Joy Ride (released 7/7/23)

I went into this expecting your run-of-the-mill Asian comedy. While it was very much that, it is so much more. The first two acts are R-rated comedy road trip beats. Think something in the vein of The Hangover 2. When the needle drops, leading into the act three bomb, this movie does something you don’t see done well in comedies. It managed to pump the breaks and actually have an emotional moment. It allows the best friends to be mad at each other and for the main girl to have a personal moment to have the closure that she needs in regard to her mom. It didn’t try to undermine the moments with over-the-top jokes. It had a couple of smirky, huff jokes to alleviate the tension but never lost the emotion. It had a more natural decline and as the characters finished their growing moment, the mood and jokes build back up. This is a very funny movie and even has genuine emotion. This surpassed my expectations. The short runtime also allowed it to tell its jokes, have the characters learn a lesson in friendship, then wrap up. There is no fluff or wasted moments. This is a must-see R-rated comedy.

Story - 19%

Characters - 18%

Pacing - 19%

Spectacle - 18%

Entertainment - 20%

Total score: 94%

Grade scale:

90%-100% = must watch

80%-89% = solid, but could be better

70%-79% = Not terrible, watch if the characters or story interests you

60%-69% = only watch for completionist reasons

0%-59% = just skip it, I find the positives and they don't exist here