EARLY REVIEW

I like the original title "Joy F🤩k Club" better, but holy f🤩k, "Joy Ride" is hilarious. It's a genuine raunch comedy like I haven't seen in a very long time. Audrey (Ashley Park) has an important business trip to China to close with a prospective client for her law firm. The prospective client wants a partner that understands Chinese culture and heritage. Audrey, who grew up with white parents, is very much Americanized and doesn't know much about her native culture. She doesn't speak the language and has internalized a "model minority" identity. She enlists the help of some childhood friends to help her navigate the culture and hopefully close with the client. But Audrey's friends encourage her to discover her roots and embrace her heritage. Audrey's exploration takes them on a debaucherous detour that is equal parts funny and sexy. I was often doubled over with laughter, and I know I haven't laughed as hard at any scene the way I did during the train scene.

Ashley Park, Stephanie Hsu, Sherry Cola, and Sabrina Wu are a stellar ensemble. They have excellent chemistry together, comedic timing off the charts, and sizzling sex appeal. But then, after spending an hour plus on this side-splitting journey, "Joy Ride" becomes a poignant and earnest voyage of self-discovery. The unexpected turn blindsided me with an emotional wallop that had my tears flowing. See in a crowd with a bunch of friends at a late-night showing. Do NOT wait to stream this. It's an uproariously funny and shamelessly explicit tale of finding oneself and discovering one's true identity.

(Disclosures: Asian bias, Seattle bias, and a newly discovered Ashley Park bias). But I'm 99.999% sure I'd still be at 4.5 stars, even if I weren't an Asian that lives in "White Hills," Seattle.

— 4.5 / 5 ⭐