Ashley Park Archives – CULTURE MIX

Review: ‘Mean Girls’ (2024), starring Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Auli’i Cravalho and Christopher Briney

January 13, 2024

by Carla Hay

Avantika, Reneé Rapp, Bebe Wood and Angourie Rice in “Mean Girls” (Photo by Jojo Whilden/Paramount Pictures)

“Mean Girls” (2024)

Directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr.

Culture Representation: Taking place in Evanston, lllinois, the musical film “Mean Girls” (adapted from the “Mean Girls” stage musical, which is based on 2004 “Mean Girls” movie) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with some African Americans, Asians and Latinos) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A new transfer student in high school infiltrates a popular clique to sabotage the clique’s bullying leader, but the interloper becomes just as bad as the bully.

Culture Audience: “Mean Girls” will appeal primarily to fans of screenwriter/co-star Tina Fey, the original 2004 movie, the “Mean Girls” stage musical and comedic musical movies about teenage life that don’t have many surprises.

Jaquel Spivey, Angourie Rice and Auli’i Cravalho in “Mean Girls” (Photo by Jojo Whilden/Paramount Pictures)

Although not as funny as the 2004 “Mean Girls” movie, this musical version is still entertaining overall, despite a few missteps. The cast members’ performances are better than the songs. If you’re inclined to dislike musicals, then “Mean Girls” is probably isn’t going to change your mind. However, for people who are like or tolerate musicals, this version of “Mean Girls” will probably be enjoyable enough to not feel like a complete waste of time.

Directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr., “Mean Girls” is adapted from the “Mean Girls” stage musical, which is based on the 2004 “Mean Girls” movie. Tina Fey wrote the screenplays for both “Mean Girls” movies, as well as the book for the “Mean Girls” stage musical, which was on Broadway from 2018 to 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic essentially killed “Mean Girls” on Broadway when Broadway theaters were shut down from March 2020 to September 2021, but a touring version of “Mean Girls” still exists.

The “Mean Girls” movie was inspired by Rosalind Wiseman’s 2002 self-help book “Queen Bees and Wannabes.” And when the 2004 “Mean Girls” movie (starring Lindsay Lohan and directed by Mark Waters) was released, it was often described as a more family-friendly version of 1989’s dark comedy “Heathers” (starring Winona Ryder and directed by Michael Lehmann), because it had a similar story: A new transfer student in high school goes from being unpopular outcast to being accepted into the school’s most popular (and snobbiest) clique to replacing the “queen bee” of the clique. There’s also the vastly forgettable 2011 made-for-TV sequel “Mean Girls 2,” which was televised on the network then known as ABC Family.

In other words, there isn’t much of anything that’s original in this movie musical version of “Mean Girls,” which is updated from the 2004 “Mean Girls” movie by having a more racially diverse principal cast and having social media incorporated into the story. People who’ve seen the original “Mean Girls” movie and/or the “Mean Girls” stage musical will be curious to see how this “Mean Girls” musical movie is different. There are no bold and innovative changes.

The 2024 version of “Mean Girls” keeps the story of how 16-year-old Cady Heron (played by Angourie Rice), who is the only child of American parents, has been homeschooled in Kenya for most of life. When she and her family move back to the United States, Cady transfers to North Shore High School in Evanston, Illinois. (This version of “Mean Girls” was actually filmed in New Jersey.)

In the original “Mean Girls” movie, Cady is being raised by two married parents. In the “Mean Girls” musical movie, Cady is being raised by a single mother (played by Jenna Fischer), who doesn’t have a first name in the movie. Cady’s mother was a teacher in Kenya and has accepted a job at Northwestern University. There is no mention of Cady’s father in 2024’s “Mean Girls,” but the Cady character in both movies comes from a loving and supportive household.

In 2004’s “Mean Girls,” Cady was the narrator. In the 2024’s “Mean Girls,” the narrators are sassy Damian Hubbard (played by Jaquel Spivey) and cynical Janis ‘Imi’ike (played by Auliʻi Cravalho), two openly queer students and best friends at North Shore High School. Damian and Janis are in the movie’s opening scene, where they are shown recording a music video called “Cautionary Tale” on a phone. Janis is singing playing guitar, while Damian is singing and playing the tambourine.

It’s an introduction for Damian and Janis to tell the story of Cady and how she shook up the social hierarchy at North Shore High School. During Cady’s first few days at school, she is shunned or ignored by most of the students, except for Damian and Janis, who are also social outsiders at the school. Cady welcomes the friendship of Damian and Janis, who both tell Cady how much they dislike an all-girl clique at the school called the Plastics, who are the most elitist and popular clique in the school. A few years before, Regina (Janis’ former best friend) “outed” Janis as a lesbian, and it caused Janis to be the target of homophobic harassment.

The Plastics are physically pretty but they have the ugly personalities of being snobs and bullies. The leader of the Plastics is “queen bee” Regina George (played by Reneé Rapp), who only seems to be popular because of her looks and because she comes from a rich family. The other Plastics are Regina’s sidekicks: gossipy Gretchen Wieners (played by Bebe Wood) and dimwitted Karen Shetty (played by Avantika), who basically do whatever Regina wants them to do. The Plastics have certain dress code rules that Regina has dictated, such as they have to wear pink on Wednesdays, and they can only wear casual sweat clothing on Fridays.

One day, Regina invites Cady to sit with the Plastics at a table in the school’s cafeteria. It’s a rare invitation that immediately catches the attention of other students. Regina’s original intention is to insult and embarrass Cady. But when Regina sees how friendly and unthreatening Cady is, Regina decides that she can manipulate and control Cady into becoming one of the Plastics.

Meanwhile, Cady (who is a math whiz) gets an instant crush on an attractive guy who sits in front of her in their AP calculus class: Aaron Samuels (played by Christopher Briney), who happens to be Regina’s ex-boyfriend. Cady, who is bashful when talking to Aaron, doesn’t find out until after she has feelings for him that Aaron and Regina used to be a couple. Cady also finds out that Aaron was the one who dumped Regina, who wants to get back together with him.

“Mean Girls” writer/co-star Fey reprises her role as Ms. Norbury, the school’s AP calculus teacher. Tim Meadows also returns as North Shore High School principal Mr. Duvall. Just like in 2004’s “Mean Girls,” on Cady’s first day at North Shore, Mr. Duvall introduces Cady to her homeroom class, which is taught by Ms. Norbury. However, in 2024’s “Mean Girls,” Mr. Duvall and Ms. Norbury are now a couple, which was a romance that was hinted at the end of 2004’s “Mean Girls.”

Damian and Janis want to get revenge on Regina, so they urge Cady to join the Plastics clique, with the intention to sabotage Regina’s life. Part of their plan is have Cady get together with Aaron, so that Regina’s heart will be broken. Cady eagerly goes along with this plan because she wants Aaron for herself. For much of the movie, Cady is part of the Plastics, while secretly maintaining a friendship with Damian and Janis.

Soon after Regina has decided that Cady will be part of the Plastics, she invites Cady to hang out with her, Gretchen and Karen in Regina’s home. It’s here that Regina shows Cady her secret Burn Book, a pink, photo-album-sized book that has photos of people in the school with vicious insults written next to each photo. This notorious Burn Book predictably becomes a major source of conflict in the story.

Regina’s mother Mrs. George (played by Busy Philipps) is a ditzy, eager-to-please parent, who spoils Regina and acts like she wants to be Regina’s best friend. In both “Mean Girls” movies, Ms. George is one of the funniest characters, but her screen time is limited. That’s because the teenage perspective is the driving force of “Mean Girls,” which goes through the expected story beats of friendship betrayals and academic challenges, in backdrops such as classrooms, a school dance and the sterotypical teenage house party with no parents at home.

Although the cast members of the “Mean Girls” movie musical are all very talented, they don’t have the same special chemistry of the cast in 2004’s “Mean Girls.” The 2024 movie version of “Mean Girls” also doesn’t do anything new or interesting with the supporting characters, who drift in and out of the story in ways that don’t look as natural as they were in 2004’s “Mean Girls.” And because 2024’s “Mean Girls” is a musical, it uses hyper-realism during the musical numbers that takes a lot of bite out of the sharp comedy that 2004’s “Mean Girls” had.

Kevin Ganatra (played by Mahi Alam), the leader of the school’s math club, is the same type of nerdy character as the Kevin Gnapoor character (played by Rajiv Surendra) in 2004’s “Mean Girls.” He flirts with Cady but ends up with another student at the end of the movie. (The 2024 version “Mean Girls” changes who that student is.)

The other teachers at North Shore have very quick cameos, none of which are crucial to the story. These scenes could have been much better. Physical education teacher Coach Carr (played by Jon Hamm) teaches sex education and makes inappropriate comments that fall flat as jokes. French teacher Madame Park (played by Ashley Park, who played Gretchen in the “Mean Girls” stage musical) has a not-very-funny scene of her telling Damian to pick a French name for him to use in class. Literature teacher Mr. Rapp (played by Connor Ratliff) is mostly forgettable.

Jason Weems (played by John El-Jor) is a mischievous brat who is Gretchen’s love interest. However, his character is very underdeveloped in 2024’s “Mean Girls,” compared to the larger and funnier role that the Jason character (played by Daniel DeSanto) had in 2004’s “Mean Girls.” The Aaron character is blander in 2024’s “Mean Girls” than the Aaron character (played by Jonathan Bennett) in 2004’s “Mean Girls.” Gretchen (played by Lacey Chabert in 2004’s “Mean Girls”) is also still the same character in both movies, with no real dialogue improvement.

Worst of all, the character of Karen is made even more vapid in 2024’s “Mean Girls,” in ways that aren’t very funny and are borderline offensive. Karen Smith (played by Amanda Seyfried), one of the Plastics in 2004’s “Mean Girls,” wasn’t smart either, but at least had more of a personality and amusing lines of dialogue. The Karen in 2024’s “Mean Girls” has the personality of a blank space.

Original “Mean Girls” star Lohan makes an unremarkable cameo as a moderator for a math competition. It’s a squandered opportunity. The lines of dialogue that she has are very dull, with one only small sly nod to Lohan’s real-life troubles that tarnished her reputation and acting career. A better cameo for Lohan would have had her as a North Shore teacher or a parent of one of the North Shore students.

Damian in 2024’s “Mean Girls” is campier than in 2004’s “Mean Girls,” while Janis in 2024’s “Mean Girls” isn’t as hot-tempered as the Janis in 2004’s “Mean Girls.” In 2004’s “Mean Girls” Janis is presented as a heterosexual who was offended at being misidentified as a lesbian. Janis in 2024’s “Mean Girls” is really a lesbian and has a love interest named Grace Porter (played by Morgen McKynzie), who is a student at North Shore and barely says anything in the movie. It makes Grace look like a token.

As for the musical numbers, they are well-performed by the cast members (Rapp and Cravalho are the standout singers), but the movie switches to fantasy staging during the musical sequences. This abrupt shift in tone might be off-putting to some viewers. The sight of fake wind blowing through people’s hair, or school hallways having disco-ball-type lighting during song-and-dance numbers will be something that people might or might not find hard to take in a “Mean Girls” story.

The songs (music by Jeff Richmond, lyrics by Nell Benjamin) are good, but not outstanding. An original song called “What Ifs” (co-written with Rapp) replaces “It Roars” as the first song that Cady sings. For time-length reasons, there are less songs in the movie musical than in the stage musical, which has 18 songs.

“Stupid With Love” is still a showstopper, while Regina’s anthem “Someone Gets Hurt” is a definite highlight. The songs from the “Mean Girls” stage musical that aren’t in the “Mean Girls” movie musical are “Where Do You Belong?,” “Fearless,” “Stop,” “Whose House Is This?,” “More Is Better” and “Do This Thing.” Janis doesn’t get her time shine with a solo lead vocal (“I’d Rather Be Me”) until the movie is almost over, which is something that the movie should have corrected by giving Janis an original song showcase much earlier in the story.

In the talent show scene, Damian sings the theme to “iCarly,” compared to the 2004 movie, which had the better choice of Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful” as the song that Damian sings in the talent show. In the 2024 “Mean Girls” movie, “Rockin’ Around the Pole” is the song choice for the Plastics’ talent show performance, which is an inferior replacement for “Jingle Bell Rock,” the song that the Plastics performed in the 2004 “Mean Girls” talent show scene. Megan Thee Stallion, who has a cameo as herself during the 2024 “Mean Girls” movie’s social-media montages, teamed up with Rapp for the soundtrack single “Not My Fault,” which is not performed in a musical scene in the movie, but it’s the type of original change that the movie needed.

Rapp’s version of Regina (she also played the role on Broadway from 2019 to 2020) is much more of a sneering and obvious villain than Rachel McAdams’ version of Regina in 2004’s “Mean Girls.” They are different but equally effective performances. Rice is quite good in her role as Cady, but it would be difficult for most people to surpass Lohan’s iconic performance in “Mean Girls,” the movie that was the high point of Lohan’s career in the 2000s.

The showdown between Regina and Cady in 2004’s “Mean Girls” was much more fun to watch than in the 2024 version, which makes a change to a certain bus-accident scene that probably won’t sit well with some fans of the 2004 movie. However, the 2024 version of “Mean Girls” was wise enough to keep some of the more famous catch-phrases from the 2004 movie. One of them is “Stop trying to make ‘fetch’ happen.”

The 2024 version of “Mean Girls” is the feature-film debut of directors Jayne and Perez, who are frequent collaborators. They bring an upbeat and candy-coated style to the “Mean Girls” story, which is well-suited for a musical. The costume design in 2004’s “Mean Girls” had better taste and still looks good decades later, compared to the overly trendy (and sometimes trashy-looking) costume design of 2024’s “Mean Girls. Fans of the original “Mean Girls” movie might miss the funnier jokes and the edgier undertones that the 2004 movie had. The 2024 “Mean Girls” movie plays it safe, but should satisfy viewers who want to watch a comedic musical that has expected outcomes.

Paramount Pictures released “Mean Girls” in U.S. cinemas on January 12, 2024. The movie will be released on digital and VOD on February 20, 2024. The 2004 and 2024 versions of “Mean Girls” will also be available in a two-movie collection on digital on February 20, 2024. “Mean Girls” (2024) will be released on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD on April 30, 2024, the same date that “Mean Girls” (2004) will be released on 4K Ultra HD.

Review: ‘Joy Ride’ (2023), starring Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu and Sabrina Wu

July 6, 2023

by Carla Hay

Stephanie Hsu, Sherry Cola, Ashley Park and Sabrina Wu in “Joy Ride” (Photo by Ed Araquel/Lionsgate)

“Joy Ride” (2023)

Directed by Adele Lim

Some language in Mandarin and Korean with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in the United States, China, South Korea and France, the comedy film “Joy Ride” features a predominantly Asian cast of characters (with some white people and African Americans) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: Four Asian American women in their late 20s have misadventures in China, where one of the women is on a business trip and tries to find her birth mother.

Culture Audience: “Joy Ride” will appeal primarily to people who can tolerate raunchy comedies about the ups and downs of friendships.

Sabrina Wu, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu and Ashley Park in “Joy Ride” (Photo by Ed Araquel/Lionsgate)

“Joy Ride” earns its reputation for being a movie for “mature audiences only.” Some of the fantasy elements of this comedy don’t work very well, but the snappy dialogue and the chemistry between the cast members make “Joy Ride” highly entertaining to watch. The movie recycles some elements from other comedy films about friends on a misadventurous trip, such as 2009’s “The Hangover,” 2011’s “Bridesmaids” and 2017’s “Girls Trip.” However, “Joy Ride” has plenty of originality on its own, including a story told from an Asian American female perspective.

Directed by Adele Lim, “Joy Ride” was written by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao. Lim, Chevapravatdumrong and Hsiao are also three of the producers of “Joy Ride,” which had its world premiere at the 2023 SXSW Film & TV Festival. There’s a lot of authenticity in “Joy Ride” that has to do with the fact that Asian American women are principal leaders on the creative team in this movie that is centered on Asian American women. All four of the main characters in “Joy Ride” are fully formed human beings and not hollow stereotypes, although there are some clichés in certain situations that are played for laughs.

Too often, Asian women are stereotyped in movies as subservient or tragic figures. “Joy Ride” is a giant and defiant middle finger to those stereotypes. At its core, “Joy Ride” (which is Lim’s feature-film directorial debut) is about true friendship, honesty, and being comfortable with one’s own identity. “Joy Ride” is far from being preachy, but it does offer some meaningful life lessons amid all the vulgarity and extreme comedy.

The beginning of “Joy Ride” shows how the friendship started between the two characters whose relationship gets the most screen time in the movie: Audrey Sullivan and Lolo Chen. They both met when they were 5 years old. Audrey’s family moved to the town of White Hills, Washington (a Seattle suburb), where Lolo and her family live have lived for a number of years. (Lennon Yee has the role Audrey at age 5, while Belle Zhang has the role of Lolo at age 5.) Audrey and Lolo are each the only child of their parents.

Audrey was adopted as a baby from China by a white married couple named Mary Sullivan (played by Annie Mumolo) and Joe Sullivan (played by David Denman), who are loving and attentive but not completely in touch with giving Audrey enough exposure to her Asian heritage. Audrey has lived in predominantly white areas her entire life. Lolo’s parents are Jenny Chen (played by Debbie Fan) and Wey Chen (played by Kenneth Liu), who are Chinese immigrants who own and operate a Chinese-food restaurant.

When they meet at 5 years old, Audrey is obedient and shy. Lolo is rebellious and outspoken. During Audrey’s first day at her new school, she is bullied by some white boys for being Asian. Lolo’s reaction is to punch the boy who is the cruelest to Audrey. It sets the tone for the friendship between Audrey and Lolo, who are the only Asian girls in their neighbhorhood. (In flashbacks, Isla Rose Hall has the role Audrey at age 12, while Chloe Pun has the role of Lolo at age 12.)

Audrey and Lolo are so close, they have a sisterly friendship. Their personalities stay the same into adulthood, except Audrey becomes more confident as an adult. The majority of “Joy Ride” shows Audrey (played by Ashley Park) and Lolo (played by Sherry Cola) when they are both 29 years old.

Audrey has grown up to be a responsible and successful corporate attorney at a law firm where she is the only Asian attorney. The movie makes a point of showing that almost every attorney at the firm is a white man. Audrey, who is accustomed to being around mostly white people, does what she can to fit in at this male-dominated law firm, including playing tennis with her male colleagues.

Lolo is a struggling artist whose specialty is making kitschy erotic art. For example, one of her art displays is a plastic recreation of her playground from her childhood, but with things such as a penis-shaped slide. An illustration she has made of a flower is supposed to resemble a vagina. It’s mentioned several times in the movie that Lolo is a sexually fluid “free spirit” who indulges in drugs and believes in having an unrestricted “sex-positive” lifestyle.

Audrey is under pressure because she is about to go on a business trip to Beijing, China, where she is expected to close a deal with an important potential client, who is a wealthy Chinese businessman named Chao Lin. If she closes this deal, it could mean a possible promotion for Audrey, who wants to become a partner in this law firm. Audrey’s boss Frank (played by Timothy Simons) is casually condescending in his racial attitudes and goes overboard in trying to appear like he’s politically “woke,” even though it’s obvious he dislikes everything that has to do with being politically correct.

Audrey’s boss and her other colleagues expect Audrey to have some kind of special advantage in closing the deal, just because she is Asian. Audrey doesn’t know how to speak Mandarin, but she pretends that she does because she wants the people at her law firm to think that she’s well-educated about China and in touch with her Chinese roots. “Joy Ride” has constant themes about how pretending to be someone you’re not can ending up backfiring in damaging ways.

Audrey and Lolo decide to go on this business trip together, partially because Lolo can speak Mandarin, and partially because Lolo just wants to get away from her life in the U.S. for a while. Lolo plans to visit family members in China. Lolo also says that she plans to hook up with basketball star Baron Davis (playing a version of himself), who will be in Beijing at the same time because he’s playing for a Chinese basketball team. Lolo is addicted to social media and does a lot of livestreaming throughout the trip.

Even though Audrey insists that this trip is mainly going to be business for her, there would be no “Joy Ride” movie if that turned out to be true. Audrey also has plans to visit her college best friend/roommate Katherine, nicknamed Kat (played by Stephanie Hsu), a Chinese American who has become a famous movie/TV actress in China. Throughout the movie, Lolo and Kat have a rivalry where they try to prove who is Audrey’s “real” best friend. It’s very reminiscent of the friendship rivalries that were in “Bridesmaids” and “Girls Trip.”

One person whom Audrey does not want to visit in China is her biological/birth mother, who was an unwed teenager when she gave Audrey up for adoption. The only thing that Audrey has of her mother is a photo of her mother holding Audrey as a newborn baby. Lolo can read Mandarin and notices that the back of the photo has the name of the adoption agency and the name of Audrey’s birth mother.

Before leaving for the trip, Lolo offered to go with Audrey to the adoption agency in China to try to find Audrey’s birth mother. It’s an offer that Audrey declined because Audrey says she’s happy with her adoptive parents and doesn’t want any more parents. Lolo is surprised and disappointed, because when they were children, Audrey used to talk a lot about the two of them going to China to find Audrey’s birth mother.

Lolo waits until she and Audrey are at the airport to tell her that someone else is going with them on this trip: Lolo’s socially awkward and eccentric cousin Deadeye (played by Sabrina Wu), who is androgynous, childlike, and obsessed with K-pop music. (In real life, Wu is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns.) Later in the movie, Deadeye reveals that her real name is Vanessa. Audrey, who has a tendency to be elitist, is temporarily upset by Deadeye going on this trip because she doesn’t want Deadeye to be a social burden.

Upon arriving in China, one of the first things that Audrey, Lolo and Deadeye do is visit Kat while she’s working on her soap opera TV series called “The Emperor’s Daughter.” Kat is the star of the show. And she’s engaged to her leading man: a tall and handsome actor named Clarence (played Desmond Chiam), who is originally from Australia. Clarence (who is a strict Christian) and Kat have been dating each other for three years.

One of the biggest comedy gags in “Joy Ride” is that Kat has a wild past that she has not revealed to religious Clarence, who doesn’t believe in having sex outside of marriage. Kat has been pretending to have the same religious beliefs as Clarence, who insists that they abstain from having sexual intercourse or any other intimate sexual activity with each other until they are married. Audrey knows about Kat’s past promiscuity but is keeping it a secret from Clarence because it’s not Audrey’s place to tell him. Clarence and Kat are very affectionate with each other, but their affection doesn’t go past passionate kissing.

Not surprisingly, there are immediate conflicts between Lolo and Kat, in their competition to outdo each other as “Audrey’s best friend.” Lolo doesn’t respect Kat because she thinks Kat is a phony. Kat doesn’t respect Lolo because she think Lolo is a failed artist. The sniping between these two women is one of the many problems that occur during this trip. Audrey doesn’t do anything to pit Lolo and Kat against each other, but Audrey doesn’t adequately deal with this rivalry problem either.

Audrey’s first meeting with Chao Lin, also known as Mr. Chao (played by Ronny Chieng), takes place at a nightclub. Because of this casual setting, Audrey has also invited Lolo, Kat and Deadeye to go to the nightclub with her. Audrey also needs Lolo and Kat there because they can speak Mandarin. Audrey has been told in advance that Mr. Chao will only speak in Mandarin to her. It turns out he actually knows English and was just testing Audrey.

Of course, this nightclub meeting is the start of even more problems. Mr. Chao and his all-male group of colleagues insist that anyone they do business with has to partake in their business customs, which includes binge drinking. Audrey feels obliged to go along. (And you know what that means in a comedy where a drunk person inevitably gets sick.) Lolo, Kat and Deadeye also join in on this binge drinking.

Mr. Chao knows that Audrey was adopted by white American parents, but he expects Audrey to know who her biological family is, in order for him to agree to the deal. “If you don’t know where you come from,” he says to Audrey, “how do you know where you’re going?” Lolo spontaneously lies and tells Mr. Chao that Audrey keeps in touch with Audrey’s birth mother. Mr. Chao then insists that Audrey’s birth mother and Audrey go to a party that Mr. Chao will be having in the near future.

Audrey is angry at Lolo for blurting out the lie to Mr. Chao, because finding Audrey’s birth mother will take time away from the other things that Audrey wanted to do on this trip. It won’t be the last time that Lolo’s impulsiveness causes some issues in this group. Caught in a lie, Audrey and her three companions then go on a quest to find Audrey’s birth mother, with the hope that the reunion will go well and that Audrey’s birth mother will want to go to the party. (It’s a lot to expect, but stranger things have happened in real life.)

Along the way, the quartet will get caught up in some wacky situations, including being stuck in a train car with a drug dealer named Jess (played by Meredith Hagner), right at the moment that the train security staffers are patrolling the aisles and will soon arrive at their train car to search their luggage for drugs, weapons or other contraband. Part of the comedy is that Audrey is so sheltered, she doesn’t figure out until it’s too late that Jess is a drug dealer, because Jess appears to be an innocent-looking young American woman. A quick plan is put into action that is exactly what you think it might be, in order to hide the drugs that Jess brought on the train.

The four travelers also visit Lolo’s large group of relatives who are all gathered in one house, for a family reunion. This clan also includes (cliché alert) a feisty grandmother named Nei Nei Chen (played by Lori Tan Chinn), who’s not afraid of giving her unfiltered opinions. Three of the four women also have separate sexual encounters with men on Baron’s basketball team, including Baron; Todd (played by Alexander Hodge), who knows Kat from a previous encounter; and Kenny (played by Chris Pang) and Arvind (played by Rohain Arora), who meet Audrey at a hotel bar.

“Joy Ride” doesn’t shy away from jokes and commentary about race relations, white supremacist racism and the prejudices that Asian people have against each other. In an airport scene, Deadeye gives a judgmental rundown of ethnic stereotypes, based on the travelers being from Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea or Japan. The movie also shows how some Chinese people are prejudiced aganst Koreans because they think that Koreans ar a lower class of Asian people than Chinese people.

Audrey has some self-esteem issues related to her racial identity because, as she says at one point in the movie, she’s not white enough to fit in with white people and she’s not Asian enough to fit in with Asian people. Deadeye was bullied as a child and still struggles with finding people who fully accept her. It’s mentioned several times in the movie that most of Deadeye’s “friends” are people she only knows through online activities.

The movie has a few dream-like sequences that are whimsical but don’t really fit the harder edges of this comedy. One of these sequences is styled like a music video, when Audrey, Lolo, Kat and Deadeye pretend to be new K-pop stars, in order to board a private jet to South Korea without passports. Because, yes, “Joy Ride” has the travel comedy cliché of stolen luggage and stolen passports.

“Joy Ride” has a few surprises, including something that one of the women finds out, which leads to a sentimental, tearjerking moment in the film. Some viewers might expect “Joy Ride” to be all raunchy fun, but the movie handles this balance of zany comedy and serious drama in a mostly skillful way. The temporary shifts in the movie’s tone bring “Joy Ride” back down to earth to show that these four women are not caricatures for the sake of comedy.

Because “Joy Ride” has a lot to do with the friendship between Audrey and Lolo, the cast members who get to show the most emotional range in the movie are Park and Cola. Park in particular rises to the occasion by adeptly portraying all aspects of these emotions. Cola also does quite well in her role as Lolo, although the movie could have done a little more to show more of Lolo’s life that doesn’t involve her friendship with Audrey.

Hsu is hilarious as pampered diva actress Kat, who is fixated on what other people think about her. Wu also has moments to shine in scenes where Deadeye starts to come out of her introverted shell. Of the supporting cast members in “Joy Ride,” Chiam stands out with some very good comedic timing in portraying Kat’s hunky and pious fiancé Clarence, who upends the stereotype that physically attractive and famous actors are sex-crazed cheaters.

Even though “Joy Ride” uses many of the same formulas that are found in other travel comedy films, there are so many other things about the movie that are rarely seen in American-made comedy films. “Joy Ride” director Lim (who wrote the 2018 smash hit “Crazy Rich Asians”) gives a brisk and lively pace to the movie, even though some viewers might think that too much is crammed into the short trip that’s depicted in “Joy Ride.” Parts of “Joy Ride” do seem overstuffed, but what’s in the movie overall is worth unpacking.

Lionsgate will release “Joy Ride” in U.S. cinemas on July 7, 2023.

Review: ‘Mr. Malcolm’s List,’ starring Freida Pinto, Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Ashley Park, Zawe Ashton and Theo James

July 3, 2022

by Carla Hay

“Mr. Malcolm’s List”

Directed by Emma Holly Jones

Culture Representation: Taking place primarily in 1818 (with a brief flashback to 1802), in England, the comedy/drama film “Mr. Malcolm’s List” features a racially diverse cast of characters (black people, white people and Asians) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: London’s most eligible bachelor, who has a list of requirements for his future wife, becomes the target of a romantic scheme concocted by a socialite who was rejected by this wealthy bachelor and who enlists her working-class childhood best friend to seduce the bachelor.

Culture Audience: “Mr. Malcolm’s List” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of Jane Austen-inspired stories about people in 1800s England who are preoccupied with social class and marriage.

Theo James and Zawe Ashton in “Mr. Malcolm’s List” (Photo by Ross Ferguson/Bleecker Street)

Obviously influenced by Jane Austen novels, “Mr. Malcolm’s List” is an entirely predictable comedy/drama romp that’s enjoyable to watch because of the entertaining performances by the movie’s talented cast. The movie hits all the expected beats of a story about class-conscious people in 1800s England who have schemes and misunderstandings when it comes to love and marriage. Most viewers will already know how the movie is going to end, but it’s a delightful ride along the way, filled with costume design, production design and cinematography that are gorgeous.

“Mr. Malcolm’s List” is the feature-film directorial debut of Emma Holly Jones, who also directed the 2019 short film “Mr. Malcolm’s List.” Both movies are based on Suzanne Allain’s 2009 novel of the same name. Allain wrote the screenplay for both movies. Jones is also a producer of the “Mr. Malcolm’s List” movies. These flmmakers clearly have a love of the source material, since the feature film “Mr. Malcolm’s List” does justice to the novel, with the added cinematic choice of making the cast racially diverse.

No one ever mentions people’s racial identities in the movie, but social class is at the forefront of the expectations, perceptions and disagreements that the “Mr. Malcolm’s List” characters have when it comes love and marriage. The movie (which takes place in England) opens in 1802, when two girls, who are about 13 or 14 years old, are roommates at a boarding school called Mrs. Finch’s Ladies Academy.

The scene is very short, but it says a lot about the personalities of these two girls. Julia Thistlewaite (played by Aisling Doyle) is bossy and extroverted. Selina Dalton (played by Tia Ann Jain) is easygoing and introverted. In their bedroom, Julia sees Selina reading a book and says to Selina: “Keeping your head in books all day will not create the marriagable mind.” Selina replies, “I have nothing materially to offer to a husband anyway.” Julia then says, “I have no loving father to offer me a match. A right pair we make.”

It’s later explained in the movie that not only do Julia and Selina have different personalities, but Julia and Selina also come from contrasting backgrounds. Julia is an only child from a wealthy family led by Julia’s widowed mother. Selina is one of several siblings whose married parents are still alive. Selina’s father is a low-income vicar who had a benefactor generously offer to pay for Selina to attend this elite academy.

During this conversation, it’s toward the end of the academic year, so the girls will soon be going their separate ways. Selina and Julia promise that they will always look out for each other. Julia goes a step further and says that after she moves to London and finds a man to marry her, she will find a husband for Selina. Years later, Julia and Selina end up reuniting, but not in the way that Julia thought it would happen during this childhood conversation.

The movie then fast-forwards to 1818. A wealthy heir named Jeremy Malcolm (played by Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù) is widely known as London’s most eligible bachelor. It’s explained that he inherited a vast estate from an aunt. And even though Mr. Malcolm is the younger son of an earl (who is now deceased), Mr. Malcolm has no royal title of his own. Even without a title, his wealth, charisma and good looks have made women eager to get his attention.

Julia (played by Zawe Ashton) is one of these women. And she’s managed to get a date with Mr. Malcolm, who takes Julia to see an opera performance. They have balcony seating all to themselves. Mr. Malcolm and Julia have very little chemistry together on the date. Julia tries too hard to impress him. She doesn’t have the intelligence that he wants in a woman, so it’s a turnoff for Mr. Malcolm.

A dealbreaker for him is how Julia reacts when he asks her what she thinks about the Corn Laws, which at that time were England’s tariffs and other trade restrictions on imported corn and other imported food. Julia’s response shows she has no idea what he’s talking about: “I believe that restraint in one’s diet is bound to have a healthy effect” she says with a forced smile. Needless to say, Julia doesn’t get another date with Mr. Malcolm.

Throughout the movie, there are two gossipy women named Lady Margaret (played by Danielle Ryan) and Lucy (played by Emma Lou Willis, also known as Emma Willis), who lurk around because they’re nosy about Mr. Malcolm’s love life. They’re first seen observing Mr. Malcolm and Julia on their opera date, because these two gossips are seated in a nearby balcony. Lady Margaret and Lucy make catty comments out loud to each other about the women whom Mr. Malcolm takes on dates. It’s comic relief that’s intermittent and fortunately not too much of a distraction.

Two other characters who are mostly in the background but make occasional comedic comments are a maid named Molly (played by played by Sianad Gregory) and a footman named John (played by Divian Ladwa), who are characters that are not in the “Mr. Malcolm’s List” book. John and Molly are dutiful to their wealthy employers. But when these employers aren’t looking, Molly and John show some exasperation at how these employers tend to live in a privileged “bubble” and are out of touch with the rest of society. For example, when Mr. Malcolm and his social circle have a pretentious discussion about how to fix social problems of the working-class, John snidely says to himself, “They could pay us more.”

Meanwhile, Selina (played by Freida Pinto) has been living in Sussex and has recently lost her job as a caretaker for an elderly woman because the woman has died. And just as Selina was in her adolescence, Selina is not as preoccupied as Julia is with finding a husband. Selina is seen politely rejecting the marriage proposal of an affluent man named Mr. Woodbury (played by Gerry O’Brien), who’s old enough to be her father.

Mr. Woodbury barely knows Selina, but he knows that she doesn’t have much money, and he can offer her a financially comfortable life. He’s stung by Selina’s rejection. Mr. Woodbury warns Selina about her refusal to marry him: “If you refuse, your prospects will be grim indeed.” Selina firmly stands by her decision. In other words, it’s the movie’s way of showing that Selina only wants to marry for love, not for money.

Someone else who’s not taking rejection very well is Julia. When she finds out that Mr. Malcolm doesn’t want to court her anymore, she’s determined to find out why. Julia’s agitation goes into overdrive when she sees a satiric illustration of Mr. Malcolm on a date with her, and the illustration has this caption: “Next!” Adding to Julia’s humiliation, this caricature has been published and distributed, so many people in London’s society have seen it.

Julia’s sarcastic cousin Lord Cassidy (played by Oliver Jackson-Cohen), who is a friend of Mr. Malcolm’s, tells Julia about a secretive list that Mr. Malcolm has compiled. This list has all the requirements that Mr. Malcolm wants in a wife because he doesn’t want to marry a gold digger or anyone who is shallow, selfish and less-than-smart. And apparently, Julia didn’t meet the requirement of the ability to converse in a sensible fashion.

A furious and offended Julia then comes up with a revenge plan to get Mr. Malcolm to fall in love with another woman, who will then reject Mr. Malcolm by surprising Mr. Malcolm with a list of requirements that Mr. Malcolm does not meet. Julia decides that her former schoolmate Selina, whom she hasn’t seen in years, would be the ideal person to recruit to be the seductress. Even though Selina is a kind, intelligent and physically attractive woman, snobby Julia thinks that Selina being “poor” makes it unlikely that Selina could marry someone of Mr. Malcolm’s status.

Julia makes a trip to Sussex to reunite with Selina and tell her about this plan. Julia makes it sound like Mr. Malcolm is a jerk who deserves to have this revenge. Selina is very reluctant to participate in this scheme, but she agrees out of loyalty to Julia and out of curiosity to go to London to meet Mr. Malcolm. To Selina’s surprise, Selina finds Mr. Malcolm to be pleasantly charming and attractive. And the feeling is mutual.

You know where this is going, of course. The more time that Mr. Malcolm and Selina spend together, the more he finds out that Selina checks all the requirements on his list. He has no idea that Selina was recruited by Julia to seduce him. Selina finds out that she doesn’t need to pretend to be interested in Mr. Malcolm, and she becomes less inclined to betray Mr. Malcolm. Meanwhile, Julia pressures a reluctant Lord Cassidy to continue to give Julia important information about Mr. Malcolm, so that Julia’s revenge plot can go exactly as she plans.

During the courtship of Mr. Malcolm and Selina, another confident and eligible bachelor arrives on the scene: Captain Henry Ossory (played by Theo James), the nephew of the deceased elderly woman who was Selina’s most recent employer. Captain Ossory meets Selina and Mr. Malcolm for the first time during a social get-together. Captain Ossory is effusive in his compliments to Selina, because he had heard good things about her from his aunt.

Captain Ossory finds Selina attractive too, and he asks her out on a date in front of Mr. Malcolm. Selina says yes. And now, Mr. Malcolm thinks he’s got some competition for Selina’s affections. More courting and scheming go on during lavish ballroom parties, banquets and romantic dates.

In addition, some family members have an effect on all these social encounters. Julia’s domineering and meddling mother Mrs. Thistlewaite (played by Naoko Mori) is desperate for Julia to marry a man who’s wealthier than the Thistlewaite family. Selina’s loving and laid-back parents (played by Paul Tylak and Dawn Bradfield) eventually meet Mr. Malcolm’s widowed mother Lady Kilbourne (played by Doña Croll), who is astute and perceptive about the people who come into her son’s life. These parents don’t have first names in the movie, by the way.

And in the last third of the movie, a ditsy and tactless woman named Gertie Covington (played by Ashley Park) arrives on the scene to give unwitting insults and cause a little bit of social chaos. Who Gertie is and how she knows certain people in the story aren’t handled very well, but the reveal of her identity further fuels some of the melodrama that happens around Julia’s vendetta. Gertie’s role in the story speaks to how people deal with the concept of how a potential spouse’s family members can affect a relationship or potential marriage.

“Mr. Malcolm’s List” delivers everything audiences can expect from lush period movies that take place in high society England in the 1800s. It’s the cinematic version of a romance novel that plays into fantasies of people living in a world where their biggest problems are about finding the ideal spouse or life partner. Even the “poor” people in “Mr. Malcolm’s List” look well put-together. Amelia Warner’s romantic musical score is perfectly suited for the movie.

All of the cast members give skilled performances that deliver the witty banter and emotional entanglements with believable charm. A character such as Julia could have been extremely irritating for the entire movie (and she does have plenty of annoying moments), but Ashton’s performance gives the Julia character a lot of realistic and occasionally amusing humanity. All of the other cast members portray their characters exactly how people expect them to act.

“Mr. Malcolm’s List” has some over-used romantic movie clichés, including a scene showing a race against time to confess true love. But those stereotypes can easily be forgiven when “Mr. Malcolm’s List” does such a good job of keeping people’s interest in these characters and how they handle their romance predicaments. “Mr. Malcolm’s List” takes place in the 1800s, but the movie shows in clever ways that the enormous pressures that many people put on themselves to find a spouse or life partner aren’t exclusive to a bygone era and still happen today.

Bleecker Street released “Mr. Malcolm’s List” in U.S. cinemas on July 1, 2022. The movie is set for release on digital and VOD on July 21, 2022.