Joy Ride movie review & film summary (2023) | Roger Ebert (2024)

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Joy Ride movie review & film summary (2023) | Roger Ebert (1)

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Almost as soon as they met as children, Audrey and Lolo became inseparable. They were among the few Asian Americans in a painfully homogeneous white town in the Pacific Northwest. When their first playground bully hurled a racist insult at them, Lolo landed a punch right in his face as Audrey looked on in awe. Since that fateful day, the pair stuck by each other through the rest of school, the start of their careers, and the beginnings of many bad choices. Now as an ambitious associate at a law firm, Audrey (Ashley Park) has the chance for a life-changing promotion when her boss sends her to China to close a major business deal, and Lolo (Sherry Cola), Audrey’s much more chaotic counterpart, comes along on the adventure as a translator back to their homeland. With the help of two more friends, Deadeye (Sabrina Wu) and Kat (Stephanie Hsu), the group makes it an unforgettable trip that gets dirty and deep on what identity means and how to be true to oneself.

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Making her feature debut, Adele Lim takes bold risks in her raunchy road trip comedy “Joy Ride.” The movie walks a fine line between exploring heartfelt questions about belonging and outrageous jokes played for shock value. It’s as if Lim and fellow co-writers Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao saw the antics in Malcolm D. Lee’s “Girls Trip” as a challenge to top. It’s safe to say the crew in “Joy Ride” do top the outrageous factor, but whether or not it’s as effective will depend on the viewer’s stomach for bawdy humor.

Still, as uneven as the tone may wobble from Audrey’s search for her long lost mother, who gave her up for adoption, and the group hooking up with members of a traveling basketball team, there's no shortage of jokes and other comical situations to keep the awkward laughs and full-body cringes rolling along. To enhance the movie’s whirlwind melee, Paul Yee’s cinematography transports audiences from the banality of Audrey and Lolo’s hometown to the luridly colorful animated sequences of the group’s K-Pop fantasy number and the many stops along the way, from misty country roads and expansive rivers to busy cafes and dimly lit clubs. The richness of each scene steadies the sense of whiplash from the story’s breakneck pace.

Beyond crude humor, “Joy Ride” also pokes fun at Audrey’s identity crisis, using it as a springboard for pointed self-criticism and sharp cultural commentary. One of the movie’s sharpest sequences occurs when Audrey is fooled by a white American, a drug dealer desperate to hide her goods. She initially trusts her fellow American at the expense of sitting with other Chinese passengers and puts the group in an even more precarious situation because, as Lolo puts it, Audrey is prejudiced against people who look like her. There are many little introspective moments throughout the movie, like when they land at the Shanghai airport; Audrey notes what a different feeling it is for her to no longer be in the minority. There are even more observational jokes about missing out on a country’s traditional cuisine or speaking the language when you grew up outside the culture. These one-liners and observations throughout “Joy Ride” give a more nuanced sense of humor to the quips about random sex acts and ill-advised tattoos.

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As with many an ensemble movie, the strength is in its cast, and “Joy Ride” is no exception. Led by the central drama between Ashley Park and Sherry Cola’s characters, their relationship shifts and evolves throughout the journey, forcing them to reckon with their moments of self-discovery. Park plays the pitch-perfect straight character, the high achiever destined for greatness—with all the flaws that can come with that personality. With a deceptively calm demeanor, Cola’s character often instigates many of the movie’s problems but not in a malicious way, almost as if eternally optimistic that she will get the results she wants. Sabrina Wu’s Deadeye and Stephanie Hsu’s Kat bring even more volatility to the mix, as Deadeye’s unpredictability and deadpan expression make it tough for others to connect with her, and Kat’s sordid past comes to haunt her more than once, even as she’s trying to change her lifestyle for a Christian fiancé.

While not everything in “Joy Ride” comes together smoothly, Lim’s movie is plenty of messy fun. It's mostlylighthearted but occasionally profound in what it says about identity and friendships. The stars of the showembrace the outrageous high jinks, enjoying the free pass to behave badly and push the envelope of raunch comedy. For all its twists and tangents, “Joy Ride” remains unapologetically true to itself and the central friendship that starts us all on our merry misadventure.

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Film Credits

Joy Ride movie review & film summary (2023) | Roger Ebert (9)

Joy Ride (2023)

Rated Rfor strong and crude sexual content, language throughout, drug content and brief graphic nudity.

95 minutes

Cast

Ashley Parkas Audrey

Sherry Colaas Lolo

Stephanie Hsuas Kat

Sabrina Wuas Deadeye

David Denmanas Joe Sullivan

Annie Mumoloas Mary Sullivan

Director

  • Adele Lim

Writer (story by)

  • Cherry Chevapravatdumrong
  • Teresa Hsiao
  • Adele Lim

Writer

  • Cherry Chevapravatdumrong
  • Teresa Hsiao

Cinematographer

  • Paul Yee

Editor

  • Nena Erb

Composer

  • Nathan Matthew David

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Joy Ride movie review & film summary (2023) | Roger Ebert (2024)

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Joy Ride movie review & film summary (2023) | Roger Ebert? ›

It's mostly lighthearted but occasionally profound in what it says about identity and friendships. The stars of the show embrace the outrageous high jinks, enjoying the free pass to behave badly and push the envelope of raunch comedy.

What is Joy Ride about summary? ›

Is Joy Ride 2023 worth watching? ›

If you enjoy comedies with a solid storyline as well, offering more than just cheap slapstick comedy, then director Adele Lim's 2023 movie "Joy Ride" certainly is well-worth taking 95 minutes to sit down and watch. My rating of "Joy Ride" lands on a seven out of ten stars.

What's the new movie Joy Ride about? ›

When Audrey's (Ashley Park) business trip to Asia goes sideways, she enlists the aid of Lolo (Sherry Cola), her irreverent, childhood best friend who also happens to be a hot mess; Kat (Stephanie Hsu), her college friend turned Chinese soap star; and Deadeye (Sabrina Wu), Lolo's eccentric cousin.

Is Joy Ride the movie based on a true story? ›

No, Joy Ride is a work of fiction. However, it draws inspiration from real-life events and urban legends.

Who was the killer in the movie Joy Ride? ›

In "Joy Ride", two brothers (Zhan & Walker) get involved with a big rig driver over the CB radio while on the open road. They set him up as a practical joke and unleash all hell on themselves as the unseen subject of their prank, known only as "Rusty Nail", turns out to be a maniacal killer.

What happens at the end of Joy Ride? ›

In the first ending Lewis is able to break the board that is supporting the truck and it comes crashing down on top of Rusty Nail. In the second ending, Venna is able to get out of the chair. She shoots Rusty Nail with the shotgun as he is trying to pull Lewis under the truck.

What are the criticism of Joy Ride? ›

Critics Reviews

Hsu and Cola balance the mania well against Park's straight woman sincerity, but it's Wu, a rising star on the standup scene, who serves as Joy Ride's surprise MVP. Content collapsed. A lot you've seen before but with just enough rude freshness to keep from feeling like a complete retread.

Who is the killer in Joy Ride? ›

Rusty Nail is a main antagonist in the Joy Ride movies. He is an enigmatic, serial killing truck driver who stalks, tortures and kills his victims for those who have wronged him.

What happens to Charlotte in Joy Ride? ›

Did Rusty Nail kill Charlotte or did he let her go? He let her go. Near the end, when the police opened the door of the truck that had crashed into the house, we can see Charlotte in the back, tied up and gagged. Later we see her in the ambulance with Venna.

How explicit is Joy Ride? ›

Parents Need to Know. Parents need to know that Joy Ride is a crude, hilarious road movie with strong language, sexual humor, drinking, and drugs.

What is the movie Joy Ride about with Paul Walker? ›

Who is the mother of Audrey in Joy Ride? ›

Lolo lies to Chao that Audrey is in close contact with them. Prior to the trip, Lolo had called Audrey's adoption agency and tracked them down. Audrey resolves to meet her birth mother, Min Park and take her to Chao's party to close the deal.

What is the book Joy Ride about? ›

Full of hijinks and heartbreak, Joy Ride is a celebration of the human spirit, an entertaining journey about the lengths we can and will go to live our lives fully, deeply, triumphantly. It takes a special kind of person to drop everything to ride your bike thousands of miles.

What is the content warning of Joy Ride? ›

Sexual content is frequent and mature. It includes group sex between a woman and two men (moaning, rhythmic movements), and there's lots of talk about sex and bodies, especially from one character who's proud of her active, positive sex life.

What is the story behind the ride? ›

The Ride recounts the life of Glaswegian pro BMX rider and author John Buultjens, who grew up with an abusive father and wanted to ride ever since he watched E.T.

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