When a film pushes the word “raunchy” as much as Joy Ride has, you start to expect a film that is… raunchy, nearly soft porn. That is what the trailer implies to me about the movie. So, it was surprising to me that I decided to see and review this film.
What was the reason that I decided to take a chance on this film? I can’t really tell you. I walked in expecting, well…
And, for the most part, I wasn’t far off. These ladies take the challenge of the recent plethora of modern “buddy” movies, referred to as “crass humor films” by one of my learned colleagues, and show us that they can do everything that the boys can do and maybe take it just a wee bit further!
Watching this film was an eye-opening laugh-out-loud embarrassingly good time. The humor is low-brow, but somehow, the cast pulls off both the action and the humor.
Then, just when you think is about to crash and burn, the film turns a corner, and the raunchy comedy becomes a “thoughtful friend comedy” with just the right touch of love and drama.
I truly hate to say it but, I went to a raunchy humor movie and most of the way through it, it turned into a true friends/love of family film. And it worked!
But! (Isn’t there always a “but” about these films?) If you cannot deal with drugs or raunchy sexual language and action, DO NOT see this film! If you are a fan of the genre, you will have a good time!
Director: Adele Lim
Cast: Stephanie Hsu, Ashley Park, David Denman, Sherry Cola, Desmond Chiam, Annie Mumolo, Chris Pang, Alexander Hodge, Sabrina Wu, Isla Rose Hall, Debbie Fan, Sunghee Lapell, Victor Lau, Brianna Kim
Asians have lacked representation in films, much like any other marginalized people. Hollywood has always pretended we do not exist except as bit players or in the background. However, with the massive hit of 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians and the 2022 Oscar sweeping Everything Everywhere All at Once, the tides are turning. Asian films have proven they can make lots of money and win awards.
So now, with Joy Ride, there is Asian representation in crass humor comedies. This movie is an over-the-top story with wacky raunchy comedy along the lines of 2009s The Hangover and 2011s Bridesmaids. Like Bridesmaids,Joy Ride has an all-woman lead cast. The humor in Joy Ride is silly, tongue-in-cheek, and not afraid to get nasty.
This film is about the friendship between uber-successful Audrey Sullivan (Ashley Park) and struggling artist Lolo (Sherry Cola). They grew up together as the only Asian kids in school and besties. Ashley was adopted from Asia by a white couple in the US. She is thriving and content with her family situation. Until her company sends her to Asia to bag a big client.
She takes Lolo as her interpreter, who begrudgingly lets her younger awkward cousin Deadeye (Sabrina Wi) tag along. Once there they meet up with Kat (Oscar Nominee Stephanie Hsu), a Chinese soap star and Audrey’s college bestie.
While partying with the client, Audrey gets really drunk and blows her big chance to win the client. Once together, these four unlikely friends embark on an international adventure to help Audrey find her birth mother, bring her to the client’s party and win the account. Nothing goes as planned. But along this road trip laced with wild debauchery, their friendships are tested, and they discover the universal truth of what it means to know and love who you are. All the while making us laugh our heads off.
In case you live under a rock, let me introduce you to the ladies of Joy Ride. This is the first lead role in a film for Ashley Park. Most people know and love her from her role in the Netflix series Emily in Paris. So it’s nice to see her stretch her comedic muscles as the star of this film. Sherry Cola is a well-known standup comic who acts and writes as well. She always brings an off-kilter vibe to any role she plays. Sabrina Wu is the youngest of the group. She first started standup at age sixteen and continued to perform as an undergraduate student at Harvard University. She only has one writing credit; this is her first part in a feature film. It won’t be her last. Then, of course, there is Stephanie Hsu. She first stole every scene she was in on the Amazon Prime Video series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. And, of course, her Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress this year for Everything Everywhere All at Once is making her the “It Girl” to watch.
I give Joy Ride 3.5 stars. It’s no surprise that Seth Rogen is one of the producers of this unapologetically explicit film. His style of humor runs through the whole thing. Joy Ride is a good reason to go into a cold movie theater and enjoy some laughs away from the glaring heat of summer.
Directed by: Adele Lim
Written by: Cherry Chevapravatdrumrong, Teresa Hsiao, Adele Lim
Starring: Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, Sabrina Wu
Rated: R
Selig Rating: 3.5 Stars
Running Time: 1hr 35min
Comedy
In Theaters Wide Release: July 7th
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie/show, well worth the time and price.
The Deep in the Heart Film Festival announces special 30th Anniversary screening of Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused on Saturday, July 22.
The special added celebration of the 90s classic will include a presentation of the Deep in the Heart FF Trailblazer Award to Jason London, whose starring role in the film kicked off his career as one of the decade’s top stars.
Deep in the Heart FF co-founders and directors Samuel Thomas and Louis Hunter, said, “We could not be more thrilled to add this weekend-long celebration of such an influential film shot here in Texas to what was already a jam-packed festival of great films and events. Having Jason London here to accept our Chisholm Trailblazer Award, headline our Opening Night Red Carpet and participate in what is sure to be a very entertaining conversation about the making of the film and his career is just so much icing on the cake. Each year, we have tried to add something new and special for our film fans to enjoy, and what could be better than this?”
Screening at the Waco Hippodrome on Saturday, June 22 at 1:00PM, Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused (1993) is regarded as a cult classic, ranking 3rd on Entertainment Weekly’s list of the “50 Best High School Movies,” as well as being ranked 10th on the same magazine’s “Funniest Movies of the Past 25 Years” list. Quentin Tarantino included the film in his list of the 10 greatest films of all time in a poll he participated in for Sight and Sound. The film follows the exploits of a group of teenagers during the last day of school in 1976 Austin, Texas.
The film has also become noteworthy, if not legendary, due to the large number of actors from its extensive ensemble who went on to become stars, including London, Joey Lauren Adams, Ben Affleck, Rory Cochrane, Adam Goldberg, Cole Hauser, Milla Jovovich, Nicky Katt, Matthew McConaughey, Parker Posey, and Renée Zellweger.
Following his debut in The Man in the Moon (1991), Jason London went on to appear in the thriller December (also 1991) before establishing himself with Linklater’s Dazed and Confused (1993). As Randy ‘Pink’ Floyd, football player and group conscience in the filmi, London stood out among the talented cast. Following that breakthrough, he starred with Susan Sarandon’s in the drama Safe Passage (1994), a small-town hick entranced with John Leguizamo’s character in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995), and a victimized teen in the drama Fall Time (1995). On television, London’s credits include the Fox vampire thriller, “Blood Ties” (1991), TV movies “Country Estates” (ABC, 1993), “I’ll Fly Away: Then and Now” (PBS, 1993), and the Kurt Russell role in ABC’s 1995 remake of “The Barefoot Executive.” Miniseries have included “False Arrest” (ABC, 1991) and “A Matter of Justice” (NBC, 1993), and he has guested on such series as “Tales From the Crypt,” “The Outer Limits” and “Route 66.” This year, London can be seen in the horror thriller Blood Harvest, and the murder mystery Half Dead Fred.
As part of the weekend celebration of the film and his career, London will appear on Deep in the Heart FF’s Opening Night Red Carpet entrances on Thursday, July 20, a “Conversation on Film” on Friday, and then receive the Chisholm Trailblazer Award during the Dazed and Confused post-screening Q&A on Saturday.
As previously announced, the Deep in the Heart Film Festival will combine in-theater screenings July 20-23, followed by an online encore July 24-30, kicking things off with an Opening Night presentation of Dawn Mikkelson and Keri Pickett’s film festival sensation Finding Her Beat, and wrapping up with Anna Baumgarten’s multiple award-winning drama Disfluency as the Closing Night selection. The festival will also host a unique multi-media screening and live performance of Greg Brownderville and Bart Weiss’ critically acclaimed Southern Gothic shaggy dog story Fire Bones, as well as a Friday Night Spotlight screening of Thaddeus D. Matula’s inspiring documentary Into the Spotlight.
With screenings at the historic Waco Hippodrome and Cultivate 7twelve, and a program divided into four categories: Crowd Pleasers, Deep Dives, Family Friendly, and For the Curious and Adventurous, the Deep in the Heart FF has once again worked to add more to the popular film festival’s screenings, events, and presentations to make it even more audience-friendly and easy to access and enjoy as they head to the movie theaters. The programming tracks were created to help audiences understand the tone of the films and make it easier for people to discover the movies that fit their tastes. The screening schedule will include 127 films (9 features, 106 shorts, 12 music videos), and 1 multi-media project).
To purchase passes and tickets and to find more information on the Deep in the Heart Film Festival, please go to: https://www.deepintheheartff.com/.
The largest Mexican film festival outside of Mexico, Hola México Film Festival presented by Toyota, returns for its 15th annual edition on September 29 – October 7, 2023 during Hispanic Heritage Month.
Get your festival passes for the Hola Mexico Film Festival presented by Toyota starting July 7, 2023 at https://vivenu.com/seller/hola-mexico-film-festival-1l4c
Hola México Film Festival (HMFF) once again will give viewers the opportunity to gather in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month by seeing a selection of some of the latest and most acclaimed Mexican films. The festival gathers more than 10,000 cinephiles to see 20 + films, many of them making their U.S. or West Coast premiers during red carpet galas with celebrated actors and directors in attendance.
Hola México Film Festival presented by Toyota will feature 20+ films and 20 short films from its filmmaker-focused program Tomorrows Filmmakers Today.
Samuel Douek, the founder and director of HMFF, had this to say about the film festival’s ‘quinceañera’ (15th annual celebration.) We’re very excited to celebrate our 15th anniversary, our ‘quinceañera’ if you will. A ‘quinceañera is the traditional ‘coming of age’ celebration for a young Latina and I very much feel as if the Hola Mexico Film Festival has not simply grown over the past 15 years, but has truly come of age as has our connection with L.A.’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations. In 15 years of showing Mexican cinema to our community we’ve seen the Mexican film industry grow in huge leaps and bounds, coincided by a large growth in audience numbers. Still, through all that growth the essence of HMFF remains the same: fantastic Mexican cinema in luxurious movie theaters surrounded by strangers who become familia via our shared love of this great art form, and the celebration of it all!
“Cinema serves as an exceptional platform for highlighting the richness and diversity of culture,” stated Alex Chau, Brand Media Manager, Integrated Marketing Operations for Toyota Motor North America. “We are thrilled to renew our partnership with the Hola Mexico Film Festival as they commemorate their 15-year milestone, presenting a captivating showcase of Mexico’s most brilliant filmmakers and talented individuals on the grand stage, coinciding with the vibrant celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.”
All the greatest movies have memorable movie theater posters and each year the Hola Mexico Film Festival participates in that tradition, priding itself in working with Mexico’s most sought-after graphic designers to create unique and very collectable poster art. This year’s poster was designed by Tone Olvera, a creative Mexican illustrator and art director with more than a decade’s worth of experience in the highly competitive ad agency world.
He brings his style of psychedelia inspired mysticism and bold line ‘blackwork’ imagery to the 15th anniversary HMFF poster which features a mythical character embodying ‘Mexicanness’ and presenting Mexican cinema as an offering to the festival spirits.
The opening night film screening on September 29, 2023 will take place at The Montalban Theater located at 1615 Vine St, Hollywood, CA 90028. HMFF will conclude with a closing night screening a concert at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes in Downtown L.A., preceded by an award ceremony recognizing the audience’s choice for best film and best short film.
The festival is comprised of the following sections: México Ahora, Documental, El Otro México, and Nocturno. México Ahora features the best of Mexican films released in recent years, covering every genre. Documental includes notable non-fiction films made by Mexican filmmakers. El Otro Mexico highlights experiences of Mexicans rarely portrayed on screen, skillfully presenting perceptive narratives that challenge the status quo. The Nocturno section offers offbeat stories and horror films.
For its 8th edition, Tomorrow’s Filmmakers Today (TFT), a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering the growth of emerging Latine filmmakers, continues its annual partnership with HMFF. TFT selects and showcases 20 exceptional Latine filmmakers and their short films during the festival.
The 10-day program not only provides a platform for these talented individuals but also offers an immersive professional development experience. Participants will have the opportunity to connect with both esteemed Mexican filmmakers and renowned industry professionals based in the U.S., opening doors and expanding networks crucial for their career advancement.
Filmmakers interested in participating in this transformative program are encouraged to apply. For more information visit https://filmfreeway.com/HOLA
Ball State University film production students will get a rare opportunity to learn from Indianapolis-based Heartland Film—well-known for hosting the Heartland International Film Festival—thanks to a creative partnership between Heartland and the University’s new Radiance Cinema.
A year-long Ball State Immersive Learning project formed jointly by the University’s College of Communication, Information, and Media (CCIM) and the College of Fine Arts (CFA), Radiance Cinema will give students the chance to participate in a film festival. In Summer 2024, Ball State students will showcase the films they’ve created during a dedicated time block at the Indy Shorts Festival—hosted by Heartland Film. Additionally, Heartland Film staff will visit campus to teach about film festivals.
“We are excited to partner with Heartland Film,” said Benjamin Strack, assistant teaching professor of Media at Ball State. “The collaboration between the Department of Theatre and Dance (in CFA) and the Department of Media (in CCIM) provides new opportunities to expand student expertise, and these efforts are unified into the new program, Radiance Cinema.
“Our partnership with Heartland Film makes student film production real,” Mr. Strack added. “Their collaboration gives a professional goal for the students to achieve.”
Mark Cabus, assistant teaching professor of Acting and co-collaborator in the College of Fine Arts, also has high hopes for the program’s success.
“Radiance Cinema is a class and a program whose time has come,” Mr. Cabus said. “With the passing of Act 361 last year, providing tax credits to film and television production companies coming to our state, we hope to cultivate resources for those companies and our students in their post-college careers.”
Partnering with Ball State students aligns with Heartland Film’s mission to curate, promote, and celebrate thoughtful and engaging films from diverse perspectives, according to Heartland Film president and Ball State alum Michael Ault, ’86.
“As a Ball State alum, I’m delighted to welcome Radiance Cinema to the Heartland International Film Festival,” Mr. Ault said. “I believe this program will help inspire and develop the next generation of cinematic leaders as students network and experience films from local and international independent filmmakers this Fall.”
Austin’s Cine Las Americas announced the filmmaker award winners following the conclusion of a hugely successful 25th Anniversary edition of the Cine Las Americas International Film Festival (CLAIFF). Leading the list of films winning jury prizes were Clara Cullen’s Manuela (Best Narrative Feature), and Gisela Delgadillo’s Kenya (Best Documentary Feature). Films taking the Audience Awards were topped by Marie Clements’ Bones of Crows (Narrative Feature), and Miwene, directed by Keith Heyward, Jennifer Berglund, Gange Anita Yeti Enomenga, Obe Beatriz Nenquimo Nihua (Documentary Feature).
The 25th edition celebrated the platform Cine Las Americas has created for filmmakers from around the world for a quarter century as the film festival has showcased films and videos from Latin America (North, Central, South America, and the Caribbean) and the Iberian Peninsula.
Cine Las Americas Board of Directors President John Estrada, said, “We could not have asked for more enthusiasm, larger audiences, local media attention, and of course happy filmmakers enjoying the genuine connection that is made between film-loving audiences and the people who create those films so vital here in Austin. It is wonderful to be able to both look at the amazing history of this film festival and the filmmakers who have crossed our path, while also seeing how we continue to grow into the beacon CLAIFF has become worldwide as well as an important part of the cultural fabric in a city that continues to be a central hub for filmmaking here in Texas and the Southwest.”
Regarding the selection of Clara Cullen’s Manuela for the Best Narrative Feature Jury Prize, Jury member Paula Heredia (Director of Africa Rising), cited the film for the skill in which the film explores the relationship of a woman and a child in desperate need of each other without fancy devices.
On the documentary side, Jury member Anäis Tracena (Director of El Silencio del Topo) described Gisela Delgadillo’s winner Kenya as “an intimate and affectionate portrait of Kenya, a human rights activist for the transgender community in Mexico City. With respect and sincerity, the director takes us into Kenya’s story and the reality of her other companions, with an insider’s view of the impact of violence experienced by the transgender community and the bonds of solidarity that are built. A fully realized story filled with sensitivity and humanism.”
Jury prize winners in the Shorts Competition included Faustino Alanis’ Llueven las flores, Los Pirates Y El Tesoro De La Bruja (Rain of Flowers, The Pirates and the Witch’s Treasure) (Best Narrative Short), and Paula Heredia’s Imelda Is Not Alone (Best Documentary Short), with Honorable Mentions on the Narrative side going to Daniel Guarda’s Naquele Dia Escuro (That Dark Day), and Carlos Novella’s La Torta (The Cake). In the Hecho En Tejas Competition, Luis Fernando Puente’s Sin Lágrimas Para Llorar (I Have No Tears, and I Must Cry) took the Jury Prize, with Anne Lewis and Laura Varela’s Raúl R Salinas and the Poetry of Liberation: Un Trip winning the Audience Award. There was a tie for the Audience awards for Best Music Video with Orca Videos’ Almacén de Datos with Sara Hebe, featuring Anita Tijoux, and Fran Grenada’s Perra with Samantha Hudson and La Dani sharing the award. Isabella Wren Tealey’s Spiral took both the Jury prize and the Audience Award in the Emergencia Youth Film Competition.
Opening Night featured an Austin encore presentation of Eva Longoria’s entertaining Flamin’ Hot at AFS Cinema. The celebratory evening kicked off the 25th Anniversary theme with festival founders Celeste Quesada, Rene Renteria, and Sandra Guardado in attendance and walking the red carpet prior to the screening. Cine Las Americas’ signature programming track, “Hecho en Tejas,” presented with support from HEB and in partnership with Texas Archives for the Moving Image, showcasing local filmmaking talent with varied backgrounds via films and videos shot and/or produced in Texas, once again was a genuine highlight with a sold-out screening at the brand-new Austin PBS Media Center Studio, including several attending filmmakers there to soak up the attention.
Cine Las Americas is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Department. For more information about Cine Las Americas, visit https://cinelasamericas.org/.
Cine Las Americas International Film Festival 2023 Filmmaker Award Winners NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
JURY AWARD FOR BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE Manuela
Director: Clara Cullen
Countries: Argentina/United States
AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE Bones of Crows
Director: Marie Clements
Country: Canada DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
JURY AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE Kenya
Director: Gisela Delgadillo
Country: Mexico
AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE Miwene
Directors: Keith Heyward, Jennifer Berglund, Gange Anita Yeti Enomenga, Obe Beatriz Nenquimo Nihua
Country: Ecuador
SHORTS COMPETITION
JURY AWARD FOR BEST NARRATIVE SHORT Llueven las flores, Los Pirates Y El Tesoro De La Bruja (Rain of Flowers, The Pirates and the Witch’s Treasure)
Director: Faustino Alanis
Country: Mexico
HONORABLE MENTION Naquele Dia Escuro (That Dark Day)
Director: Daniel Guarda
Country: Brazil
HONORABLE MENTION La Torta (The Cake)
Director: Carlos Novella
Country: Venezuela
JURY AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT Imelda Is Not Alone
Director: Paula Heredia
Countries: El Salvador, United States
HECHO EN TEJAS COMPETITION
JURY AWARD FOR BEST HECHO EN TEJAS FILM Sin Lágrimas Para Llorar (I Have No Tears, and I Must Cry)
Director: Luis Fernando Puente
Country: United States
AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST HECHO EN TEJAS FILM Raúl R Salinas and the Poetry of Liberation: Un Trip
Directors: Anne Lewis, Laura Varela
Country: United States
MUSIC VIDEO COMPETITION
AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST MUSIC VIDEO Almacén de Datos
Director: Orca Videos
Artist: Sara Hebe ft. Anita Tijoux
Country: Argentina
Perra
Director: Fran Grenada
Artist: Samantha Hudson & La Dani
Country: Spain
EMERGENCIA YOUTH FILM COMPETITION
AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST EMERGENCIA YOUTH FILM Spiral
Director: Isabella Wren Tealey
Country: United States
JURY AWARD FOR BEST EMERGENCIA YOUTH FILM Spiral
Director: Isabella Wren Tealey
Country: United States
Freestyle Digital Media, the digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, has acquired North American VOD rights to the dramatic feature film WAITING FOR THE LIGHT TO CHANGE — the 2023 Slamdance Film Festival ‘Grand Jury Prize’ winner for ‘Best Narrative Feature.’ WAITING FOR THE LIGHT TO CHANGE premiered at the Heartland International Film Festival in Indianapolis in October 2022, screened at the Chicago Critics Film Festival in May 2023, and just had its West Coast premiere in Los Angeles at Dances With Films on June 28, 2023. Freestyle Digital Media is planning a fall 2023 release date.
The acquisition of WAITING FOR THE LIGHT TO CHANGE kicks off Freestyle Digital Media’s first-look with DePaul University’s School of Cinematic Arts and it’s Indie Studio Initiative – which produces DePaul student feature films. Launched in 2018 by Assistant Professor James Choi, the program supports student-directed and produced micro-feature films through financing and in-kind services. This includes guidance through all aspects of the filmmaking process, such as screenwriting, directing, and editing, with students fully owning the completed projects, providing a unique opportunity for the next generation of filmmakers to grow both creatively and professionally. Committed to diversity and inclusion, 49 percent of the students identify as non-white, 52 percent male, 47 percent female with $2 million dedicated to School of Cinematic Arts scholarship and assistantships funding.
WAITING FOR THE LIGHT TO CHANGE takes place over the course of a week-long beachside getaway. Set over several days in and around a lake house in Michigan, the film follows five twenty-somethings who gather for a small getaway in the early spring. But with little to do in the small, lakeside town, everyone finds themselves dealing with the sort of malaise that happens in one’s early-to-mid twenties: growing older, establishing a career, finding a purpose in life, going over past regrets, and anxious about what the future might hold.
Directed by female director Linh Tran, WAITING FOR THE LIGHT TO CHANGE was co-written by Lihn Tran, Jewells Santos, and Delia Van Praag. Producers are Jake Rotger, Jewells Santos, and Sam Straley. James Choi served as executive producer. The film’s cast includes Sam Straley (‘Jay’), who appeared in the Hulu series THE DROPOUT, and as a series regular on THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT (ABC) and WELCOME TO FLATCH (Fox). Actors Eric Barrientos (‘Alex’), Qun Chi (‘Lin’), Joyce Ha (‘Kim’), and Jin Park (‘Amy’) round out the cast.
“DePaul’s Indie Studio Initiative showcases the filmmakers of tomorrow,” said Bill Vergos, Head of Digital Film Distribution for Freestyle Digital Media. “We at Freestyle have partnered with this unique program because rising talent such as Linh Tran and her team deserve an opportunity for their hard work and creativity to be seen on as many platforms as possible.”
“Freestyle Digital Media is making significant strides to actively foster the genuine exploration of true discovery in the world of cinema by supporting the upcoming generation of filmmakers emerging out of this digital revolution,” said DePaul University Assistant Professor James Choi. “We are extremely excited as we embark on this journey alongside Freestyle, beginning with the anticipated release of WAITING FOR THE LIGHT TO CHANGE this fall and potential collaborations on future films coming out of Indie Studio.”
