Joy Ride

By Jamie May 21, 2026No Comments

Title: Joy Ride
Director: Adele Lim
Release Date: July 7, 2023
Run Time: 95 minutes
Genres: Comedy
Starring: Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, Sabrina Wu
Where to Find It: Website
Rating:

When Audrey's business trip to Asia goes sideways, she enlists the help of Lolo, her childhood best friend, Kat, a college friend, and Deadeye, Lolo's eccentric cousin. Their epic, no-holds-barred experience becomes a journey of bonding, friendship, belonging and wild debauchery that reveals the universal truth of what it means to know and love who you are.

Review

Joy Ride is a road trip comedy film starring an all-female Asian American main cast. The plot revolves around two friends: Audrey the successful Asian-American adoptee raised by white parents and her less successful artist friend Lolo. What starts as a business trip turns into a journey to locate Audrey’s birth mother.

The style of comedy in this film was reminiscent of the R rated comedies of the 2000s: over the top and very raunchy. Everything about the film was a giant middle finger to common American stereotypes about Asian women and I loved that about it. The film had it’s moments where it was funny with some great references that you’d only know if you are immersed in Asian culture (okay but really, why are there so many Asian pop stars named Lisa?). Other times though, the humor was kind of cringey and unfunny, at least to me.

The story starts to lose focus at some point and it just becomes one zany event after the next, but does eventually come back around to Audrey’s story about identity, connecting with her roots, and examining her relationships with friends. I did like the ending, but wished that the story could have been a little more coherent in its storytelling. It’s a pretty okay movie that I wouldn’t go out of my way to rewatch, but I had a good time nonetheless.