Joy Ride (2023)

[Drunk Monk]

Joy Ride
Stephanie Hsu's next film

This had a lot of buzz in the AAPI community - Ashley Park, Stephanie Hsu, Ronny Chieng, Daniel Dae Kim - 4 Asian gals on a trip to Beijing that goes off the rails and gets raunchy. It’s uneven at best, part sisterhood story with Amerasian misfits. I didn’t know an R film could show a close up shot of a tattooed vagina. A few moments about Asian identity resonated (not the vagina) but most of the jokes were crass and fell flat (Seth Rogan produced). Park struggled through as the lead, and perhaps the Paris ending was a nod to her work in Emily in Paris which is all I know her from. The overall story was too absurd to accept but at least I can participate in the conversation if it ever comes up again.

Not D00M recommended.