Follows four Asian American friends as they bond and discover the truth of what it means to know and love who you are, while they travel through China in search of one of their birth mothers.

The directorial debut of Adele Lim, one of the screenwriters of the smash hit ‘Crazy Rich Asians’, is ‘Joy Ride’, a comedy about four Asian-American friends who take a trip to China and end up in all sorts of unplanned situations. It is a raunchy comedy that owes a debt to movies such as ‘Bridesmaids’ and ‘The Hangover’, but it does so in a way that allows it to explore cultural differences particularly through the lens of what it means to be growing up American while being of Asian descent.

The movie centres on best friends Audrey (Ashley Park) and Lolo (Sherry Cola), who have grown up together in Seattle after becoming friends as children. Audrey is a successful lawyer who has been brought up by the white parents who adopted her, whereas Lolo is a wannabe artist who hasn’t had much success to this point. Tasked with closing a deal with a Chinese businessman that will get her a promotion, Audrey sets off for the country of her birth with Lolo in toe alongside two other friends, actress Kat (Stephanie Hsu) and K-Pop fanatic Deadeye (Sabrina Wu). Various hijinks ensue when things don’t quite go according to plan, leading Audrey on a path to find her birth mother and her friends on a pass to finding themselves.

At its heart ‘Joy Ride’ is a film about coming to terms with your own identity and aside from some of the drug and sex fueled laughs it does have genuine heart. The performances are good and I laughed a fair bit, so for my money this is a pretty good debut feature from Adele Lim.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: Adele Lim

Starring: Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, Sabrina Wu, Ronny Chieng, Meredith Hagner, David Denman, Annie Mumolo, Timothy Simons, Daniel Dae Kim, Desmond Chiam, Baron Davis, Lori Tan Chinn and Alexander Hodge

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt15268244/