Where I Watched It: VOD/iTunes

English Audio Description Provided By: Deluxe

Narrated By: Jennifer Zane, Darren Rivets, and William Michael Redman.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, I used to work in a movie theatre. Shocking. To this day, i remember the trailer for joy Ride. not the new film I’m about to review, but the thriller starring Paul Walker. We used to have a TV in the lobby that ran a loop of upcoming trailers, and when joy Ride was on there, there was always this moment where Paul Walker super emphatically shouted “He’s watching us!”

I still remember that. I remember turning that into a thing, and quoting it because of how many times I head it. now, there’s a new Joy Ride. A lot of time has passed. Paul Walker is no longer with us, and this joy Ride is sending some young female actresses on a hangover style trip to China. Everyone is connected in some way to another character, but they all are in this trip together, quirks and all. It’s sort of a fish out of water scenario, except they are taking four Asian-American actresses and putting them into this clash of cultures.

There’s a formula here that is respected, and followed, but that formula is mostly always up to the cast to make it work. just like the men of The Hangover, or the ladies of Girls Trip, there’s always a standout. Sherri Cola is a stand out here. Not that the other girls don’t all provide a humorous moment, but for me sort of being introduced to her, it’s pretty obvious that this is a talent on a rapid rise, like how Tiffany Haddish exploded after Girls Trip.

A subplot about finding the mother that gave you up for adoption goes a little haywire, even if it means well, but it’s just not really well executed.These girls are at their best when sharing the screen and their antics, and the film offers them lots of opportunities to do so. However, aside from one joke toward the end, most of the jokes aren’t particularly memorable. Ken Jeong didn’t pop out of a trunk naked, and Jada Pinkett Smith didn’t pee all over New Orleans. Hell, even reaching back to something crappy like Road Trip, I still remember certain parts of that, and i haven’t seen that in years.

It was something I was glad to watch once, but I’m not sure I’ll be watching this over and over.The audio description team has a lot of translating to do, which explains why there are multiple names, and the main narration does a good job of describing the raunchy moments.

I’m glad this exists. The cast is promising, and it’s worth a watch at some point.

Final Grade: B