‘Joy Ride’ Review: Adele Lim’s Risqué Debut Starring Stephanie Hsu And Ashely Park Examines Act Of Self-Discovery In The Midst Of Sex, Drugs, And Partying – SXSW
18.03.2023 - 23:43
/ deadline.com
Adele Lim’s debut film, Joy Ride, will make you cry your eyes out, in addition to showing the audience that women know how to party hard.
Written by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong & Teresa Hsiao, the film stars Ashley Park, Stephanie Hsu, Sherry Cola, and Sabrina Wu as four friends on a global adventure of self-discovery – but also drugs, sex, and comedy. I expected nothing less from a movie that was originally titled Joy F**k Club, which I find hilarious.
Audrey (Park) is an adoptee growing up in an all-white household, and Lolo’s (Cola) parents just moved from China. Their friendship starts on the playground when Audrey is approached by a bully and Lolo punches him in the face.
As adults, one is now an overachieving workaholic lawyer on the verge of a promotion, and the other is a slacking artist who makes art out of human private parts, looking to sell her pieces to the highest bidder. Audrey is flying to China to close a deal with a big client, and at her going- away party, Lolo suggests she find her in China while there.
As they prepare to leave, Deadeye (Wu), Lolo’s cousin, tags along. The last person to join this group is Audrey’s old college friend and current Chinese television star, Kat (Hsu), because she speaks the language fluently.
On a night out with this potential client, the girls drink themselves into a stupor, playing slapping games, drinking thousand-year egg shots, and vomiting all over the place. Things that would normally bother a businessman didn’t phase him. What did send off alarm bells is the fact that Audrey didn’t seem like an ‘authentic’ Asian. In order to prove this authenticity, the young lawyer needs to present some form of connection to the heritage, or it’s no deal. Lolo blurts out that