Joy Ride (2023)
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12-month trend
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2025-09 to 2026-08
Four friends embark on a chaotic, drug-fueled journey across China and Korea to find a woman's birth mother.
The story
Audrey Sullivan, an ambitious lawyer, and her best friend Lolo Chen travel to China to secure a major business deal. They are joined by Lolo's eccentric cousin, Deadeye. To ensure the deal goes through, Audrey must find her birth mother, whom she has never met. The journey quickly spirals out of control when the group encounters a drug dealer on a train, leading to a series of frantic, high-stakes decisions as they navigate the complexities of international travel and personal identity while trying to maintain their composure and professional goals.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Audrey Sullivan, an Asian adoptee living in Washington, travels to China with her best friend Lolo and Lolo's cousin Deadeye to secure a business deal. To satisfy a Chinese businessman, Audrey must find her birth mother. After a chaotic encounter with a drug dealer on a train leads to them being stranded in rural China, the group faces various mishaps, including a failed attempt to get a ride from a basketball team. They eventually reach a facility where Audrey discovers her mother is Korean. They fly to Seoul, pretending to be a K-pop group to bypass border issues, but a livestream of a friend's tattoo goes viral, causing Audrey to lose her job. After a period of separation, the friends reunite a year later in Paris, where they have all moved forward in their respective lives and careers.
- First release year
- 2023
- Runtime (minutes)
- 95
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Adele Lim
- Writers
- Cherry Chevapravatdumrong · writer; Teresa Hsiao · writer
- Cast and characters
- Ashley Park · Audrey Sullivan; Sherry Cola · Lolo Chen; Stephanie Hsu · Kat Huang; Sabrina Wu · Vanessa / Deadeye; Ronny Chieng · Chao; Meredith Hagner · Jess; David Denman · Joe Sullivan; Annie Mumolo · Mary Sullivan
- Genres
- comedy; buddy comedy
- Themes
- identity; sisterhood; adoption
- Tone and mood
- raunchy; chaotic
- Setting
- China, Korea, and Paris.
- Premise and plot tags
- road trip; buddy comedy; cultural identity
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews from critics and was noted for its raunchy, propulsive energy and representation of Asian American characters.
- Reported review scores
- PostTrak · score: 79% · scale: percentage
- Production trivia
- The film's working title was Joy Fuck Club.; A scene involving a water buffalo was planned but not filmed.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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