From Joe Peltzer

Overflowing with heart and knockout performances from Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, and Stephanie Hsu, Joy Ride’s comedic charm finds itself on a rocky foundation that is continuously weakened with silly humor that doesn’t always hit.

In the film, when four friends (Park, Cola, Hsu, and Sabrina Wu) venture to Asia for a business trip, an unexpected roadblock leads Park’s Audrey and crew on a journey to find her birth mother. First of all, this cast is downright excellent, a predominantly Asian call sheet that fully dives into the script’s dissection of culture in an eye-opening, refreshing, and envelope-pushing way… a refreshing change of perspective that we need more of. Park is the true lead of the film, her balance of her character’s responsibility and silliness commanding from the start. Cola is equally as strong with the tall task of the goofy, immature friend who ends up connecting the pieces of the film’s underlying themes. Hsu also is excellent as a buttoned-up, yet secretly sexually explosive friend, expertly playing the devolving of her mature facade. Wu’s Deadeye was simply fine for me, but much of the film’s annoyingly misplaced attempts at comedy originate with how this character is written. Think The Hangover’s Allen without the character development.

Joy Ride is at its best when it focuses on the characters, their relationships, and their individual journeys. Unfortunately, those moments are few and far between until the second half of the outing, the first a flood of jokes that are often overkill. Yes, this is a provocative film, and I love that, but there are many moments here that were so ridiculous that they became bothersome. Some of it may simply come down to taste; many will find some of the insanity hilarious. Had therebeen a better balance of the film’s intents, Joy Ride would have been a knockout for me. Instead it ends up being a fun time with fantastic performances that left me wanting more from an unfocused script. The value here is in the cast, both the leads and the supporting (Ronny Chieng cracks me up, and oh hey Daniel Dae Kim).

That WAP scene, though. Wow.

Joy Ride is now playing in theaters.

Rating: 3/5

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