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Rent Joy Ride on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

What to Know

Joy Ride isn't afraid to shock with its gross-out gags, but this road trip's real surprise is how successfully it blends its raunchy humor with real heart.

As long as your sense of humor runs to the risqué, Joy Ride is a laugh-out-loud viewing experience.

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Stephanie Hsu

David Denman

Joe Sullivan

Ashley Park

Annie Mumolo

Mary Sullivan

Sherry Cola

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Joy ride (2023): release date, cast, story details, trailer & everything we know.

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Joy Ride is a 2023 road trip comedy marking the feature directorial debut of Adele Lim, and details about the movie's release date, cast, story, and more are now available. The Joy Ride movie follows a group of four women who travel to China for work, to find lost family members, and to reconnect with their heritage. While it's Lim's first film as a director, her screenwriting experience includes the adaptation of Crazy Rich Asians and the Disney animated feature Raya and the Last Dragon . Lim also has many television producing credits to her name.

Unlike most movies in the R-rated comedy genre , Joy Ride follows a cast of mostly Asian-American actors, and the writing team consists of Asian Americans Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao, both best known for their work on Family Guy . What Joy Ride has in common with the standout raunchy comedies of the 2000s is Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg as producers. These two leading comedy figures are strong endorsements for the movie, and early reviews have been positive as well. With a familial story combined with a talented cast and crew, audiences can expect a lot of laughs and emotional heft from the Joy Ride movie .

RELATED: Joy Ride (2023) Cast & Character Guide

Joy Ride Latest News

The most recent Joy Ride movie update is a new clip that showcases more of the movie's raunchy humor (via Billboard ). In the clip, the gang attempts to pass themselves off as a K-pop group. They're dressed in eccentric clothing and wigs, and they have given themselves fittingly outrageous K-popstar names. Their K-pop pseudonyms are Sassy, Cutie, Lisa, and Lisa 2. However, the funniest part of the Joy Ride movie clip is when they give a rendition of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's hit "WAP" and it certainly seems to embody the kind of high energy that all the other looks at the movie have shown.

Another recent Joy Ride movie update sees the release of the movie's latest red band trailer. The new footage sells the movie's R-rated humor and the wild road trip style of the story. There is also a special emphasis placed on the ensemble. Following the movie's critically acclaimed premiere at SXSW, the trailer also highlights the positive reactions, featuring pull quotes from some of the most glowing reviews. The movie is clearly looking to gain some buzz and the trailer does a good job of showing it as the next must-watch comedy.

Joy Ride Release Date

Joy Ride is slated to release theatrically on July 7, 2023 . A middle-of-the-summer drop is the classic release time for a big studio comedy and a symbol of the producers' and Lionsgate’s confidence in the movie. The film has to compete against some major blockbusters that are sure to make a lot of money.

Joy Ride Cast

The main quartet of the Joy Ride movie is made up entirely of Asian-American actors, one of the few instances of this demographic leading a comedy movie. They are Ashley Park ( Emily in Paris ) as Audrey, Sherry Cola ( Turning Red ) as Lolo, Stephanie Hsu ( Everything Everywhere All at Once ) as Kat, and newcomer Sabrina Wu as Deadeye.

Rounding out the rest of the main cast of Joy Ride is David Denman ( The Office ), Annie Mumolo ( Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar ), Chris Pang ( Crazy Rich Asians ), Desmond Chiam ( The Falcon and the Winter Soldier ), Alexander Hodge ( Insecure ), Ronny Chieng ( Crazy Rich Asians) , and Lori Tan Chinn ( Turning Red ).

Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg Are Joy Ride Producers

The production company attached to the Joy Ride movie is Point Grey Pictures, founded in 2011 by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg . Their company has produced some of the biggest comedies over the last decade, including Neighbors , This is the End , and Good Boys . Rogen and Goldberg are also attached personally to produce, and their credits include some very iconic comedies of the early 2000s. Superbad , Pineapple Express, and Knocked Up are just some of the movies that would not have been possible without either Rogen or Goldberg. Having those two as a big part of Joy Ride signals the movie has been made with similar care.

Rogen and Goldberg began their early careers under the tutelage of Judd Apatow, and the trio worked together on a number of projects. The Apatowian-era of comedy has steadily declined since the mid-2010s but the creators who were shaped by it continue to be prominent figures in Hollywood. Rogen, Goldberg, and Point Grey Pictures are spiritual successors to Apatow, and the Joy Ride movie is in an enviable position as the latest in the line of their tentpole comedies.

Joy Ride Story Details

Joy Ride is a coming-of-age comedy that, as the name suggests, takes place over a road trip. Audrey is an Asian-American woman living in Washington State with her adoptive parents, played by Denman and Mumolo. Audrey spends most of her time with her childhood best friend, Lolo, who also happens to be the only other Asian-American person in their town. For her job as a lawyer, Audrey is tasked with traveling to China to close an important deal. Yet Audrey has never been in touch with her culture and invites Lolo, Lolo’s cousin Deadeye, and her college friend Kat along for the ride.

As Joy Ride 's cast of characters set out on their journey, Audrey decides to use this once-in-a-lifetime trip as an excuse to also meet her birth parents and connect with her Chinese roots. Their trip is full of adventure, danger, drugs, spontaneous K-pop performances, and every other road trip joke and situation that the Joy Ride movie can be a vehicle for. Like any good R-rated comedy, there is plenty of raunchy sex, outrageous jokes, and unbelievable characters to fill the surprisingly brisk 90-minute runtime.

Joy Ride Trailer

The latest trailer for the Joy Ride movie has been released, once again showing off the raunchy, R-rated tone of the movie. While the new trailer doesn't go into the story as much as the first Joy Ride trailer, it aims to highlight the movie's positive early reactions from critics and audiences. Along with the clips from the movie's road trip antics, the trailer is filled with quotes calling the movie a new comedy classic, praising the ensemble, and comparing it to other hit R-rated comedies like The Hangover and Girls Trip .

A clip has also been released that sees the four main characters dressed up as a K-pop group as they attempt to gain entry into a VIP area they wouldn't otherwise be able to reach. The clip delivers exactly what was being praised by industry insiders after the CinemaCon screening, and it teases the exact kind of crude and over-the-top humor that audiences should expect. Both the new trailer and clip hint at the movie's themes of the characters being Asian-American and the feeling of being separated from their culture. That aspect of the movie makes Joy Ride an even more intriguing comedy, but it makes sense that the latest marketing push has highlighted it as the big summer comedy.

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• Upcoming Releases

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Almost as soon as they met as children, Audrey and Lolo became inseparable. They were among the few Asian Americans in a painfully homogeneous white town in the Pacific Northwest. When their first playground bully hurled a racist insult at them, Lolo landed a punch right in his face as Audrey looked on in awe. Since that fateful day, the pair stuck by each other through the rest of school, the start of their careers, and the beginnings of many bad choices. Now as an ambitious associate at a law firm, Audrey ( Ashley Park ) has the chance for a life-changing promotion when her boss sends her to China to close a major business deal, and Lolo ( Sherry Cola ), Audrey’s much more chaotic counterpart, comes along on the adventure as a translator back to their homeland. With the help of two more friends, Deadeye ( Sabrina Wu ) and Kat ( Stephanie Hsu ), the group makes it an unforgettable trip that gets dirty and deep on what identity means and how to be true to oneself. 

Making her feature debut, Adele Lim takes bold risks in her raunchy road trip comedy “Joy Ride.” The movie walks a fine line between exploring heartfelt questions about belonging and outrageous jokes played for shock value. It’s as if Lim and fellow co-writers Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao saw the antics in Malcolm D. Lee ’s “ Girls Trip ” as a challenge to top. It’s safe to say the crew in “Joy Ride” do top the outrageous factor, but whether or not it’s as effective will depend on the viewer’s stomach for bawdy humor.

Still, as uneven as the tone may wobble from Audrey’s search for her long lost mother, who gave her up for adoption, and the group hooking up with members of a traveling basketball team, there's no shortage of jokes and other comical situations to keep the awkward laughs and full-body cringes rolling along. To enhance the movie’s whirlwind melee, Paul Yee ’s cinematography transports audiences from the banality of Audrey and Lolo’s hometown to the luridly colorful animated sequences of the group’s K-Pop fantasy number and the many stops along the way, from misty country roads and expansive rivers to busy cafes and dimly lit clubs. The richness of each scene steadies the sense of whiplash from the story’s breakneck pace. 

Beyond crude humor, “Joy Ride” also pokes fun at Audrey’s identity crisis, using it as a springboard for pointed self-criticism and sharp cultural commentary. One of the movie’s sharpest sequences occurs when Audrey is fooled by a white American, a drug dealer desperate to hide her goods. She initially trusts her fellow American at the expense of sitting with other Chinese passengers and puts the group in an even more precarious situation because, as Lolo puts it, Audrey is prejudiced against people who look like her. There are many little introspective moments throughout the movie, like when they land at the Shanghai airport; Audrey notes what a different feeling it is for her to no longer be in the minority. There are even more observational jokes about missing out on a country’s traditional cuisine or speaking the language when you grew up outside the culture. These one-liners and observations throughout “Joy Ride” give a more nuanced sense of humor to the quips about random sex acts and ill-advised tattoos. 

As with many an ensemble movie, the strength is in its cast, and “Joy Ride” is no exception. Led by the central drama between Ashley Park and Sherry Cola’s characters, their relationship shifts and evolves throughout the journey, forcing them to reckon with their moments of self-discovery. Park plays the pitch-perfect straight character, the high achiever destined for greatness—with all the flaws that can come with that personality. With a deceptively calm demeanor, Cola’s character often instigates many of the movie’s problems but not in a malicious way, almost as if eternally optimistic that she will get the results she wants. Sabrina Wu’s Deadeye and Stephanie Hsu’s Kat bring even more volatility to the mix, as Deadeye’s unpredictability and deadpan expression make it tough for others to connect with her, and Kat’s sordid past comes to haunt her more than once, even as she’s trying to change her lifestyle for a Christian fiancé. 

While not everything in “Joy Ride” comes together smoothly, Lim’s movie is plenty of messy fun. It's mostly lighthearted but occasionally profound in what it says about identity and friendships. The stars of the show embrace the outrageous high jinks, enjoying the free pass to behave badly and push the envelope of raunch comedy. For all its twists and tangents, “Joy Ride” remains unapologetically true to itself and the central friendship that starts us all on our merry misadventure. 

Now playing in theaters. 

Monica Castillo

Monica Castillo is a critic, journalist, programmer, and curator based in New York City. She is the Senior Film Programmer at the Jacob Burns Film Center and a contributor to  RogerEbert.com .

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Film Credits

Joy Ride (2023)

Rated R for strong and crude sexual content, language throughout, drug content and brief graphic nudity.

Ashley Park as Audrey

Sherry Cola as Lolo

Stephanie Hsu as Kat

Sabrina Wu as Deadeye

David Denman as Joe Sullivan

Annie Mumolo as Mary Sullivan

Writer (story by)

• Cherry Chevapravatdumrong
• Teresa Hsiao

Cinematographer

• Nathan Matthew David

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Joy Ride: Release Date, Trailer And Other Things We Know About The Comedy Film

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There are plenty of hilarious comedies out there, from some of the funniest romantic comedies to family comedies, but when was the last time you sat down in a theater for a good old raunchy road trip comedy? That’s what Joy Ride intends to show you – where you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and most likely, have a very fun time. 

The film has released its first trailer and has gotten some pretty impressive reviews already that solidify it as a movie to see this summer, but what should you know about it? When is it coming out? Who is going to star in it? For the questions that you may have, here is what we know so far about Joy Ride. 

What Is The Joy Ride Release Date?

Get excited, because Joy Ride will be coming out in theatres on July 7th, 2023 . The film, which was originally scheduled for June 23rd, 2023, was pushed by a few days, but it will be coming out this year. 

This is super exciting news for the 2023 movie release schedule , specifically for July as a whole. That month already has a bunch of awesome movies scheduled: the next chapter of Insidious , titled Insidious: Fear the Dark , is set to come out on the same day, but in the weeks after, several other big movies are set to release, including Barbie , as well as Oppenhimer and Mission: Impossible –Dead Reckoning – Part 1. Truly, July is going to be stacked. 

Ashley Park, Stephanie Hsu, And More Star

If you were wondering who is going to be starring in Joy Ride, get excited, because we have wonderful representation for Asian American actresses who will be our leading four ladies. Originally announced with the film in Variety , it was confirmed that Ashley Park was set to play the lead role in the upcoming film. Park, who got her start on Broadway but has since moved over into television, including a role in the Emily in Paris cast , is such a great person to lead this all-star cast. 

Also a part of the main cast is Stephanie Hsu , as reported by Deadline , who was recently just nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, and will also be making an appearance in the upcoming Disney+ show, American Born Chinese . Confirmed by Variety , Sherry Cola is also set to join the lead cast, and rounding out the final four is Sabrina Wu, who is a comedian.

If you love Stephanie Hsu, check out some of her other performances.

There’s so much to get excited about with just these main four awesome actresses, but there are plenty of other actors who have signed on for the film. According to Deadline , Desmond Chiam, Alexander Hodge, and Chris Pang all joined the film, as well.

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This is already looking like an amazing film, not only for fans of comedy, but for those looking for something more diverse on our movie screens that offers proper representation.  

Check Out The Trailer For Joy Ride

If you're at all interested in a crazy girls trip that takes them half-way across the country and ends up with them snorting cocaine while traveling, then you’re going to want to watch the Joy Ride trailer down below, because it's filled with hijinks, hilarities, and a lot of heart. But beware, it does contain a bunch of adult language and plenty of other R-rated material, so better keep the kids out! 

Looks like a wilde ride, right?

Joy Ride Will Follow Four Asian-American Women On Their Travels To Asia

As I’ve mentioned a few times throughout this article, and which was confirmed in the Variety article about Ashley Park’s casting, the film is set to be a raunchy comedy that follows four Asian-American women as they travel through Asia on one mission – to find the birth mother of one of the travelers. 

From the trailer, we can already see the shenanigans that they get into while on this quest, including ingesting coke on a bullet train , plenty of violence, drinking, and dressing up as hilarious fake K-Pop stars – as well as kids cursing. Which is honestly hilarious and always a win. 

Adele Lim Is Making Her Directorial Debut

Also talked about in the article regarding Park’s casting is that Joy Ride is actually going to be Adele Lim’s directorial debut. Lim, as you might know, co-wrote the screenplay for the hit romantic comedy, Crazy Rich Asians, but this will be the first film in Hollywood that she’ll get to direct. 

Lim spoke to Variety regarding her debut, saying that she felt like the “luckiest bitch in town” to be able to make a movie such as this and be able to direct it: 

I’ll just start by saying I am the luckiest bitch in town. I’d been a TV writer-producer for many years before I got into features. I don’t think I had any aspirations of directing. But Point Grey, who has a history of working with first-time writers/directors, asked me if I’d be up for it. The first thing I said was, ‘Yes.’

Lim also spoke about how her main goal was to be able to keep a handle on the movie that she wanted to make, and the production company that she is working with, Point Grey, really helped her along that process: 

The important thing was having a handle on the story. We talk about wanting to put forward female-centered narratives and Point Grey was a tremendous ally.

Cherry Chevapravatdumrong And Teresa Hsiao Are Co-Writing

The last thing to bring up with Joy Ride is that the film is co-written by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao, both of whom worked on the hit sitcom, Awkwafina is Nora From Queens, starring Awkwafina . 

They, along with Lim, created the story for the movie. Lim actually spoke about the story in her Variety interview, saying how they had been friends for a long time and wanted the story to be authentic to who they were as Asian American women, and as friends:

The story comes from girlfriends. We get together all the time, we do ridiculous things. But I think as a female minority, we don’t see that part of ourselves on screen very often, particularly for Asian women.

What are you the most excited for when it comes to Joy Ride? I know I’ll be in the theater the day that this comes out, most likely laughing my butt off. I’m only counting down the days until then.  

A self-proclaimed nerd and lover of Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire, Alexandra Ramos is a Content Producer at CinemaBlend. She first started off working in December 2020 as a Freelance Writer after graduating from the Pennsylvania State University with a degree in Journalism and a minor in English. She primarily works in features for movies, TV, and sometimes video games. (Please don't debate her on The Last of Us 2, it was amazing!) She is also the main person who runs both our daily newsletter, The CinemaBlend Daily, and our ReelBlend newsletter. 

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How to watch ‘joy ride:’ the rowdy road trip comedy is now streaming online.

Starring Ashley Park and Stephanie Hsu, 'Joy Ride' quickly become a word-of-mouth sensation, with audiences praising its all-Asian cast and the film's laugh-out-loud script.

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One of the most critically acclaimed comedies of the year is now available to watch online. Joy Ride , the uproarious road trip comedy starring Ashley Park, Stephanie Hsu, Sherry Cola and Sabrina Wu has hit video-on-demand platforms like Apple and Amazon .

Directed by Crazy Rich Asians screenwriter Adele Lim, Joy Ride premiered in theaters July 7 and quickly become a word-of-mouth sensation, with audiences praising its all-Asian cast and the film’s laugh-out-loud script.

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Joy Ride is currently only available on Amazon, Apple and other streamers to rent for $20 or to download for $25 . If you want to stream Joy Ride online, you’ll have to wait a little longer. Most new releases have a 90-day theatrical window , meaning films don’t hit streaming services until three months after their premiere date. While some studios are now shortening their runs to a 45-day window , that still means the earliest we can expect Joy Ride to be streaming is late August 2023.

Joy Ride is expected to stream online on Peacock , thanks to a new deal between Lionsgate (the studio behind Joy Ride ) and the NBC Universal streaming service. A subscription to Peacock starts at just $5 per month and will let you watch Joy Ride online free, along with thousands of other TV shows, movies and specials.

The official studio description for Joy Ride calls it a “hilarious and unapologetically explicit story of identity and self-discovery [that] centers on four unlikely friends who embark on a once-in-a-lifetime international adventure. 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.”

Joy Ride is not to be confused with the 2022 Olivia Colman movie Joyride (one word). That film is currently streaming online on Hulu .

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Ashley Park, Stephanie Hsu, and Sherry Cola Embark on an Adventure of a Lifetime in "Joy Ride"

A trip to China turns into a wild (and hilarious) journey of self discovery in the new trailer for "Crazy Rich Asians" co-writer Adele Lim's directorial debut, "Joy Ride." The upcoming movie stars "Emily in Paris" actor Ashley Park and Sherry Cola as best friends Audrey and Lolo, who head to China on a business trip with the hope of finding Audrey's birth mother along the way. However, their itinerary falls apart when they meet a drug dealer on the train who ropes them and their friends, Lolo's cousin Deadeye (Sabrina Wu) and Audrey's former roommate Kat (played by recent Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu ) into her dangerous operation.

In one of the trailer's funniest scenes, the friends try to dispose of all the drugs as quickly as possible by ingesting them, and hiding them on — and in — their bodies. "Just push, pull... I mean twist it!" Lolo encourages a desperate Kat as she tries to remove the bags she stashed in her butt. "It's not a Bop It, it's my asshole!" she replies.

"Joy Ride" made its world debut at the SXSW festival in Austin on March 17. During an interview with Vanity Fair , Lim shared that her goal was to make a film in the vein of "The Hangover" and "Bridesmaids" that put the spotlight squarely on young Asian women. "There's a certain way Asian American women particularly are portrayed in TV and film — there's a lot of exoticization and fetishization," she explained. "We really wanted to tell a story inspired by our friendship and our friends, and having characters that were messy and thirsty and just pieces of work."

The end result appears to be a no-holds-barred comedy about friendship, finding your roots, and having a whole lot of fun along the way. Read on for everything you need to know about "Joy Ride" ahead, including the movie's two trailers and premiere date.

"Joy Ride" 2023 Trailer #2

"Joy Ride" 2023 Trailer #1

"Joy Ride" 2023 Plot

The movie follows Audrey, who is heading to China in order to close a major deal. She decides to bring her childhood best friend, Lolo, along as her translator, and the pals hope to find Audrey's birth mother during their trip. They're also joined by Lolo's cousin Deadeye, and Audrey's roommate turned Chinese soap star Kat.

But what starts as a business trip, quickly turns into an epic road trip across China after the friends lose their passports. Soon Audrey is embarking on a messy journey of self-discovery that involves pretending to be a K-Pop star and inadvertently getting roped into a drug dealer's scheme.

"Joy Ride" 2023 Cast

In addition to Park, Hsu, Cola, and Wu, "Joy Ride" is also set to star Desmond Chiam ("The Falcon and the Winter Soldier"), Alexander Hodge ("Insecure"), and Chris Pang ("Crazy Rich Asians"). The movie is directed by Lim, and the screenplay is by "Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens" writers Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao. Hsiao, Lim and Chevapravatdumrong collaborated on the overall story.

"Joy Ride" 2023 Release Date

"Joy Ride" will premiere in theaters on July 7.

"Joy Ride" 2023 Poster

• Ashley Park
• Stephanie Hsu

Full of gags and gusto, "Joy Ride" is a provocative comedy that isn't afraid to probe identity

The road trip film boasts rousing performances, diamond-cut jokes and self-assurance that subverts with sensitivity, by kyle turner.

If the road trip movie tends to literalize a traditional and familiar narrative structure — taking its merry band of characters from Point A to Point B — you could argue that "Joy Ride's" contribution to the genre is, beyond being a near expert (if not wholly surprising) execution of its archetype, gently prodding the limits of that kind of movie.

"Joy Ride" is shiny and looks fresh, certainly amplified by the impressive performances from the ensemble.

Yes, "Joy Ride" is a breezy, delightful movie with an impressive joke density (thanks to a screenplay by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao); yes, it's about friendship ; yes, it aces the "specificity in story underlines universality in theme" test; yes, it lets its Asian men be sexy ; yes, it addresses internalized racism ; yes, it takes pride in sticking its tongue out at a kind of Asian (American) respectability politics and lets its ensemble "be messy," as is so desirable in our various forms of representation discourse . But perhaps more compellingly, "Joy Ride" functions as an interesting example of Asian American cinema by its light toying with the nature of identity . 

There have been other movies, and ones in the road trip lineage, that have had their way with the self: "My Own Private Idaho," "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar" and "Two for the Road" among them. But "Joy Ride's" premise rests fairly explicitly on the idea of finding yourself : though ambitious lawyer Audrey ( Ashley Park of "Emily in Paris" ) is going to Beijing for a work trip with the promise of making partner at her all-white bro firm, another incentive lies before her. She could find her birth mother . Audrey was adopted to white parents, leaving her to be the only Asian girl in the town of White Hills, besides her best friend, slacker sex positive artist, Lolo (Sherry Cola, "Good Trouble"). And on their journey they are joined by Lolo's cousin Deadeye (Sabrina Wu) and Audrey's other best friend, successful actress Kat ( Stephanie Hsu, "Everything Everywhere All at Once") . Hijinks ensue. 

Adele Lim, who worked as a screenwriter on "Crazy Rich Asians" and "Raya and the Last Dragon," takes her feature film directorial debut by the hilt and, with editor Nena Erb, focuses on making sure that every setup, premise and absurdist gag is as tight as possible. It makes "Joy Ride's" pace feel self-assured and the relationships between the characters dynamic, even if its insights into emotional displacement occasionally feel trimmed of welcome fat.  

But Lim has a good sense of space, both in terms of the actual environments she's using, from Beijing to Seoul, from an airport walkway to a smaller, cramped home, feel textured and lived in, not only for the characters, but also for the sharpening of a joke. "Joy Ride" is shiny and looks fresh, certainly amplified by the impressive performances from the ensemble. And while its more directly provocative gags are delivered with gusto (props particularly to Sherry Cola and Stephanie Hsu, whose chillness and movie-star high maintenance, respectively, clash with delight), the deadpan buttons from Sabrina Wu, who flexes their ability to vacillate from blank to deeply emotional, are a thrilling, hilarious jolt. 

"Joy Ride" is hardly the first film to drive down the path of "child of adoption seeks birth parents" — such narratives may, in fact, dominate movies about adoption period, from Lion to "Philomena." There's a preponderance of stories emphatically implying that to find one's biological family is to unlock all the secrets of one's identity. And it's something that feels like "Joy Ride" is also going to run with, particularly when Ronny Chieng 's slick and powerful potential business partner character asks Audrey during a business drinking session, "If you do not know where you come from, how do you know who you are?" It is, frankly, a boring, essentialist point of view .

What is worthwhile about its approach, however, is that "Joy Ride" subverts and expands expectations of closure.

Lolo and Deadeye sneak some jabs in about Audrey being "basically white" (she loves The National and can name every character on "Succession" ), and the film nods to the frustrating liminal space that cross-racial adoptees can feel like they occupy: clearly not white, but also seen as not Asian enough. It would have been nice to see how that uncertainty and those feelings of alienation shaped Audrey's life not on this trip, besides the overachieving as her desire to prove herself to an unwelcome society, as well as the pitfalls of raising/being raised as a child from a different racial and cultural background, but the film compensates for that by having Audrey repeat through dialogue her feelings of displacement. But "Joy Ride" still manages to take Audrey's state of flux seriously and does so with sensitivity. 

What is worthwhile about its approach, however, is that "Joy Ride" (without spoiling) subverts and expands expectations of closure. It is a neat movie, many of its ends tied up with a ribbon; but not all of them so neatly that these characters are radically transformed in the way that they might be in another kind of road trip movie. The characters are perhaps better versions of themselves, more honest and caring. But their maturation is less rooted in the essentialist DNA that tends to be embedded within these movies — that their journey to something will have fundamentally changed who they are — and more in refining and polishing who these characters were the whole time. 

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Perhaps the film could have leaned more into being headier, more emotional, have more going on. But it's got diamond-cut jokes and it sticks the emotional landing, leaving just enough space for Audrey to rethink how she relates to her identity, not merely on a scale of the "enoughness" of her Asianness. "Joy Ride's" sense of Asian Americanness is liberal and broad (not in a bad way, exactly), embracing a kind of smudgy, melted idea of culture, heritage and identity, strengthened by the community of loved ones, a kind of pan-Asian American camaraderie. 

With its own idiosyncratic sense of humor (that is electrified by the star wattage from its ensemble) that is purely uninterested in being compared to its other white gross-out comedy counterparts, "Joy Ride" cleverly embodies its primary thematic occupations: being the best version of its type. It's the perfect trip for the summer.

"Joy Ride" opens nationwide Friday, July 7.

stories featuring "Joy Ride" stars

• "Everything" star Stephanie Hsu on playing all-powerful: "We would just unleash ultimate chaos"
• Ronny Chieng on Andrew Yang: "There aren't enough Asian people in positions of power"
• Mindy of "Emily in Paris": Nepo baby done good

Kyle Turner is a queer writer based in Brooklyn, NY. His writing on film, queerness, and culture has been featured in W Magazine, The Village Voice, Slate, GQ and the New York Times, and he is the author of " The Queer Film Guide: 100 Films That Tell LGBTQIA+ Stories " out May 16 from Smith Street Books and Rizzoli. He is relieved to know that he is not a golem.

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Ezra Review: Stellar Ensemble Fuels This Heartwarming Road Trip Film

Bobby Cannavale, Rose Byrne, and Robert De Niro delight in a tender tale about a frenzied comic trying to co-parent his neurodivergent son.

• Bobby Cannavale shines in a standout role as a struggling comic navigating life with his autistic son, played memorably by William A. Fitzgerald.
• The film effectively addresses family dynamics, communication issues, and the lengths parents go to for their children in a heartwarming way.
• Inspired by real-life experiences, Ezra's emotional depth, stellar ensemble cast, and engaging narrative make it a must-watch for audiences of all ages.

Summer moviegoers looking for a heartwarming crowd-pleaser can bank on Ezra . The engaging new comedy-drama is directed with equal parts vigor and grace by Tony Goldwyn (A Walk on the Moon, Conviction, TV’s Scandal ), who makes great use of Tony Spiridakis’s ( Greenport, Queen’s Logic ) passion-filled script about a beleaguered comedian struggling to co-parent his autistic son. This otherwise engaging road trip film may wobble creatively a bit as it heads to the finish line, but thanks to its stellar ensemble cast, great storytelling, and sharp directing style, Ezra shines like a gem.

Meet Max (a deeply moving Bobby Cannavale), a down-on-his-luck, divorced, middle-aged stand-up comic who can’t cut a break, personally or professionally. Living with his father (Robert De Niro) seems like a dead end, but he does find hope with the joy of his life, Ezra (William A. Fitzgerald), his 11-year-old autistic son he co-parents with his ex, Jenna (Rose Byrne). When new decisions about Ezra’s future must be made, Max impulsively takes Ezra on a “road trip” in an effort to buy some time. But it may find him doing time instead.

Appealing from beginning to end, Ezra also stars Vera Farmiga ( Up in the Air, The Conjuring ), Whoopi Goldberg ( Ghost, Harlem ), and Rainn Wilson ( The Office ). Look for Goldwyn in a supporting role, too. This is one of the finest casts you can ask for, and in watching the film, you get the sense these fine actors know they were connected to some great filmmaking. Ezra is perfect for the entire family, but general audiences will also appreciate how well it explores family dynamics, the importance of breaking cycles of generational miscommunications, and the lengths parents would go to protect the bonds they have with their own children. It’s a special kind of road trip film with a ton of heart.

Ezra (2023)

• Bobby Cannavale puts in an impressive performance
• Everyone in the cast and crew clearly cares about the story
• Effectively touches on issues of communication in families
• The narrative loses its way a little in the third act

Bobby Cannavale in a Standout Role

One of the greatest delights Ezra offers (and there are many) is Bobby Cannavale. The two-time Emmy winner ( Will & Grace, Boardwalk Empire ) bares all emotionally in this film. A consistently reliable actor, it’s as if any remaining creative restraints have been removed when playing Max in such a vulnerable way. Cannavale’s powerhouse performance drives most of the film. A flailing comic who is more of a humorous storyteller than a joke-cracking dynamo on stage, Max can’t get by on just $50 a gig. His manager Jayne (Goldberg) is supportive but she, too, has grown weary of Max getting his own way. Unresolved parental conflicts and outbursts on stage only fuel Max’s unpredictable emotional fire.

If you’re wondering if Robert De Niro can still put a new spin on playing an overbearing dad, well, he can. De Niro plays Max’s pop, Stan, here. The Oscar-winner slipped into a similar role last year opposite Sebastian Maniscalco in About My Father , but in this much more grounded portrayal, he is refreshingly believable. Stan spars with Max, but the reason for their emotional divide lies underneath the surface and the film does a fine job drawing that out as things move along, but the central father/son focus lands on Max and Ezra.

The tides are turning. Ezra’s outbreaks at school are increasing — the boy does not like to be touched. Max and Jenna can avert such outbreaks by gently rubbing Max’s earlobes to calm him down, but lately, he seems more on edge. Jenna’s decision to have a doctor evaluate Ezra triggers Max and rather than confront these difficult decisions, Max abducts Ezra in Stan’s vintage car. He tells Ezra they’re going on an adventurous road trip and, with that car, it sure becomes one. The film switches gears at this point, becoming a father-son-focused story filled with enjoyable moments, plot twists, and a rush to resolve a growing problem that draws in the FBI as Jenna attempts to find Ezra and Stan coaches Max from afar.

Best Bobby Cannavale Movies, Ranked

Refreshing take on the road trip film.

The film’s tender, beating heart is newcomer William A. Fitzgerald, who turns in a memorable performance as Ezra, a boy, to the surprise of his elders, who knows what he needs to feel safe. It’s just that it takes Max a while to catch on, and perhaps at too big of a cost. Cannavale and Fitzgerald deliver seamless, believable performances in this endeavor. As natural fits, they give us two characters to care about and invest in.

The script avoids standard road movie tropes as our father-son duo detour here and there, first by visiting Max’s comedy buddy (Rainn Wilson), then a farm owned by Grace (Vera Farmiga), a compassionate woman from Max’s distant past. Max keeps two things in focus: bonding with Ezra and eventually getting to Hollywood, where his manager landed him a gig on Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show . The film teeters a bit toward the end as screenwriter Tony Spiridakis attempts to wrap everything up, but not so much that it fully misses the landing.

Best Road Trip Movies, Ranked

Inspired by real life.

Ezra was, in fact, inspired by Spiridakis’s real-life experiences with his own neurodivergent son, who is now 24. The screenwriter explored similar father-son dynamics in the 2017 pilot Greenport , which revolved around a man raising a son with autism. Spiridakis’s personal link here gives the film an extra emotional boost and it appears that everybody drawn into the project — from Goldwyn to De Niro and Cannavale and Byrne, a real-life couple who’ve costarred in projects close to their hearts before ( see Seriously Red for some escapist fun) — became deeply invested in getting things right.

Behind-the-scenes titans, too. Film editor Sabine Hoffman ( Passing, The Glorias ), for instance, so wonderfully crafts a swiftly moving tale, creating a sense of ongoing movement throughout. Producers William Horberg, Jon Kilik, Goldwyn, and Spiridakis seem to have taken great care in assembling a production crew that understood the film’s passion and heart.

But it’s the cast and central story that stand out the most. This is a story most people can relate to because it revolves around love, connection, acceptance, and coming to terms with our differences. The latter half of the film leans into understanding three generations of miscommunication — Stan, Max, and Ezra — and the ripple effects that can cause. Ezra hits theaters Frida, May 31. Watch the trailer below.

Streaming in:

We checked for updates on 248 streaming services on June 1, 2024 at 1:41:37 AM. Something wrong? Let us know!

Road Trip streaming: where to watch online?

Currently you are able to watch "Road Trip" streaming on Max, Max Amazon Channel. It is also possible to buy "Road Trip" on Amazon Video, AMC on Demand, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Vudu, Microsoft Store as download or rent it on Microsoft Store, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Vudu, FlixFling online.

Where does Road Trip rank today? The JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts are calculated by user activity within the last 24 hours. This includes clicking on a streaming offer, adding a title to a watchlist, and marking a title as 'seen'. This includes data from ~1.3 million movie & TV show fans per day.

Streaming charts last updated: 1:14:17 AM, 06/01/2024

Road Trip is 16621 on the JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts today. The movie has moved up the charts by 10478 places since yesterday. In the United States, it is currently more popular than God's Not Dead but less popular than Last Letter.

After an Ithaca College student films his one-night stand with a beautiful sorority girl, he discovers one of his friends has accidentally mailed the homemade sex tape to his girlfriend. In a frenzy, he must borrow a car and hit the road in a desperate bid to intercept the tape.

Videos: Trailers, Teasers, Featurettes

Streaming Charts The JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts are calculated by user activity within the last 24 hours. This includes clicking on a streaming offer, adding a title to a watchlist, and marking a title as 'seen'. This includes data from ~1.3 million movie & TV show fans per day.

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25 Essential Road Trip Movies of the Last 25 Years

We’re looking down the horizon and beyond for some of the best road trip movies that defined the genre over the last 25 years! To rev up this list, we selected American movies movies, journeys that begin in the States (where they actually finish is part of the fun). The movies celebrate the sights and sounds of the country, or at least will inspire you to pull out that camping gear, putting the convertible top down, and hitting the open road. These rides can be cross-county ( Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle ), on the freeway ( Dog , Sideways ), trekking across a few state lines ( Little Miss Sunshine , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas ), hitting a new time zone ( Road Trip ), or even runnin’ coast-to-coast ( Rat Race , Transamerica ). Even the Academy has felt the need for reasonable speed, awarding Best Picture to both Green Book and Nomadland . Carpool lane? Of course: we’ve got an Oscar strapped in the passenger seat!

So whether you’re looking for a map to a long summer drive or fixing a flat in your life, turn to these essential 25 road trip movies of the last 25 years (in chronological order)!

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) 50%

The Straight Story (1999) 94%

Tumbleweeds (1999) 82%

Almost Famous (2000) 91%

Road Trip (2000) 57%

Rat Race (2001) 45%

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004) 75%

Sideways (2004) 97%

Transamerica (2005) 77%

Little Miss Sunshine (2006) 91%

Cars (2006) 75%

Zombieland (2009) 89%

Away We Go (2009) 67%

Paul (2011) 70%

We're the Millers (2013) 48%

Chef (2014) 87%

Grandma (2015) 91%

Mississippi Grind (2015) 91%

Pee-wee's Big Holiday (2016) 83%

Green Book (2018) 77%

Nomadland (2020) 93%

The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021) 97%

Bad Trip (2021) 79%

Dog (2022) 77%

Joy Ride (2023) 90%

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Best new Road trip movies in 2024 & 2023 (Netflix, Prime, Hulu & Cinema List)

New road movies in 2024 in Cinema & on VOD

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Walking to Paris

• Portuguese (Brazil)

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Road Trip Hostage (2023 Lifetime)

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Cast : Veronica Ramirez , Luke Charles Stafford , Chala Savino

Director : Kaila York

Writer : John F. Hayes

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Mommy Meanest Lifetime Movie, Lisa Rinna, and this is a true story?!?! – Lifetime Uncorked

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Synopsis (via Lifetime)

When pursuing her dreams leads to a fractured relationship with her mother, a young student angrily leaves home, but soon finds herself the hostage of a deranged criminal who forces her to drive him across the country. Inspired by actual events. Starring Veronica Ramirez, Lukas Stafford, Chala Savino.

Recap/Wine Thoughts

Inspired by True Events

Emma is a beautiful diabetic college student with a passion for dance. (She is pretty talented!) Her mother, Hillary, pushes her daughter not to follow her dreams and become a geologist. Emma wants to take a year off, creating tension in the relationship. 

We cut to a hunk (whose shirt is unbuttoned one button too many.) in the CIP lounge of a club. His name is Rick, and he is living off his parent’s money. His father cuts Rick off from the family. Unfortunately, his card is continually declined.

Emma gets a professional dancing job and gets into an argument with her mother again. Hillary wants her daughter to stay in school and says the “as long as you live in my house” line. Emma decides to move out and drop out of college. She moves in with her friend Katy, who lives in the same apartment building as… RICK! He invites them to go out with him for a boating trip. 

Rick goes to his dad’s house to try and get more money, but things don’t go as planned. His father cuts him off completely, and Rick bashes his dead in with a crystal whiskey bottle. The father’s girlfriend witnesses everything and calls the police. Rick now has to go on the run and takes a gun from a safe and cash from his dead father’s wallet. Rick changes his clothes to give us some shirtless hunk time before rushing off.

As he waits for an Uber, Rick sees Emma crying in her car. (Her dance rehearsals aren’t going well.) He asks her for a ride to the airport. They make awkward small talk. 

Graves and Ramirez are detectives on the case, like a low-budget Law and Order Episode. 

When they get to the airport, Rick refuses to get out of the car, blaming a panic attack. Emma is not concerned and tells him to get out of her car. He grabs her arm and pulls a knife on her. That is when she realizes she is in danger with a hot stranger. 

Rick and Emma drive around aimlessly while listening to the police radio. Rick tells Emma he has no other options and has to kidnap her to get to the border. He promises Emma that he won’t hurt her if she can help him. 

At a gas station, Rick opens up about his parents and their rocky relationship. Emma says she understands because his mother raised her alone after her father abandoned her, which is worse than a dad who isn’t there emotionally or physically. Emma uses the bonding time to slip some pain pills into his energy drink. 

Hilary tracks her daughter’s phone and runs into the detectives while asking Katy some questions. They follow the pin, and it leads them to the side of the highway heading to the border. (Not sure which one!) The detectives put out an ATB on Emma because she is a hostage on a ROAD TRIP!

Rick tastes the pills in his drink and punches Emma in the face. He tells her he will do it again if she doesn’t do what he says. They attempt to check into a motel, but the hotel manager is suspicious. She should be because once they get into the hotel room, Rick gags and ties Emma up in the bathroom. 

Detective Ramirez and Hilary drive down the highway the following day when a report comes in with a sighting of Emma’s car at the motel. Rick oversleeps and gives the police ample time to track him down. 

Rick complains about the motel not having continental breakfast, and the hotel manager mouths, ” Are You Okay?” to Emma, who nods no. The hotel manager calls 911 as Rick speeds away and literally runs her over. 

Realizing that they need to change cars, Rick goes to a local shopping center and highjacks a vehicle from a shopper with bangs. The duo then go to a thrift store to change clothes and put on wigs! (I feel like we missed an opportunity for a shopping montage here; we get more shirtless  Luke Charles Stafford !)

Detective Graves almost finds them at the thrift shop, but Rick and Emma sneak out the back. Emma’s mom and the other detective are onto them, and the police are blockading the roads. 

When Rick crashes the car, Emma makes a run for it, and he inexplicably chases after her. Emma calls 911 and tells them she was kidnapped and is on the side of the road. The police on the phone are useless. 

Emma pulls up a video of a crying woman and plays it on her phone to lure Rick into a trap. He picks up the phone, confused, and she smashes him in the face with a rock. 

Rick grabs his knife and Emma and holds her hostage as Hilary and Detective run up to them. Hilary tries to reason with Rick and empathizes with him. Rick lets Emma go, and the detective takes him into custody. 

Emma is a dancer, remember? She has a Black Swan Remix solo, and her mom watches proudly. (But what about college?!?!?!) The end!

Minority Report: Emma, Hillary, Club Security, Detectives Graves, and Ramirez

Luke Charles Stafford  is a hunk! 

Aren’t road trip movies supposed to be fun?! This draggggged. 

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Overall rating  

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Movie review: Strong performances propel road trip dramedy ‘Ezra’

Director Tony Goldwyn opens his family dramedy “Ezra” in the warm, collegial comfort of a comedy club. Max (Bobby Cannavale) perches on a stool, a handheld camera drifting closer and closer as he tells jokes about his life, including his autistic son, layering truths with punchlines, walking a tight-rope of tones. It’s an invitation from Goldwyn, and screenwriter Tony Spiridakis, to sit down and listen awhile as they unfurl this heartfelt, humorous and sometimes harrowing yarn.

It establishes right away that Max is the proud and loving father of Ezra (William A. Fitzgerald, an autistic actor making his film debut), who has no problem grappling with the realities of raising an autistic child. Throughout the events that follow, we never lose sight of that, because Max fiercely loves his son, and that understanding offers a sense of emotional safety as the plot that unfolds becomes increasingly high stakes.

It’s this place setting, as well as the strong lead performances, that allow Goldwyn to thread the needle on a story that could potentially go off the rails. “Ezra” is the story of a father, desperate to protect his son, who takes him on a cross-country road trip where they experience catharsis and healing. It’s a fairly traditional road movie formula with an autism twist. Also, the “road trip” is technically a “kidnapping,” since Max spirits Ezra out of bed from the home of ex-wife Jenna (Rose Byrne), and the film never shies away from that reality, in fact relying on this perceived danger to ramp up the dramatic tension and set characters in motion.

The kidnapping stems from a misunderstanding that spirals into an unfortunate accident, coupled with Max’s own traumatic triggers. It’s never fully explicated in the screenplay, but Max’s past mental health issues and possibly undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder are frequently alluded to, thrumming below the surface. His experience makes him an understanding father to Ezra, but also somewhat hampers his ability to properly parent his son. Upset that Ezra might be medicated with anti-psychotics and placed in a special education school, Max assesses that the doctors, pharmaceutical companies and the state are in collusion to keep himself and his son apart. He’s not necessarily wrong, but his desire to expose Ezra to the world and treat him like any other kid bumps up against Jenna’s wish to provide her son with every accommodation and suggested treatment.

Every character choice in “Ezra” is plausible because it comes from a place of emotional honesty in the script and performances. We understand why Max acts in the extreme, and also why Jenna is hesitant to call the authorities, but feels forced to do so, because their characters are well-established and perfectly performed.

It’s no surprise that longtime life partners Byrne and Cannavale have an easy chemistry, and Cannavale and Robert De Niro, who plays his gruff father, Stan, have sparkling, rapid-fire New York-accented rapport. While Cannavale holds the center as the complex Max, demonstrating his range, as well as his ability to lead a movie, De Niro, unsurprisingly, is magnetic. It’s not a huge role, but his performance is beautifully expressed.

Goldwyn has called in the big guns to set “Ezra” up for success, and in addition to Cannavale, Byrne and De Niro, he has cast supporting actors such as Vera Farmiga, Rainn Wilson, himself in a small role, and his “Ghost” co-star Whoopi Goldberg, who plays Max’s agent. She calls him when he’s on the road to Michigan to visit a friend (Wilson) at a summer camp, to let him know that he’s been booked on Jimmy Kimmel and needs to be in L.A. in a week, extending their trip even further across the country. Despite Ezra’s protestations, they head West, with Max convinced he needs his son as a good-luck charm for his set. Meanwhile, Stan and Jenna hit the road in hot pursuit, and “Ezra” becomes a dueling odd-couple road movie.

The film is an actor’s showcase , and it’s the performances that hold everything together , especially the young Fitzgerald, who is terrific as Ezra, a young man who communicates his preferences and boundaries clearly – he’s often the only character saying exactly what he means. But Goldwyn’s direction is sure-handed in navigating the complicated tone that tiptoes through comedy and pathos. He pushes his style with cinematographer Danny Moder, using those handheld close-ups for more emotionally intense moments, and imparting a sense of gritty authenticity to a story that often requires a suspended disbelief .

“Ezra” could tip into melodrama, but Goldwyn sidesteps that with a rather facile ending, seemingly skipping a story beat in the denouement. You crave one more moment to wrap things up, but sometimes it’s better to leave us wanting more , avoiding the treacle and focusing on the heart – and the humor – of the matter .

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Movies | Review: ‘Gasoline Rainbow’ is a memorable…

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Movies | review: ‘gasoline rainbow’ is a memorable teenage road trip along an improvised oregon trail.

This forlorn image signals the start of one end of “Gasoline Rainbow,” the latest genre blur from the brothers Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross opening this weekend at the Music Box Theatre. A beat-up Econoline-type van interrupts the silence. In it are five Wiley high school graduates, nervously thrilled with the getaway they’re about to make. The kids haven’t stolen anything, other than the van “borrowed” from one of the friends’ folks. But time and the meager options afforded by Wiley have stolen plenty from these five. As we share their zigzag, life-altering itinerary, a 513-mile backroad odyssey gathers an emotional momentum we’re grateful to experience.

The Ross brothers continue their exploration of docu-fiction here (more on that shortly). The five friends make their introductions by way of their school IDs popped onto the screen. Their names: Tony Aburto, Micah Bunch, Nichole Dukes, Nathaly Garcia and Makai Garza. “Gasoline Rainbow” chronicles their fortunes on the road, the chance encounters that take them to a bonfire gathering here, a truck stop there. Their destination: the Pacific Ocean, and a raging “End of the World” party somewhere on the coast they’ve heard about.

I’d rather not detail the encounters, other than to note the overnight crash pads and bull sessions offered by various relatives and newfound acquaintances. We come to know these three young, good-hearted men and two good-hearted young women as they drink, smoke, dance, skateboard and discover what it feels like to open up about their worry about what’s next. For all that, “Gasoline Rainbow” lets the story of their lives and this particular road-trip story go where it goes. I found the movie very moving, and often funny (discussion topics range from “The Lord of the Rings” to Enya), and not far in some respects from the roads taken by Chloe Zhao’s “The Rider” and “Nomadland,” portraits of rootless or questing American spirits in a time without a compass.

And this is where we talk about what the movie is, and isn’t, and acknowledge that the Ross brothers make no bones about it.

“Gasoline Rainbow” is not a documentary. It’s fiction. The five central figures use the real names of the first-time actors playing versions of themselves, and a lot of what they talk about comes from their real lives and doubts and yearnings. But the narrative is an extended form of outlined and improvised imagination. The Ross brothers roughed out the idea in early 2020, an eyeblink before the pandemic; a little over a year later, in between pandemic lockdowns, they started filming with their cast members. Plenty of visual cues and tip-offs arrive early in “Gasoline Rainbow,” indicating the fictional/nonfictional blur afoot; an arresting shot, filmed (I think) from the front of the van, shooting inside, delights the eye while consciously or subconsciously telling you it’s not a documentary.

Neither was the Ross’s previous film “Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets,” a ripe 2020 ensemble portrait of the regular customers of a Las Vegas dive bar on the evening of the 2016 Trump victory. Actors and non-actors alike created those parts, just as the five expressive and unerring amateurs fill out parallel versions of themselves in “Gasoline Rainbow.”

Also, regarding the town of Wiley: There isn’t a Wiley, not really. It’s fictional. So it really is a nowhere kind of town, literally.

The movie suggests something more interesting, I think, than 100% truth or 100% fiction. We’re all from somewhere; we all wonder if we’re doing it right, whatever “it” is. We all dream of freedom somehow tethered to our families, our friends, our sense of belonging. The Ross brothers belong to a long, coast-to-coast family of docu-fiction landmarks, from New York-set “On the Bowery” (1956) to Los Angeles-set “The Exiles” (1961).

See it, and see what you make of this new and quite wonderful example of this in-between cinematic tradition — and of Tony, Micah, Nichole, Nathaly and Makai, both real and imagined.

“Gasoline Rainbow” — 3.5 stars (out of 4)

No MPA rating (language)

Running time: 1:48

How to watch: Premieres May 17 at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave. Streaming on MUBI.com May 31.

Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.

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