Joy Ride

Written by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao is Adele Kim’s directorial debut, the female “raunchy comedy” Joy Ride. Audrey (Ashley Park) and Lolo (Sherry Cola), are lifelong friends thrust together by their parents as the only Asian kids in the area. When Audrey, now a successful lawyer, gets the chance to go to China to close a big deal, she takes Lolo with her. Travelling with them is Lolo’s cousin Deadeye (Sabrina Wu). When in China they join up with Audrey’s college friend and successful actress Kat (Stephanie Hsu). But after a less then successful meeting with Audrey’s client, the girls find themselves on a odyssey to find Audrey’s birth mother. But it becomes a journey that does not go as planned and becomes a journey of discovery, friendship and finding your place. Mixed in with sex, drugs and K-Pop!

There’s nothing new with Joy Ride. It follows a well trodden path of buddy road trips that lead to tensions and self discovery amongst the jokes and comic set pieces. But cinema is full of genre films and when done well they can be an enjoyable treat. And Joy Ride is in the “done well” camp.

Its humour is very much on the adult side. It’s not subtle but it is consistently funny, Including a particularly entertaining K-Pop musical interlude.

The four central cast members are all likeable and each has time to develop and have a level of depth that makes them interesting. While the comedy is adult. It’s never mean, gross-out or lazy.

What makes this really work for me though is its heart. While mainly an adult comedy, It has both charm and a good-hearted emotional core that culminates in a surprisingly touching final act.

While Joy Ride is a predictable “raunchy” adult comedy. It is consistently funny, has a likeable entertaining cast and most importantly it is good spirited with a warm touching story at its heart. It won’t live long in the memory, but one you’ll happily watch again when it pops up on TV!