A raucous road trip across China becomes a journey of discovery for a quartet of Chinese-Americans in the directorial debut of Crazy Rich Asians and Raya and the Last Dragon screenwriter Adele Lim. Joy Ride cruises into Australian cinemas on August 4.
When Ashley Park’s high-achieving Audrey heads to China on an important business trip, her slightly estranged artist BFF Lolo (Sherry Cola) tags along, as does Lolo’s K-Pop-obsessed, introverted cousin Deadeye (Sabrina Wu) and, eventually, Kat (Stephanie Hsu), Audrey’s old college roommate and now a major TV star in China.
When a potential business partner casts shade on her Chinese authenticity, Ashley, who is the adopted daughter of white parents, decides to track down her biological mother in order to prove her Chinese bona fides. And so, we’re off and running.
Now, at first taste that may all sound a little Joy Luck Club, but Joy Ride shares more DNA with raunchy teen comedies like Superbad and American Pie, with our foursome going fully off the chain on their cross-China odyssey, indulging in plenty of sex and drugs along the way. Could you have guessed that screenwriters Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao are veterans of Seth McFarlane’s perpetually provocative Family Guy?
However, Joy Ride has a heart hiding under the outlandish comedy. It’s also a… well, “meditation” isn’t the right word, but it grapples with themes of identity, friendship, belonging, and the overall experience of life in the Chinese diaspora, making pointed barbs about the casual racism and unwitting microaggressions that are part of that.
Featuring a stacked cast (including Everything Everywhere All at Once Oscar-nominee Hsu), fearlessly funny comedy, some spectacular location shooting, and an impressive 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Joy Ride is the must-see comedy of the year.
