Starring: Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, Sabrina Wu, Ronny Chieng, Lori Tan Chinn, David Denman, Annie Mumolo, Desmond Chiam, Alexander Hodge, Chris Pang
OUR RATING: ★★★☆☆
Story:
Comedy directed by Adele Lim. Joy Ride (2023) follows four unlikely friends who embark on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure trip to Aisa. When Audrey (Ashley Park) decides to go to Aisa to find her birth mother, 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. Their no-holds-barred, epic 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.
Best Quotes
Joe Sullivan: You guys must be new to town, right?
Jenny Chen: New to town, but not new to the country. We just moved from California. We speak English.
Mary Sullivan: Oh, that’s wonderful! So do we!
Boy: Slide’s off limits to Ching-Chongs.
Young Lolo: F*** you!
Young Audrey: [as Lolo punches the boy in the face] Do you want to be best friends?
Frank: Kicked my a** again, Sullivan. That’s pretty good for a…
Kevin: Woman.
Mike: Asian.
Frank: No, I was going to say “associate”.
Frank: Wait. Can we say “Asian” anymore, or is that offensive?
Kevin: We can’t say anything anymore.
Frank: You’re goddamn right, Kevin! So shut the f*** up! I’m an ally. I shop at 99 Ranch Market. Some of us are doing the work.
Audrey: Yes. I really appreciated that Mulan-themed office birthday party.
Frank: You’re welcome.
Frank: [to Audrey] Oh, you’re going to love LA. I mean, there’s a Chinatown, a Thai Town, a Koreatown. I mean, it’s basically Asia.
Lolo: [in Mandarin] I want to take my mouth and wrap it around your balls and gargle them like Chubby Bunny.
Audrey: You do understand it’s really important for me to be professional the entire time.
Lolo: Of course. Audrey, I got you. Look at me.
Audrey: You’re thinking about a d**k.
Lolo: Dammit. You’re right.
Lolo: That’s what my art is all about. Inspiring chaos.
Lolo: You’re basically white.
Audrey: That’s not true.
Lolo: You have a throw pillow that says, “Wine o’clock.”
Audrey: Rose all day.
Lolo: You own a picnic basket.
Audrey: They’re very useful.
Lolo: Name every character on Succession.
Audrey: Logan, Kendall, Shiv, Roman… Oh, you got me.
Lolo: Deadeye’s coming.
Audrey: Deadeye, your cousin?
Lolo: She’s visiting friends. And her parents, you know, just didn’t want her to fly alone, so I’m chaperoning.
Audrey: A chaperone? For a grown woman?
Deadeye: @Jinderalla88, @JHopesGirl, @SugaIsMyDaddy.
Audrey: Oh, online people?
Deadeye: Yeah, they’re my best friends. I went to @Jinderalla88’s wedding on Zoom. He married a pillow.
Audrey: I don’t think I’ve ever been around only Asian people. I mean, we look like everyone else for once. I think we blend right in.
Lolo: Yeah. But people here can tell Chinese Chinese from American Chinese.
Audrey: What do you mean?
Lolo: [points to the different people they’re passing] Hong Kong Chinese. Bluetooth. Shanghai Chinese. Bougie. Ooh. Taiwanese. Weird, but cute.
Audrey: What kind of Chinese are they?
Lolo: What the f*** is wrong with you? Are you trying to get canceled? Those are Koreans!
Deadeye: That’s Howdy Fun. It’s a K-Pop group!
Lolo: Yeah. They all have the same face. That’s how you can tell.
Audrey: [referring to Kat] You know, you both actually have a lot in common. I mean, You’re both very sexually…
Lolo: Free?
Audrey: Yeah. She blew Nick and Joe Jonas.
Lolo: Not Kevin? Not impressed.
'If you do not know where you come from, how do you know who you are?' - Chao (Joy Ride) Share on X
Lolo: Let’s go see this trash bag kitty cat pu**y tat b**ch.
Kat: [to Lolo] Oh, it’s so nice to see you. I hear that you’re living in Audrey’s garage and drawing p**ises now?
Audrey: So, when do we get to meet your fiance?
Kat: Oh. You just saw him. He’s the leading man.
Lolo: Wait. The human Mushu?
Lolo: [referring to Kat and Clarence] Wait. You two have never had sex.
Kat: Our connection is based on spiritual, not physical intimacy.
Lolo: Did you have a spiritual connection when the Jonas Brothers were Eiffel Towering you?
Clarence: Oh, my God. That’s so funny. I love Paris.
Kat: You know, I used to be like you in college, but guess I just grew out of it.
Lolo: Really? Oh, because you seem kind of tense from all the no-boning. You sure you’re good? You sure you don’t miss it?
Kat: No tongue until the wedding bell’s rung, my friend.
Audrey: When in Rome, do what the Romans do.
Deadeye: Bathe together.
Lolo: [to Kat, in Mandarin] Why don’t you eat a d**k? Eat a big or a small one. Whatever you like.
Kat: You ready to lose to a celebrity?
Lolo: Oh, I can’t wait to slap the s**t out of you.
Audrey: God, I’m going to be sick again.
Deadeye: I’ll get you a ginger ale.
Audrey: Get me a new face, or stomach, or something.
Audrey: Do you speak English?
Chao: Many Chinese people speak English. But most Americans do not speak Chinese. It’s always fun to pretend.
'You just got to give it some time and find your people.' - Kenny (Joy Ride) Share on X
Chao: You can tell a lot about a person by their family.
Lolo: Nai Nai’s like, Chinese Chinese. Like, “super long hair coming out of a mole and refuses to pluck it because it’s bad luck” Chinese.
Kat: “Forces you to overeat, and then comments on your weight later” Chinese.
Lolo: Like literally, “take her bra off, wipe her under-boob sweat in the middle of a Buddhist temple and make you sniff it” Chinese.
Kat: “Has a plastic bag full of other plastic bags” Chinese.
Audrey: I heard that if you’re short, you’ll get kidnapped to go live on a gymnastics farm.
Deadeye: That’s not a thing.
Kat: Just curious, what do you do for work?
Jess: Oh, I do import. I do import. And then I also do export.
Audrey: That’s so cool. So like like furniture?
Jess: Sure.
Deadeye: Yeah, there’s a drug dealer on the train.
Jess: Oh, f***!
Audrey: Who do we think it is? The family with the oranges?
Lolo: [referring to Jess] Audrey, get a f***ing grip! It’s this b**ch.
Jess: [as she blows cocaine in their faces] You’re drug dealers now, b**ches!
Lolo: What the f***? Okay, that is good s**t, by the way.
Jess: Yeah, I only sell the best.
Lolo: We can’t get caught with drugs in China. We’ll get deported. Or jail, probably for life.
Audrey: Is this what happened in Brokedown Palace?
Deadeye: That was Thailand!
Audrey: Oh, my God. I’m going to get disbarred.
Kat: I am too famous for jail.
Jess: You look like you’ve had a lot of things in your a**hole.
Kat: Not a lot of things. Just one thing. But maybe different varieties of that one thing, which is d**k. I mean, no, no!
Jess: Are you going to step up for your fellow countrywoman? Are you going to plug or are you going to play?
Audrey: No. Neither. Is that a condom?
Deadeye: I’m not ready to have sex!
Audrey: That American girl stole Kat’s suitcase. Our passports are in there.
Lolo: Well, the bright side is, we just got kicked off the train. We’re not hanging by our nipples in a meat freezer.
Audrey: Kat, honey, you good? Are they coming out?
Kat: Yeah, but only seven. And I think I put in eight.
Audrey: If you get a clean one could you just keep me posted?
Lolo: Just push, pull. I mean, twist it!
Kat: It’s not a Bop It. It’s my a**hole!
Lolo: Just stick your hand up there like a claw machine trying to get the stuffed bear.
Lolo: Get that bear!
Kat: I’m getting the bear!
Audrey: How are you so normal? You did like twice as much stuff as the rest of us.
Lolo: I think all the coke and molly just balanced out my system. I just feel good. Like “just watched a child fall through a manhole cover” good. You deserve it, little s**t.
Lolo: [to Kat] You look like Hello Kitty just got skull-f***ed by Grobie.
Audrey: I’m not racist.
Lolo: Hey, “not racist”. But you don’t like boba, and you’ve never f***ed an Asian guy, so.
Kat: Damn. Still?
Audrey: When I masturbate, I sometimes fantasize about Splinter. He’s Asian.
Lolo: He’s a rat.
Audrey: He’s a good father!
Deadeye: Wait. There’s someone on the road.
Lolo: No, there isn’t. You’re probably hallucinating.
Deadeye: Okay, maybe because I also see a giraffe peeling off his spots and throwing them like a frisbee.
Lolo: Audrey, are you eye-f***ing an Asian guy?
Lolo: I’m going to Jaws the f*** out of Baron Davis tonight.
Kat: Your mouth is so big.
Audrey: Oh, my God.
Lolo: I know. But, look, without teeth, not as big.
Audrey: Why is mine so tiny?
Deadeye: I’m all underbite.
Kat: Okay. Can everyone just close our mouths? Let’s just be adults. Right?
Lolo: [to Kat] Have fun DJing in between your legs tonight.
Audrey: I’m just a garbage American who only speaks English. And a little Gollum. “My precious. Little filthy Hobbitses.” Do you guys have that here?
Kenny: Yeah. It’s all over the world.
Kenny: There is no way to do Chinese wrong.
Kenny: The thing is, in China, the collective is much bigger than the individual.
Kenny: You just got to give it some time and find your people.
Lolo: So, how was everyone’s night?
Kat: Restful. I feel rested.
Audrey: The beds are comfortable here.
Baron Davis: Lolo! What the f*** happened? Jiaying, torn hamstring. Arvind, Ken, concussions. Todd, shattered f***ing pelvis!
Lolo: Hello, kitty Kat.
Audrey: How old is our driver?
Deadeye: Twelve, counting the Chinese way. So eleven.
Audrey: So, is this a Chinese card game?
Deadeye: No, I just made it up to win their money. I tell them it’s an American game.
Deadeye: You know why I like K-pop?
Audrey: No. Why?
Deadeye: Because it likes me back.
Deadeye: [to Audrey] Everyone likes you. You’re cool. Your hair smells like a cookie. Your life is perfect.
Audrey: I wonder if I’d still feel like I had to be perfect all the time just to belong. I don’t know. Maybe my whole life would be different.
Lolo: I don’t think it’d be that much different.
Nai Nai Chen: You know, I wore that dress the night I was deflowered by the love of my life.
Lolo: Aw. Grandpa?
Nai Nai Chen: No.
Lolo: Oh.
Helen: You, Korea girl.
Kat: Your mom’s name is Min Park.
Audrey: That’s a mistake. I’m Chinese. I went to Chinese school for a year. We celebrated Chinese New Year’s.
Deadeye: But Korea’s great. I mean, there’s mukbang, soju, Hyundai, Gangnam Style, half of Hines Ward, half of Charles Melton, all of Randall Park.
Audrey: My whole life has been wrong.
Audrey: We’re only friends because my parents were like, “Ooh, another little Chinese girl.”
Lolo: In everyone’s defense, we were the only Asian people in town. So we still would’ve been friends. White people don’t know the difference.
Deadeye: So what if you’re Korean? We all end up in the same place. Walking around town with our hands behind our back, like this.
Audrey: I don’t actually give a s**t if I’m a Korean lawyer, or a Chinese lawyer, or a f***ing German lawyer, because I’m a lawyer. And I’m going to finish this job.
Audrey: We don’t need f***ing passports. Let’s go. Let’s think. No bad ideas. Let’s go.
Lolo: We could flash our titties and just hitchhike the whole way.
Audrey: That’s a bad idea.
Deadeye: We could take a rocket to space, and then try to land in Korea. No customs in the atmosphere.
Audrey: I feel like that’s worse.
Deadeye: You know who can bypass airport security?
Audrey: The Obamas.
Deadeye: Yes. And K-pop stars.
Kat: We are not K-pop stars.
Deadeye: Not yet, we aren’t.
Deadeye: Just act confident. We’re Brownie Tuesday. We’re a brand new group. We just did our debut in Shanghai. Our first single has nine million downloads. Everyone remember their names?
Audrey: Sassy.
Lolo: Cutie.
Kat: Lisa.
Deadeye: Lisa Two.
Lolo: We got this.
Deadeye: This always happens to me. I make friends, but they never come through. No one wants to be my friend.
Security Guard: I don’t believe these girls are singers.
Xing Xing: I can assure you that these are professional idols. And they’ve been training since they were fourteen and fifteen years-old.
Lolo: [referring to Kat’s tattoo] Your pu**y’s the devil?
Audrey: That is way bigger than I expected.
Lolo: No wonder you won’t have sex with Clarence. That thing is massive.
Kat: My v***na is the devil. And she is here to stay.
Lolo: It’s okay. It’s not the end of the world.
Kat: No, it literally is the end of the world. Clarence and I were going to rent a house in Malibu. And we were going to be one of those couples who meditate every single day and tell people about it, because that is what people do in Los Angeles.
Deadeye: Four bears for four best friends. Cappuccino is for Audrey, because she doesn’t like to try anything weird. She’s the best.
Audrey: Are you two best friends now? What, like Lilo and Stitch?
Lolo: [as Audrey imitates Stitch] You f***ing suck at impressions.
Kat: [to Audrey] I am an actress. And even I am less self-involved than you are.
Audrey: I don’t belong anywhere. I’m clearly not white, but you’re always telling me that I am. And I’m also not Asian enough. At least not for you.
Lolo: That’s all in your head! Your life is perfect!
Audrey: How is my life perfect when I spend all my time babysitting a grown-a** twenty-nine year-old woman?
Lolo: I’m babysitting you!
Audrey: You want to be a real artist? Then grow up! Right now, you’re just a barnacle with a cute hobby!
Lolo: Yoh, I may be a barnacle, but at least I know who I am.
Kat: [as she leaves a message for Clarence] I want to be one hundred percent honest about everything, and, well, everyone I’ve ever done. I guess we’ll start with the A’s.
Dae: [to Audrey] It may not be any of my business, but it seems to me that what matters the most is if your friends love you enough to forgive you. And if they went through all this trouble, I think they would.
Clarence: Look, Kat, when we kiss, I have to leave space for Jesus. I got to leave that God gap, because I’m going to ruin my pants. Every time. That’s why I wear three pairs of underwear.
Kat: Oh, honey. I love you so much that I gave up the thing I love second most for you. And I love d**k.
Clarence: I can be d**k. And I can love you. I can do both.
Deadeye: [referring to Lolo] She doesn’t want to talk to you.
Audrey: Yeah, I figured when I left her like ten messages and she didn’t call me back.
Audrey: [to Lolo] You were always looking out for me. With you was the only time I felt safe to be me. Even though I didn’t know who the hell I was. But you’ve always been comfortable being you. And you tried to make me feel that way too. You know me better than I know myself.
Deadeye: Hell, yeah. She had a devil’s threesome in China.
Audrey: You are an incredible, true artist. You cannot give that up just because I am a lying, hurtful, stupid failure of a friend.
Lolo: Audrey, I haven’t given up. Look. My wall of licky cats. I just sold one yesterday. I’m only waiting tables for now so I’m not such a barnacle.
Lolo: Look at us! Our second annual best friends trip. This is going to be iconic.
Lolo: We could get a tattoo of the Chinese flag to commemorate the motherland. Or Princess Peach. I haven’t decided.
Kat: Yeah, like you all are going to get tattoos.
Deadeye: What if I already got one? I already got one.
Kat: You did not.
Lolo, Audrey: What?
Deadeye: Want to see?
Audrey: It lights up.
All: Ooh!
Trailer: