Throughout her career, Adele Lim has made a name for herself in the industry as a screenwriter, delighting audiences with productions such as Crazy Rich Asians and Raya and the Last Dragon, among many others. However, this filmmaker has proven that she has what it takes to handle any role she sets her mind to with Joy Ride, her directorial debut comedy released in theaters earlier this month. The film is written by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao, with Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Lim herself serving as producers.
Joy Ride introduces Audrey, a young Asian girl adopted as a child and raised by a white family in Seattle. Over the years, Audrey has grown into a highly accomplished woman, and she's on the verge of securing a deal in China that could lead to a tremendous rise in her career. But that deal has a catch: the businessman she's negotiating with demands to meet her biological family, and Audrey has no idea who they are. Thus, she sets out on an international journey to trace her origins along with some of her friends, unaware that this journey would turn into an adventure as epic as emotional.
Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, and Sabrina Wu lead the cast of this comedy, with hilarious performances that endeared them to the audience almost immediately. Joining the main stars are Ronny Chieng, David Denman, Annie Mumolo, and Timothy Simons, among other actors. Besides being warmly received by audiences, Joy Rideearned critical acclaim, and currently holds a 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes. If you enjoyed this hilarious comedy by Adele Lim, here are some movies you can watch next.
10 Bridesmaids
The 2011 film Bridesmaids not only secured its place among the best comedies in the history of cinema, but also made its mark by vindicating the position of women in the raunchy comedy genre. This film is directed by Paul Feig from a script by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, with Judd Apatow serving as producer. Besides being one of the writers, Wiig also stars as Annie, a woman who is facing a very rough patch in her personal life. When Annie finds out that her best friend Lillian is getting married, she drops everything to become the best maid of honor she can be, even though she's never filled that role before. But after another of Lillian's bridesmaids attempts to interfere in her organization, Annie's drive to fulfill her role to perfection spirals into chaos.
Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendy McLendon-Covey, and Ellie Kemper join Wiig in the main cast of this award-winning production that, besides earning critical acclaim, performed extremely well at the box office grossing $306 million worldwide.
9 Girls Trip
Ryan, Sasha, Lisa, and Dina are four women who met in college and became best friends, although as the years went by they lost contact with one another due to life circumstances. In an attempt to rekindle their friendship, Ryan seizes a business trip and invites her friends to the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans, an event in which they will not only rediscover their bond, but also enjoy experiences as crazy as life-changing that will result in everlasting memories.
That's the plot ofGirls Trip, a Malcolm D. Lee film starring Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Tiffany Haddish, and Jada Pinkett Smith. This 2017 production became a box office and audience hit, with great acclaim for its cast, director and all of the filmmakers involved.
8 Pitch Perfect
2012 marked the release of Pitch Perfect, a musical comedy that won the audience over in no time. Moreover, its popularity kicked off a successful franchise that includes two sequels and a TV series. This production, which marked Jason Moore's feature film directorial debut, presents a star-studded ensemble cast led by Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Brittany Show, Skylar Astin and Adam DeVine.
In Pitch Perfect, Kendrick plays Beca, a reclusive student and aspiring DJ who has just enrolled at Barden University. For this young woman, there is no better plan than to be alone and work on her music, but following her father's insistence, Beca ends up joining the Barden Bellas, an all-women a cappella group that used to be very successful in the past, but has fallen apart. Realizing that the only thing they have in common is how well they sing together, Beca sets out on a mission to give a modern twist to this vintage musical group in order to propel them to stardom once again, making great friends in the process.
7 Fire Island
Hulu's 2022 movie Fire Island is one of the many productions inspired by Jane Austen's novel Pride & Prejudice, but it adds a modern and funny twist to it thanks to its brilliant cast led by Joel Kim Booster, Bowen Yang, Conrad Ricamora, and Margaret Cho.
Directed by Andrew Ahn and based on a screenplay by Kim Booster himself, this rom-com features a group of gay friends who embark on their annual vacation to Fire Island. Their friend Erin is waiting for them there, looking forward to a few days of carefree fun and adventures. However, this long-standing trip may prove to be a watershed in the lives of some of these men when romance arises between the most unexpected people.
6 Booksmart
In 2019, actress Olivia Wilde made her directorial debut with Booksmart, a film that earned her huge recognition and foreshadowed a promising future in her new role as filmmaker. This production, written by Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, and Katie Silberman, stars Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever as Molly and Amy, two friends and outstanding students about to graduate from high school.
They both spent the last few years avoiding parties and distractions to secure a good future but, upon discovering that their irresponsible classmates were able to get the same opportunities without even trying, they start to second guess all their hard work. In an attempt to make up for the time they've lost, Molly and Amy resolve to seize what is left of their time as students and enjoy an epic night in which they plan to break all the rules they strongly adhered to during their time in high school.
5 Crazy Rich Asians
Crazy Rich Asians is one of the most renowned projects in Adele Lim's career. She co-wrote the screenplay for this 2018 rom-com with Peter Chiarelli, inspired by Kevin Kwan's novel of the same name. Jon M. Chu's Crazy Rich Asians became the first production from a top Hollywood studio to feature a cast mostly composed of Chinese descendants since 1993's The Joy Luck Club, and stars Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Gemma Chan, and Awkwafina, among other actors.
The film follows Rachel, a college teacher who has been in a romantic relationship with Nick for a year, but has never met his family. Eventually, he invites her on a trip to his native Singapore to attend his best friend's wedding, and that is when Rachel discovers that her boyfriend is a member of one of the wealthiest families in the country. On top of that, Nick's relatives aren't exactly fond of her, and Rachel is forced to contend with many single women willing to do anything in their power to steal her boyfriend. Crazy Rich Asians became a box-office and critical hit, spawning two sequels that are currently in development.
4 Ibiza
Gillian Jacobs stars in the romantic comedy Ibiza as Harper, a woman who works for a New York City PR firm that undervalues her efforts. Eventually, her boss presents her with an opportunity that could easily change the course of her career: a trip to Barcelona to secure a new client. Therefore, Harper embarks on the trip with her two best friends, who come along hoping to enjoy themselves for a few days.
On the way she meets a very popular DJ who will have her rethink her over-commitment to her work and her life's purpose. Joining Jacobs in the cast of this Alex Richanbach film are Vanessa Bayer, Phoebe Robinson, Richard Madden and Michaela Watkins.
3 The Hangover
When it comes to movies involving friend trips that get completely out of control, one cannot help but mention The Hangover, the 2009 comedy film directed by Todd Phillips that spawned a popular trilogy treasured by audiences to this day. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis lead the cast of this production joined by Justin Bartha, Heather Graham, Ken Jeong, and Jeffrey Tambor.
The Hangover features Phil, Stu, Alan and Doug, four friends who travel to Las Vegas a few days before Doug's wedding to bid farewell to his bachelorhood with a bang. However, following a night of partying and drinking, they wake up in a crumbling hotel room only to discover that the groom is missing. With no time to waste and no memory of what happened the night before, these men set out on a mission to retrace their footsteps to find their friend and avoid ruining his wedding.
2 Superbad
2007 marked the release of Superbad, a film by Greg Mottola that established itself as one of the best comedies in the history of cinema. Written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg from their own personal experiences and produced by Judd Apatow, the film follows Seth and Evan, two unpopular teenagers who are about to graduate from high school.
After being invited to a graduation party at a popular girl's house, the friends promise to provide alcohol for the party, assuming that this will turn them into cool kids, but their mission won't be as easy as they hope. Michal Cera and Jonah Hill star in this acclaimed production joined by Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bill Hader, Emma Stone and Seth Rogen.
1 The To Do List
Wrapping up this list is The To Do List, a 2013 comedy starring Aubrey Plaza that marked Maggie Carey's directorial debut. It follows Brandy, a teenager who has just graduated from high school at the top of her class and is about to attend college. She has spent the last few years of her life exclusively focused on studying, so she feels that she has many things left to experience before taking the next step in her life.
Determined to change her self-image completely, Brandy compiles a list of all the crazy things she wants to do before she goes to college, and sets out to accomplish each and every one of them with the help of her friends and her older sister. Joining Plaza in the cast of this production are Johnny Simmons, Bill Hader, Alia Shawkat, Rachel Bilson, and Andy Samberg.