It’s difficult to review a comedy since all one can really say is whether or not it was funny. And since comedy is wholly subjective, it’s ultimately a pointless exercise. What I find funny might not be what you find funny and that’s a-okay, even if some killjoys out there really don’t want you to laugh at something that they don’t find funny themselves. Thank goodness for billionaires getting crushed in submarines, eh? Everyone had a damn field day with that one, despite so many of them getting regularly butthurt by things you “shouldn’t joke about” for many years prior to OceanGate’s one-way trip to the bottom of the Atlantic. The comedic playing field has been leveled by this wonderful, awful tragedy, and now no one can respectably act like comedy has any rules beyond “read the room.” So with the caveat that reviews for comedy films tend to operate on a funny/not funny binary, I’ll say this: Joy Ride is craaaaaaazy funny. The plot gets a little unwieldy in the believability department, and plenty of gags fail to hit their mark, but when the material has such a high hit rate overall, and is coming at such a speedy clip, the failed gags are long in the rear view before they can even register. And for every failed gag there are probably four or five that were simply missed on account of all the laughter.
The story follows Audrey (Ashley Park), a young lawyer of Chinese descent who was raised by white parents. She’s eager to make partners at her illustrious firm, and to that end she’s traveling to China to close a very big deal. Along for the ride is her lifelong best friend, the rough and tumble artist Lolo (Sherry Cola), as well as Lolo’s awkward cousin, Deadeye (Sabrina Wu, who steals the movie). Upon arriving they plan to link up with Audrey’s college buddy Kat (Stephanie Hsu), who has, in the intervening years, become a famous actress. Audrey has trouble closing the deal with her very family-minded client, so she and her friends take it upon themselves to locate her birth mother and pull a con for the ages.
But as road comedies tend to go, it’s not a very smooth process, and it’s one complete with gross-out gags, horny misadventures, and a lot of drugs and booze. Yep, Joy Ride is very much in line with your standard summer comedy fare, only this time around, it’s not a boys club. Director Adele Lim and her cowriters Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao pull no punches in the insanity which follows. Propriety goes completely out the window, and a common comedy formula is made to feel new by switching the gender and racial profile of main cast, which, in turn, affects positively the format of your standard summer comedy gags (yes, this means there’s a “two guys at the same time” scene). Despite an opening that threatens to feel somewhat one-note in this regard (the limit of “do people really talk like this?” is hit pretty early on), the material quickly transcends this limitation by tying the comedy to strong cultural commentary and a warm dynamic between our leading foursome.
Even as some plot developments strains credulity, it’s hard to care on account of how enjoyable it is to spend time with our leads, as well as how funny it is to see full frontal female nudity treated as a comedic element, rather than a titillating or shameful one. In many ways, Joy Ride is a game changer even as it adheres to formula. In fact, its adherence to a formula is exactly why it feels so game-changing.
By the time Joy Ride reaches its close, you will have laughed, cried, and cringed in equal measure, which is precisely the intention of the film. And if you’re like me, you’ll be hoping to see more from the leads as soon as possible.
Directed by Adele Lim
Written by Adele Lim, Cherry Chevapravatdumrong, Teresa Hsiao
Starring Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Sabrina Wu, Stephanie Hsu
Rated R, 95 minutes
