The film Joy Ride features an adopted millennial lawyer, libidinous bestie, socially awkward cousin and a famed “good girl” actress. In China, they go on a raunchy road trip to find the birth mother of the last of them. This movie offers an Asian female perspective on sex-driven, drug-abusing and hard-drinking young male movies.
It is a blend of gross-out jokes and narrative about finding family and friends. It quickly becomes more serious after initially being hilarious. The film may not hit all notes but it does strive to be thoughtful as well as risqué.
In 1998 White Hills, Washington, while taking little Lolo (Chloe Pun) to the park Jenny (Debbie Fan) and Wey Chen (Kenneth Liu) are laughing at their new neighbors’ houses. The Chens are upset when Mary (Annie Mumolo) and Joe Sullivan (David Denman), a white couple ask if they are Chinese or not. But everything changes once the Sullivans introduce their adopted daughter from China named Audrey (Lennon Yee). Lola then defends her friend Audrey one time when she is bullied by people who are racists.
Audrey goes on an educational path different from Lolo’s throughout the years that pass. Because she was first ridiculed for being Asians and later fell in love with law school this has transformed her into a successful attorney Ashley Park plays Audrey. Sherry Cola makes art out of sex toys while living in a guest house in her own backyard called Lolo’s Cottage.
Despite being raised amongst many white men Audrey is now working with these same colleagues as an Asian woman who has worked with black people before Tim Simons). She will become a partner if she manages to win one case against all odds then moves back down south to Los Angeles soon after that promotion Timothy Simons).
Here she finds out that some folks do understand what she is saying when they learn that she cannot speak Mandarin. So, Audrey invites Lolo to become her Chinese translator on this trip and there are a few other things that happen in the book but none of them matter here. Lola’s cousin name Deadeye also known as K-Pop Lover (Sabrina Wu) tags along at the airport without asking anyone. Then, they get to Beijing and go straight to a television station. Kat (Stephanie Hsu), is Audrey’s former college roommate, who was once very sexually adventurous but now portrays virginal characters in movies. In trying to get Audrey’s attention, Lola has never liked her character before now she has figured out something else we can do after this.
Throughout Joy Ride, f-bombs explode from the beginning till end. The characters use vulgarities like sailors who drink too much alcohol during night outs. This movie should not be about tamed Asian women as described by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong (Family Guy) and Teresa Hsiao (Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens). Ashley believes herself “a sex maniac.” They have no qualms about getting dirty with multiple men…sometimes simultaneously.
But beneath all the raunchy jokes and sexual escapism, it emerges how some Asian women pretend to be pure for their fathers’ sake.. She is portrayed as being celibate because purity is central to her role as an actress but this does not start until now Desmond Chiam), Kat’s co-star/fiancé, is a virgin who wants to save his virginity for marriage only. He doesn’t know her scandalous past or libertine side. A running joke involving Kat’s secret tattoo symbolizes her need for secrecy about her past life; without endangering love or job prospects.
In fact, if she were totally honest with herself others would never accept this since it might ruin love or even employment opportunities.
Audrey has another problem altogether. Her Asian friends refer to her as white ethnically. It’s mean, though it is reflective of her childhood. With no real connection possible to Chinese roots, Audrey was brought up by white parents. She felt out of place wherever she went. She is not comfortable in her own skin. In china, A frank scene finds Audrey looking around and sighing with relief when she finally fit in the crowd, but soon learns that that’s not acceptance.
Joy ride becomes excessively silly for its own good; a long way past silly even into dumbness sometimes – some may argue Lim’s feature directorial debut – how many cases would you know of where an author of Crazy Rich Asians and Raya the Last Dragon could be accused of going off track? Rather than being genuinely funny, these characters are richly developed but come across as absolutely stupid – the line between funny and dumb is very thin indeed! The movie has cut scenes such as fantasy moments with the cast pretending K-pop stars’ roles; while Lim might ridicule passionate BTS following, he often drags on too long with this- . Some comedians are unaware of when to halt their jokes.
Blacks and Jews have also been subject to excessive humor from Hollywood since inception-Japanese tragedies must have made someone happy somewhere someday. Others will assert that Lim would never get away with treating Blacks or Jews similarly. What I am saying is that art can be offensive, but there seems to be no ill intent or racist undertones here definitely. Let us turn down the sensitivity and appreciate what this movie is trying to say.
Lim puts a naughty wrapper on female empowerment and Asian pride-Janet Maslin thought otherwise about it; the book reviewer gave Joy Ride two thumbs down for being “a lot less perfect than it wants to seem.” An emotionally captivating ending shows how adoption changes lives for better.Audrey’s wonderful parents and friends have given her every opportunity… for ménages à trois.
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