‘Joy Ride Review: Ashley Park And Stephanie Hsu In A Raunchy, Rowdy Comedy With Genuine Heart

© Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter

Adele Lim's Joy Ride is the director's playful and thought-provoking feature that begins with a chance meeting. It's 1998 and Lolo (Milana Wan) and her parents have just moved to the heavily Caucasian state of White Falls, a suburb of Washington. His first meaningful encounter with the neighborhood, presented by Lim in compressed montage, and its residents takes place in the local playground. "Are you a Chinese citizen?" The Sullivans (David Denman and Annie Mumolo) meet a white family. The Chens (Kenneth Liu and Debbie Fan) exchange curious glances before turning around and saying: "Yeah, but we speak English." And they are from California too.

The Sullivans were delighted; His subtle request is a sincere attempt to help his Chinese adopted daughter Audrey (Lennon Yeh) find a new friend. Thus begins Audrey and Lolo's relationship, which later turns into a love affair with Sorrel. As the only two Asian Americans in their small town, they are each other's mirrors and sources of comfort.

Audrey and Lolo's friendship sustains Joey Reid , who presents himself as an active representative of the Asian diaspora. The film, which premiered at SXSW and hits theaters in July, uses the same brand of comedy as classic American comedies from The Hangover and Pineapple Express to Bride and Lady's Journey . And, like Bottoms , another colorful SXSW entry, Joy Ride aims to prove (or re-prove) that Hollywood's marginalized populations—women, people of color, queer people—can still be brave, bold, and daring.

On this final soundtrack, Lim made his directorial debut. Written by sitcom veterans Cheri Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsia ( Family Guy ), Joy Ride begins by placing its characters in absurd, often hilarious situations. The film is filled with cocaine-fueled crazy decision-making, mischievous trios and chaotic scenes. Joey Ride's slick script forms a GD force, but performances by Ashley Park ( Emily in Paris ), Sherry Cola ( The Error ), Academy Award nominee Stephanie Hu ( Everywhere All at Once ) and Sabrina Wu. . . heartbeat

Building on the requisite backstory, Joey Ride travels to the present, as powerful corporate lawyer Audrey (Park) prepares for a career-changing business trip to China. Audrey, who seems determined to be the only woman to close the deal with Beijing, gets a huge promotion. Her boss doesn't know that she, an adopted daughter of white parents, can't speak Mandarin. Audrey Lolo (Cola), an artist who now creates fun, sex-positive sculptures, is invited to help with the translation. It's been a decade since the two women met on the playground, and while they're still close, the ravages of time and differing priorities threaten to tear their friendship apart. Audrey can't wait to be out of White Falls, but Lolo can't imagine being apart.

The trip to China has two meanings: a chance for Audrey to climb the corporate ladder and a way for Lolo to rekindle the spark of their friendship. Lolo's cousin Dedei (W) and Audrey's college best friend Kat (Hu) join the two on their international adventure. After graduation, Kat moved to Beijing to pursue acting. Now she is involved with a national hit and TV show star, Clarence (Desmond Chim). Meanwhile, the smart and thoughtful Dede hopes to meet other K-pop disciples in Beijing.

The group's first meeting takes place at a club where Audrey is trying to track down her favorite clients (more character details in The Crucial Deal will reinforce this plot point). The dynamic between the four friends in this bustling underground space is palpable: Lolo and Kat are enemies by nature. Deadeye struggles to find a place among others; And Audrey is too caught up in her own anxiety to notice what's going on around her.

As one of the greatest foursomes in film and television, the four friends make an unlikely team, but it's their differences that make their relationship so touching. Joey Ride passionately delivers his mix of absurdist humor, sexist jokes and endearing introspective commentary on diaspora Asian stereotypes. Audrey's client's longing for her family prompts her to search for her birth mother.

Once you get past the fictional nature of this story, Joy Ride takes some surprising and interesting turns. The four main characters travel China, from city to suburb, meeting new friends and old relatives. The film's sense of humor is enhanced by Lim's energetic direction (he plays close friends and trusts his actors to feel their jobs) and Chevaprabhatdumrong and Xiao's genuine desire to capture their four friends takes plenty of time for them. Identify and target your audience.

Discussions about representation in Hollywood, her channel, are generally not encouraged. Films with little sense of authenticity are enthusiastically praised and held up as role models, as the lack of such narrative has always left audiences with a low standard. So it would be very easy to subtly roll your eyes at the importance of having it. During the Q&A following Joy Ride's premiere at SXSW, there was a moment when an audience member shared her story as a Chinese adoptee living in the United States. They're also looking for their birth mother, and Joy Ride helps them find the kind of closure they can't find in real life. The tearful testimonials from the audience, received by the stunned actors and applause from the audience, perfectly depicts the success of Joy Ride.

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