Every year, it seems, there is one raunchy comedy that is just better than the others. Last year, that film was Bros, a film I still defend, albeit sheepishly. This is that comedy for 2023. I loved this film thirty seconds in when the little Chinese girl in an all-white town clocks a would-be bully for being racist. Oh yeah, f*** that kid up. Don’t be pullin’ that s*** anywhere outside your pre-school 4chan chatroom, knowwhatI’msayin’?
When it comes to Asian women, it is almost impossible not to do a disservice. For one thing, there are over 2.2 billion of them ranging from Japan to Israel. And the ones we are going to discuss today might not even qualify, given the whole *America* thing. Pretending that 2.2 billion women are alike is something I feel … only an American can do, and for that, I love films like this, essentially an Asian Girls Trip.
Audrey (Ashley Park) grew up white. Not her fault, of course; when you’re the child of adoptive white parents, there isn’t much of an alternative. Lolo (Sherry Cola) is her childhood friend. Audrey is a playah. She’s trying to make partner in her law firm. Lolo … less. Lolo lives in Aurey’s guests house and makes sex-positive art. The piece we see has a scaled childhood playground where activity centers around genital-shaped equipment, like dildo see-saws. I did say this was a raunchy comedy, yes? Audrey has been promised the partnership if she can land the China deal. (Wait. Isn’t she a lawyer? What lawyer is doing international business deals? Forget it, they’re rolling.) Audrey doesn’t speak Mandarin, so Lolo tags along (which would be a better joke if the film took place in the Phillipines).
And if Lolo comes along, then Lolo’s cousin , the androgynous Deadeye (Sabrina Wu, who steals the show for me) 
has to come along, too. And in China, they all hook up with Kat (Stephanie Hsu), an actress who once was Audrey’s college roommate. Uh oh, the childhood friend and the college friend; there’s trouble there, huh? Kat has a tat, btw, oft mentioned and anticipated in one of the best reveals of 2023 moviedom.
Hmm, I can’t giveaway Kat’s ink. Can I talk about the body cavity cocaine stuffing scene? I think not. How about when the quartet takes out an entire basketball team with sex-related injuries? Ummm, no. I did mention this was raunchy, right? There’s a lot of Joy in Joy Ride. My favorite part, however, is not necessarily the humor so much as how the roles in the film differ from those of traditional Far East stereotypes. Attending HIFF every fall, I see a lot of women in a lot of film from Japan, China, Taiwan, and South Korea. I haven’t seen a single Lolo, Deadeye, or Kat in the bunch. Part of it is cultural inhibition; part is flat-out lack of balls. Goofy doesn’t necessarily have to be “I’m cute and I have two boyfriends.” Ask Everything Everywhere All at Once.
If I have any knock on Joy Ride it’s that the film is essentially the same movie as Girls Trip (albeit funnier, imho). Truth is, I’m not sure I’ve sold this film. It is funny; it is raunchy; it is a better comedy than 90% of the comedies I’ve seen. And, yet, I like it best for its presentation of “Asian” women that is anything but what I have been inured to over the past five decades. It’s like I don’t know Asian women at all … and while that is 100% true, I find it most refreshing.
Four women explore the Far East
And find trouble, to say the least
There’s law enforcement
And possible deportment
But the alarming part involves: infections, yeast
Rated R, 95 Minutes
Director: Adele Lim
Writer: Cherry Chevapravatdumrong (say that five times fast), Teresa Hsiao, Adele Lim
Genre: Fighting racism, one lewd joke at a time
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Me, it would seem
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Racists, prudes
