INDIANAPOLIS — Summer movie season typically consists of blockbuster films, sequels and raunchy comedies, like "Bridesmaids," "The Hangover," "Girls Trip" and "Sausage Party."
Now comes "Joy Ride," a film directed by Adele Lim ("Crazy Rich Asians" screenwriter) in her directorial debut. The movie follows Audrey (Ashley Park) trying to close a deal on a business trip to China — alongside her childhood best friend and aspiring artist, Lolo (Sherry Cola); Audrey's college roommate and actress, Kat (Stephanie Hsu); and Lolo's K-pop-obsessed cousin, Deadeye (Sabrina Wu).
"You have to watch it in the theater because you want to get rowdy, you want to bring your friends," Cola said. "It really is a good time, and this film has so much humor, it has horniness, but it has heart at the core, and people are really good feel that in the audience."
And the 92-minute comedy doesn't shy away from its R rating for strong and crude sexual content, language throughout, drug content and brief graphic nudity.
"Three women at the helm who are Asian American and who held our same kind of perspective, we felt very taken care of and very able to really go for it in all aspects in certain scenes and not hold back and never apologize for our characters," Park said.
(WARNING: The trailer below may not be suitable for all audiences.)
And with a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, "Joy Ride" is easily one of the best reviewed films of the summer.
"I never thought there would be a place for us to be the protagonist in a movie like this, especially of this caliber," Park said. "It really has been a blast. It's kind of surreal."
"Joy Ride" is now in theaters.