JOY RIDE (15, 96 mins)
Comedy/Drama/Romance. Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, Sabrina Wu, Desmond Chiam, Ronny Chieng, David Denman, Annie Mumolo, Timothy Simons, Debbie Fan. Director: Adele Lim.
Released: August 4
CRAZY Rich Asians screenwriter Adele Lim flirts with madness in her feature directorial debut, orchestrating a raucous road trip from Seattle to Beijing which lacerates racial stereotypes under the sweetly fluttering banner of sisterly solidarity.
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Sex, drugs and spring rolls abound in a freewheeling script penned by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao, which bookmarks a study of cultural identity with outrageous and filthy-minded set pieces fuelled by desperation, desire and a motherlode of illegal substances.
Joy Ride packs some of the same travel essentials as The Hangover and Bridesmaids and is fitfully hilarious including a running gag about regrettable body art that crescendos with an anatomically intimate camera shot to capture characters' reactions to the big reveal.
The fab four of Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu and Sabrina Wu shed inhibitions and underwear in pursuit of sniggers, particularly in an opening hour that focuses intently on female sexual fulfilment, or lack thereof - one character's raging inferno is extinguished by a devoutly religious fiance (Desmond Chiam), who preaches abstinence until marriage.
For its satisfying yet contrived climax, Lim's picture surrenders the slap and tickle to sentimentality and earnest self-reflection, testing the elasticity of emotional bonds with heartfelt declarations on a theme of "You know me better than I know myself".
Ambitious and hardworking Asian American lawyer Audrey Sullivan (Park) has always believed that she needs to be perfect to belong in the aptly named town of White Hills with adopted parents Joe (David Denman) and Mary (Annie Mumolo).
Her upward career trajectory continues with an opportunity to be made a partner at the law firm.
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To impress her casually racist boss Frank (Timothy Simons) - "I'm an ally", he insists after throwing a Mulan-themed office party - Audrey must travel to Beijing to close a deal with one of the company's most important clients (Ronny Chieng).
Audrey's grasp of Mandarin is loose so her best friend, body positive artist Lolo (Cola), happily tags along as translator and suggests a detour to track down Audrey's birth mother (Debbie Fan).
Chinese soap opera star Kat (Hsu), who was Audrey's roommate in college, and Lolo's eccentric cousin Deadeye (Wu) join the life-changing trek across Asia that includes a memorable night with members of the Beijing Kaoyas basketball team.
Joy Ride isn't as consistently funny as Girls Trip but there are more peaks than troughs in Chevapravatdumrong and Hsiao's script and the central quartet navigate the emotional gear changes with ease.
Lim captures contemporary China through a rose-tinted lens, making no audible or visible comments on events of the past three years.
Characters' insecurities cause the dramatic turbulence and it's abundantly clear when we need to fasten seatbelts to prepare for a surprisingly smooth landing.
RATING: 3/5
