TL;DR – A film that is both crass, hilarious, and heartfelt, all in equal measure.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this film.

Joy Ride Review –

In the last run, before we do our best of 2023 lists, I wanted to try films that I knew I would enjoy and just missed, but also those that don’t fit into his category. There was a point in the year when it looked like everyone was putting out mature comedies again. Some were great, others not so much. So, I didn’t give much thought to Joy Ride during its short theatrical ride in Australia, and I think that might have been a mistake.

So to set the scene, it is 1998, and the Chen family has just moved into a new and very white neighbourhood called White Hills. But when Lolo Chen (Ashley Park) found Audrey Sullivan (Sherry Cola), there was an instant connection, a best friend connection that stayed with them all their lives, well up to this point. Audrey is going back to China for the first time, and she is taking Lolo with her as a translator. Lolo wants to see if they can find Audrey’s birth mother while they are there, but Audrey is just focused on her job because if she nails it, she will be moving out of White Hills. But throw in the complications of Lolo’s cousin Deadeye (Sabrina Wu), Audrey’s college roommate Kat Huang (Stephanie Hsu), and her business meeting with Chao (Ronny Chieng) happening in a club, and things soon start falling apart.  

To be clear, this is a very mature film with cursing, drugs, and sex, and don’t let my use of the Oxford comma confuse you. If any of those things are not your bag, then you probably won’t have a good time here. On that front, we get a group of four different characters, all with varying relationships with each other, and all bringing their burdens and secrets to the film. We also get a strong narrative drive of having to find one of their missing birth mothers. Look, I am not an expert here, but it did feel like some films, like The Farewell, dealt with some of these themes a bit better. But that is only one aspect that the film is looking at.

 What makes this film so engaging is its juxtapositions. Joy Ride is a film that oscillates wildly between quickly disposing of illicit material and interludes with a basketball team to slamming you in the heart with a devastating salvo. You can’t help but not get emotional when that revelation lands. I also found it fascinating how the film used the female gaze throughout the proceedings. The four leads have a great bond with each other, and this might be the best road trip film I have seen in a while.

In the end, do we recommend Joy Ride? Well, it is a very crass film at times, and that will be an understandable deal-breaker for many. However, I have to admit there were moments when it got an absolute belly laugh out of me and more than a few tears. If you liked Joy Ride, we would recommend to you Quiz Lady.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you watched Joy Ride?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 


Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Joy Ride Directed by – Adele Lim
Screenplay by – Cherry Chevapravatdumrong & Teresa Hsiao
Story by – Cherry Chevapravatdumrong, Teresa Hsiao & Adele Lim
Music by – Nathan Matthew David
Cinematography by – Paul Yee
Edited by – Nena Erb
Production/Distribution Companies – Point Grey Pictures, Lionsgate & Roadshow Films
Starring – Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, Sabrina Wu, Ronny Chieng, Meredith Hagner, David Denman, Annie Mumolo, Timothy Simons, Daniel Dae Kim, Desmond Chiam, Lennon Yee, Isla Rose Hall, Belle Zhang, Chloe Pun, Baron Davis, Lori Tan Chinn, Alexander Hodge, Chris Pang, Rohain Arora, Victor Lau, Debbie Fan, Kenneth Liu & Michelle Choi-Lee
Rating – Australia: MA15+; Canada: 14A; Germany: 12; New Zealand: R; United Kingdom: 15; United States: R