Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
When Audrey's business trip to Asia goes sideways, she enlists the aid of Lolo, her irreverent, childhood best friend who also happens to be a hot mess; Kat, her college friend turned Chinese soap star; and Deadeye, Lolo's eccentric cousin. Their no-holds-barred, epic experience becomes a journey of bonding, friendship, belonging, and wild debauchery that reveals the universal truth of what it means to know and love who you are.
Joy Ride (2023) is a raunchy comedy with a female-led Asian-American ensemble that brings some genuine freshness to the road-trip genre. The plot is fairly formulaic — a chaotic trip that doubles as a self-discovery journey — hitting predictable beats despite its energetic execution. The acting is a strength, with Stephanie Hsu and Ashley Park delivering committed, funny performances that elevate the material. Cinematography is serviceable but unremarkable for the genre. Novelty earns a slight bump for centering an unapologetically crude, explicitly sexual comedy around Asian-American women, a rare and distinctive framing even if the comedic structure itself isn't groundbreaking. The ending resolves sentimentally and competently but doesn't surprise.