A while back I saw the trailer for Girl's Trip and I thought it would be just another average "Girl's Night Out" comedy, so I kind of wrote it off as something I wouldn't bother seeing. Although, once reviews starting coming in saying it was really funny I began to change my view of it. Then I saw it's 18A rating and decided I was ready for a fun raunchy comedy, so today I went to see it.
The movie follows a group of four college friends 20 years after they met, played by Regina Hall, Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifa, and Tiffany Haddish, reuniting after recently drifting apart with a trip to New Orleans for the Essence festival. Hall plays Ryan Pierce, a successful author set to speak at the festival. With a TV deal to host her own show alongside her husband (played by Mike Colter) on the line, Ryan and the girls embark on a weekend long trip full of music, partying, a lot of alcohol, and many more mischievous antics.
The four ladies are the lifeblood of this movie. Each one brings a ton of humour and heart to their roles and each play an important part in the group. Ryan is the leader of the group, she exudes confidence and success and is good at guiding her pals. Sasha, played by Latifa, is more down on her luck but is always there for her friends. Lisa, played by Pinkett Smith, is the mother figure of the four and during the beginning scenes of the film is rather timid, much like Kristen Bell in Bad Moms. This timidness is made funnier since her friends are trying to get her laid. Finally there's Haddish's Dina, the crazy party girl of the bunch, great for giving them laughs and alcohol, yet can often be rather problematic. Each one of the girls' deliver great performances but what makes the film really work is their chemistry. This is one of the most believable groups of friends I've seen in a movie since Bridesmaids. There is no point in the film where I questioned their chemistry and the group's various personalities give some incredibly comical dynamics between them making this movie even more fun to watch.
This film does have a lot of unoriginal plot points but does hold some that aren't as common in movies. There is obviously your average girl's weekend plot but there is also the story of Ryan trying to score her TV deal while dealing with an affair scandal that jeopardizes the future of her brand, which makes for some very interesting scenes. So while the movie is fairly predictable, there are enough twists and turns to give this film credibility as more than an average comedy.
This movie is very well written. The first half of the movie is composed of scenes packed full of gut-bustingly funny and rather dirty humour. Dina brings a lot of the hilariously raunchy jokes and lines, but the rest of the girl's have a lot of good lines as well. The second half of the film tones down the dirty humour a notch in exchange for some deeper and more heartfelt scenes. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but I think if the director and writers stuck with a raunchier tone throughout, this movie could really be something different and special. With that in mind, most of the film is still very very funny, as long as you can handle some low-brow comedy.
Other than the tone-shift that I didn't love, my only arguments are that there are some scenes that are too over the top. Especially one scene where the Dina spikes everyone's drinks with an overdose of absinthe. There are also some points where I find that the tone and pacing doesn't keep up with the rest of the film which is showcased very well in contrast to the stronger scenes.
With those negatives in mind, this is still a surprisingly really good movie. The four girls make for some hilarious and heartfelt moments, and the jokes and one-liners almost always hit. The title may be misleading but it isn't just a movie for the girls, anyone that enjoys some dirtier humour will likely have a lot of fun with this movie.
Rating: 3.8/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
Edited by Amelia Lind
The movie follows a group of four college friends 20 years after they met, played by Regina Hall, Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifa, and Tiffany Haddish, reuniting after recently drifting apart with a trip to New Orleans for the Essence festival. Hall plays Ryan Pierce, a successful author set to speak at the festival. With a TV deal to host her own show alongside her husband (played by Mike Colter) on the line, Ryan and the girls embark on a weekend long trip full of music, partying, a lot of alcohol, and many more mischievous antics.
The four ladies are the lifeblood of this movie. Each one brings a ton of humour and heart to their roles and each play an important part in the group. Ryan is the leader of the group, she exudes confidence and success and is good at guiding her pals. Sasha, played by Latifa, is more down on her luck but is always there for her friends. Lisa, played by Pinkett Smith, is the mother figure of the four and during the beginning scenes of the film is rather timid, much like Kristen Bell in Bad Moms. This timidness is made funnier since her friends are trying to get her laid. Finally there's Haddish's Dina, the crazy party girl of the bunch, great for giving them laughs and alcohol, yet can often be rather problematic. Each one of the girls' deliver great performances but what makes the film really work is their chemistry. This is one of the most believable groups of friends I've seen in a movie since Bridesmaids. There is no point in the film where I questioned their chemistry and the group's various personalities give some incredibly comical dynamics between them making this movie even more fun to watch.
This film does have a lot of unoriginal plot points but does hold some that aren't as common in movies. There is obviously your average girl's weekend plot but there is also the story of Ryan trying to score her TV deal while dealing with an affair scandal that jeopardizes the future of her brand, which makes for some very interesting scenes. So while the movie is fairly predictable, there are enough twists and turns to give this film credibility as more than an average comedy.
This movie is very well written. The first half of the movie is composed of scenes packed full of gut-bustingly funny and rather dirty humour. Dina brings a lot of the hilariously raunchy jokes and lines, but the rest of the girl's have a lot of good lines as well. The second half of the film tones down the dirty humour a notch in exchange for some deeper and more heartfelt scenes. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but I think if the director and writers stuck with a raunchier tone throughout, this movie could really be something different and special. With that in mind, most of the film is still very very funny, as long as you can handle some low-brow comedy.
Other than the tone-shift that I didn't love, my only arguments are that there are some scenes that are too over the top. Especially one scene where the Dina spikes everyone's drinks with an overdose of absinthe. There are also some points where I find that the tone and pacing doesn't keep up with the rest of the film which is showcased very well in contrast to the stronger scenes.
With those negatives in mind, this is still a surprisingly really good movie. The four girls make for some hilarious and heartfelt moments, and the jokes and one-liners almost always hit. The title may be misleading but it isn't just a movie for the girls, anyone that enjoys some dirtier humour will likely have a lot of fun with this movie.
Rating: 3.8/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
Edited by Amelia Lind
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