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An adopted millennial lawyer, libidinous bestie, socially awkward cousin, and famed "good girl" actress embark on a raunchy road trip through China to find the latter's birth mother. Joy Ride gives an Asian female perspective to the sex-fueled, cocaine-snorting, and boozy antics usually seen in juvenile frat boy comedies. The gross-out gags intermingle with a heartfelt narrative about finding belonging in friends and family. The laughs come fast and furious until more subdued themes take hold. Not all of it works, but the film succeeds in being thoughtful and risqué.

In 1998 White Hills, Washington, Jenny (Debbie Fan) and Wey (Kenneth Liu) Chen scoff at their new neighbors while escorting young Lolo (Chloe Pun) to the playground. The Chens are initially offended when a White couple, Mary (Annie Mumolo) and Joe (David Denman) Sullivan, ask if they're Chinese. The mood changes when the Sullivans introduce their adopted Chinese daughter, Audrey (Lennon Yee...

“Joy Ride,” the raunchy girl’s trip comedy starring Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu and Sabrina Wu opens this week.

It’s the first studio movie to feature a predominantly Asian cast since Marvel’s “Shang-Chi: The Legend of the 10 Rings” in 2021, and the first since “Crazy Rich Asians” in 2018 to feature Asian female leads.

In the film, lawyer Audrey Sullivan (Park) is tasked with securing a business deal in China. She brings along her childhood friend Lolo (Cola) as her translator, as Audrey was adopted by white parents. They’re joined by Deadeye (Wu), Lolo cousin. While in China, they meet up with Audrey’s college roommate Kat, a successful actress. Lolo encourages Ashley to search for her birth mother, and hijinks — with an emphasis on “high” — ensue.

When did “Joy Ride” premiere and when is its release date?

“Joy Ride” premiered at SXSW on March 17, 2023. It opens...

Adele Lim’s Joy Ride is a raunchy and propulsive feature directorial debut set in motion by a sweet chance meeting. It’s 1998 and Lolo (Milana Wan) and her parents have just moved to White Falls, a suburban and very Caucasian enclave in Washington state. Their first meaningful encounter with the neighborhood — which Lim introduces in a zippy montage — and its residents is at a local playground. “Are you Chinese?” the Sullivans (David Denman and Annie Mumolo), a white family, asks them. The Chens (Kenneth Liu and Debbie Fan) exchange incredulous looks before snapping back: “Yes, but we speak English.” And, they add, they’re from California.

The Sullivans are thrilled; it turns out their clumsy inquiry was a sincere attempt to help their daughter Audrey (Lennon Yee), a Chinese adoptee, make a new friend. So begins Audrey and Lolo’s relationship, which blossoms from there into an affectionate sororal bond.