If I was to pitch you this movie, I would say take The Hangover, Planes Trains and Automobiles and a little bit of the Joy Luck Club and you have yourself a great film.

In my opinion the key to making a truly great comedy film is having some lows to go along with your many highs, and this film about four girls from the states visiting China has all of that and more.

It’s hard to find a good comedy these days. Let’s face it many new films have a few chuckles, but they are afraid to take any great risks and sequels to successful films spend so much time trying to catch lightning in a bottle for a second time they forget what made the original so great. That is why I have to say Joy Ride has to be one of the funniest films I have seen in a long time, it truly is a breath of fresh air.

Our cast of characters includes Audrey Sullivan (Ashley Park), a lawyer who though ostensibly Chinese was adopted and raised by white parents, her childhood best friend Lolo Chen (Sherry Cola) an artist who is far to laid back for her own good, Kat Huang (Stephanie Hsu) Audrey’s former college roommate who is now a hugely successful actor in China and Deadeye (Sabrina Wu) Lolo’s unconventional cousin. Audrey is sent to China for a business trip and ends up with this very abnormal group all goes well until they cross one very agitated drug dealer then madness ensues.

I will not get into the bits that made me laugh because honestly there are too many, but one scene from the trailers put me off, this was when the girls pretend to be a K-Pop group, when I saw the full scene in the film, I ended up nearly spilling my drink while laughing at it. What I’m trying to say is go into this one with an open mind and you will be pleased.

As I said the highs need to be matched with some lows and this is where this film shines, the looming identity of Audrey’s birth mother lingers over this movie and it becomes a driving force for the emotional weight of Joy Ride. Because as great as the comedy was the scene where Audrey is in the home of her birth mother was truly touching and as emotions go it was up there with the end of Planes Trains and Automobiles.

Finally, what makes this film truly shine is it has all the hallmarks of a silly gross out comedy, like in old school or Animal House, but instead of focussing on a bunch of white dudes it gives us a totally unique perspective. And this is not being overly woke, this is me saying that the unique spin on this movie made it great, plus the themes of found family vs blood family, childhood friends struggling to stay together, being insecure around your friends’ other friends and just feeling left out are all universal. So yes this film might follow four young beautiful Asian women, but it really is for everyone.