REVIEW: 'Joy Ride' Goes...there But Also Introduces Ashley Park In A Big Way

Enter: Fun Ride, a raunchy comedy that defies stereotypes and borrows from Bridesmaids and The Hangover in ways no one expected.

Ashley Park plays a powerful Asian-American lawyer who is sent to China to close a deal. Since her adoptive parents are not Asian, she does not understand the language well. To help, he brings along his childhood friend Lolo (Sherri Cola), who nearly walked out on the market due to his lack of respect. Lolo also brings along a cousin who loves K-pop. In China, they meet Park's roommate (Stephanie Xu), who happens to be a big star from a Chinese soap opera.

AND? They set out to find Puck's birth mother and have more fun than ever in the United States. That means stories from the Jonas brothers, a meeting with the basketball team, and a big reveal of a roommate's hidden tattoo.

Directed by Adele Lim (co-writer of Crazy Rich Asians), Joy Ride is not afraid to make an impact with language and sexuality. If the goal was to top all the movies that don't have Asian-American actors, that's it. There's a lot of laughs, but sometimes it's just too much for anyone's good.

Trouble begins when the four meet a drug dealer on the train and help him hide his stash. Of course they lost their luggage and passport to help them. This leads to imitation and exposure of K-pop, endangering the reputation of the actress and her relationship with her co-star.

A business meeting goes awry, a friendship falls apart, and The Fun Ride is nothing like it.

There are plenty of laughs here, though, especially when Cola blows Puck off. He has a dry sense of humor (and a knack for art porn). The cousin (played by Sabrina Wu) is anonymous and not in the same league as her traveling companions. However, she knows when her skills are needed and isn't afraid to impress her online friends in China. This leads to an outrageous musical sequence and suggests that there is nowhere Lim and company wouldn't go.

Xu, who was so great in "Everything", may be the most reserved of all. She tries to hide the truth from her boyfriend and risks everything.

While it's easy to see how it's connected, there are enough left-handed twists to keep the fun going for the duration.

It's not as linear as it should be, but it does suggest that the Girls Trip quartet aren't the only ones who can make a vacation memorable. You work, you work, whatever, and you put out a movie that entertains as much as it seeks to offend.