted mother Mary Sullivan, actor David Denman (Brightburn and 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi) as Audrey’s adopted father Joe Sullivan, actress Lori Tan Chinn (Orange is the New Black and Awkwafina is Nora from Queens) as Lolo and Deadeye’s grandmother Nai Nai, actor Kenneth Liu (A Dog’s Journey and Sight) as Lolo’s father Wey Chen, actress Debbie Fan (Reasonable Doubt and The Prophecy) as Lolo’s mother Jenny Chen, actor Daniel Dae Kim (Lost and Hellboy) as Dae, and actress Michelle Choi-Lee (Yellowjackets and The Good Doctor) as Audrey’s birth mother Min Park, are delegated to supporting characters in the film. All of these acting talents in this grouping are solid in their respective roles and all of them have their one or two moments in the film’s spotlight. That being said, I did feel like several of these characters could’ve been further developed and had a bit more participation in the film. However, for what its worth, these side characters are fun and work for what the movie calls for.
FINAL THOUGHTS
While traveling to China to close a business deal, Audrey Sullivan gets more than what she bargained for as she and her friends go on a crazy journey together and learn more about themselves in the movie Joy Ride. Director Adele Lim’s directorial debut film takes the classic “road trip” narrative angle and presents it within a comedy experience that is filled risqué type adult humor, wild shenanigans, and some welcoming heart of friendship and self-identity. While the film could’ve needed a little bit more creative ingenuity when plotting out its narrative path and could’ve been longer for a few more additional time for scenarios and characters to be fleshed out, the movie still manages to rise above those challenges and presents a humorous piece, with special thanks to Lim’s direction, some emotion drama elements, a wild and sharp comedy jokes and gags, a good presentation, and the film’s cast, especially the main four leads, who are solid across the board. Personally, I really liked this movie. Yes, the story can be a bit predictable in its narrative trajectory and I felt that the project could’ve been easily longer (story and character-wise), but I wasn’t expecting to like it as much I did, especially since it was more of a “low key” with not a whole lot of marketing material. It’s hilarious fun, wacky within scenarios, and (surprisingly) heartwarming at times during those sincere moments. Definitely a great job for Lim on her film directorial debut. Thus, my recommendation for this movie would have to be a solid “highly recommended”, especially if you like raunchy comedies movie or looking for something that’s similar to 2017’s Girls Trip. Again, it was fun and entertaining, and I greatly enjoyed it and I think a lot of people will to. In the end, Joy Ride is hyper-aggressive comedy piece that goes full throttle with comedic antics and adult humor, while also finding heart and sentimentality within its drama; a combination that makes for an excellent (and fun) comedy movie endeavor.
4.3 Out of 5 (Highly Recommended)
Released On: July 7th, 2023
Reviewed On: June 3rd, 2024
Joy Ride is 95 minutes long and is rated R for strong and crude sexual content, language throughout, drug content, and brief graphic nudity
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