Joy Ride, the raunchy comedy about friends going on a trip to Asia, is coming to theaters on July 7. The cast and crew came out to celebrate the film’s purple carpet premiere in Los Angeles on June 26 including Ashley Park (Netflix’s Beef), Stephani Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once), Sherry Cola (Shortcomings), Sabrina Wu, Baron Davis, Debbie Fan, Lori Tan Chinn, Rohain Aorora, Seth Rogen and more. Celebrities in attendance included Randall Park (WandaVision), Anjali Bhimani (Overwatch, Ms. Marvel), Justin Min (The Umbrella Academy), and more.

Nerd Reactor was invited to the purple carpet, and we had the chance to chat with the cast and celebrities about Joy Ride, breaking stereotypes, a new renaissance of Asian Americans in cinema and shows, and more.

Stephanie Hsu received an Oscar nomination for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once, and her roles have been outside the box while also tapping into her humanity. In Joy Ride, she goes on a crazy journey with her friends, and she really gets to show off her comedic side.

“It’s the thing that keeps me excited as an artist, as an actor, is when I find and discover characters that I somehow have never seen before,” Hsu tells Nerd Reactor. “I’m like, ‘Oh, I want to do that.’ I want to just keep surprising myself, keep surprising the fans, and just stretch in all different ways.”

Joy Ride embraces how Asian Americans can be raunchy and funny and not be pigeonholed into a specific type of role.

“I hope that everybody who watches it really sees anybody who looks like them or doesn’t as a multi-dimensional person,” Park said. “I think that we’re all really excited that we got to explore humor and heart in it and be fully full humans.”

About Joy Ride

Synopsis: From the producers of Neighbors and the co-screenwriter of Crazy Rich Asians, JOY RIDE stars Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, and Sabrina Wu. The hilarious and unapologetically explicit story of identity and self-discovery centers on four unlikely friends who embark on a once-in-a-lifetime international adventure. When Audrey’s (Ashley Park) business trip to Asia goes sideways, she enlists the aid of Lolo (Sherry Cola), her irreverent, childhood best friend who also happens to be a hot mess; Kat (Stephanie Hsu), her college friend turned Chinese soap star; and Deadeye (Sabrina Wu), Lolo’s eccentric cousin. Their no-holds-barred, epic experience becomes a journey of bonding, friendship, belonging, and wild debauchery that reveals the universal truth of what it means to know and love who you are.

The film is directed by Adele Lim and written by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong & Teresa Hsiao from a story by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong & Teresa Hsiao & Adele Lim. It’s produced by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Josh Fagen, Cherry Chevapravatdumrong, Teresa Hsiao, and Adele Lim.

The film also stars Ronny Chieng (Crazy Rich Asians), Desmond Chiam (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Alexander Hodge (Insecure), and Chris Pang (Crazy Rich Asians).