Tatler’s Asia’s Most Influential alumni Malaysian screenwriter Adele Lim is making her directorial debut with ‘Joy Ride’
Tatler’s Asia’s Most Influential alumni Adele Lim is making waves in Hollywood again with the upcoming release of her feature directorial debut Joy Ride starring Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu (of multiple Oscar-winning movie Everything Everywhere All At Once), and Sabrina Wu, with a special cameo from Ronny Chieng.
The friendship comedy has already scored an impressive 100 per cent Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes following its premiere at South by Southwest (SXSW) on March 17. 2023. Its cast is also set to receive the CinemaCon Comedy Ensemble of the Year Award at the Big Screen Achievement Awards inside The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on April 27, 2023.
Read more: Asia's Most Influential: Adele Lim, from composition book scribbles to Hollywood screenplay
Prior to this, Malaysia-born Lim, who worked on the 2018 smash hit Crazy Rich Asians and the 2021 Oscar-nominated Raya and the Last Dragon, was already a prolific writer on American TV.
Here's everything you need to know about Joy Ride, which arrives in cinemas on July 7, 2023.
- It was originally titled Joy F**k Club (JFC) but not in a derogatory way towards 1993’s The Joy Luck Club. Joy Ride's co-writer Teresa Hsiao said: “We love it and revere it so much. It really was the original. I think that film came at such a time when it was on an island by itself. It was a cultural landmark.”
- The wild and raucous R-rated flick follows four Asian-American women, Audrey (Ashley Park), Lolo (Sherry Cola), Kat (Stephanie Hsu), and Deadeye (Sabrina Wu), as they travel through China in search of Audrey’s birth mother.
- CinemaCon managing director Mitch Neuhauser called it “a fearless and over-the-top hilarious performance, one that will delight audiences with their hysterical, no-holds-barred journey through friendship and self-discovery.”
- When asked about developing Joy Ride with writers Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Hsiao, Lim said: “This journey began with me, Cherry, and Teresa wanting to tell a story with characters who look like us, about women who are messy and thirsty, but have so much heart.”
- While the movie is a comedy, it also digs deep into issues like identity, friendship, belonging, and Asian joy.