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Ashley Park's new movie Joy Ride lands 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating

stephanie hsu, sabrina wu, ashley park, sherry cola, joy ride
Ashley Park's new movie lands 100% RT ratingEd Araquel/Lionsgate

The first reviews are in for Emily in Paris star Ashley Park's new comedy Joy Ride, and it looks set to be a surefire hit.

The anticipated movie, which also stars Everything Everywhere All at Once's Stephanie Hsu, Turning Red's Sherry Cola and comedian Sabrina Wu, comes from Crazy Rich Asians writer Adele Lim (in her directorial debut), and Family Guy writers Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao.

The movie follows two friends called Audrey and Lolo (Park and Cola) as they embark on a trip through Asia to search for Audrey's birth mother. They're joined there by former college friend Kat (Hsu), now a big Chinese soap star, and Lolo's unusual cousin Deadeye (Sabrina Wu), before things take a wild turn.

stephanie hsu, sabrina wu, ashley park, sherry cola, joy ride
Ed Araquel/Lionsgate

Related: Everything Everywhere's Stephanie Hsu teases new movie with Ryan Gosling

The movie has already scored an impressive 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and initial reactions following Joy Ride's premiere at SXSW have praised the hilarity of the script as well as the four leads.

Here's what they've been saying:

IndieWire

"Joy Ride can easily cruise longer than its 95-minute running time. With so much to say and a supremely talented cast embodying lovable and multi-dimensional characters, a sequel is a no-brainer. Joy Ride is easily the golden standard for progressive, raunchy comedy and the need for more diverse stories being told on screen."

TheWrap

"A sweet mix of a buddy comedy and a girl’s trip film that will have you laughing so much you’ll cry – and then crying for real, and laughing some more. This is such a bold and genuine movie, one that highlights the concepts of found family, maternal connections and doing what makes you happy alongside all of its unrestrained and risque fun."

sabrina wu, ashley park, sherry cola, and stephanie hsu in joy ride
Ed Araquel/Lionsgate

SlashFilm

"Joy Ride is the big, broad, studio comedy to beat this year, an incredible directorial debut with one of the funniest scripts in a while, and a cast that should get all the praise in the world because they just became the dynamic quartet to watch."

The Hollywood Reporter

"Joy Ride [...] gets off on putting its characters through absurd, often side-splittingly funny situations. The film is packed with frenetic cocaine-fueled decision-making, raunchy threesomes and chaotic impersonations.

"The deft screenplay establishes the giddy energy coursing through Joy Ride, but it’s the performances from Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu and Sabrina Wu that maintain the film’s anarchic pulse."

joy ride poster
Lionsgate

Deadline

"Joy Ride is about the Asian experience but also has something for everyone. I would have enjoyed seeing more of Audrey’s struggle when discovering information about her mother, and I also found parts of the ending to be rushed.

"But the script is self-assured, the direction is dynamic, and the cast is sensational. Props to Chevapravatdumrong, Hsiao and Lim for knowing when to have fun and knowing when to get serious. It’s a difficult balance to strike, but they do it effortlessly. What a joy to ride!"

Variety

“Joy Ride recognizes that women – and especially women of color – have it tough in the workplace, where they aren’t treated as equals and are frequently objectified by their peers.

"But if the movie’s being political about anything, it’s showing that another underrepresented demographic can be just as extreme as your average Seth Rogen movie. With that goal in mind, Joy Ride features more irreverent vagina monologues than Sausage Party did dick jokes, which is a surely an accomplishment of some kind."

Joy Ride will open in cinemas on June 23.


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