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Girls Trip

Girls Trip

Movie
Director(s): 
Genre: 
In Theatres: 
Jul 21, 2017
Grade:
A
Running Time: 
122 minutes

Girls Trip is fun, funny, and filled with romp and raunchy humor. The experience of the audience was firmly a concern in the mind of the creators, as this is the perfect film to see with your girls in the 21+ theater, sipping adult drinks, and forgetting about the world outside.

Ryan (Regina Hall), Sasha (Queen Latifah), Lisa (Jada Pinkett Smith), and Dina (Tiffany Haddish) were infamous during their college days as the Flossy Posse and while life’s struggles have created some distance, they’re seeking to reconnect for a weekend of debauchery set on the backdrop of Essence Fest in New Orleans.

Ryan and her husband are on the rise as an aspirational couple. Sasha runs a gossip blog, but really wants to be a hard news journalist. Lisa is single-mother of two who desperately needs to get her groove back, and Dina is the friend to help her get there.

The comparison to 2011’s Bridesmaids and this summer’s Rough Night are inevitable, but the differences in characters, theme, and setting are very distinct. While all include women who are out to have a good time, Girls Trip does not involve a wedding nor a bachelorette party and it is a very Black Girl Magic comedy.

One of the themes of the film, female friendship, was more than just a pretense; it was the core. These friendships aren’t about perfection, and they aren’t fake. These four women are dealing with the difficulties an adult friendship can bring. There is distance, emotional and physical, as well as unresolved arguments and past tensions that have to be addressed before they can heal. The film displays how some of these issues can fray a friendship, but also how love can mend those hems. While some of the drama can drag down on 122 minutes of good times, it’s truly an addition that serves to give depth to what could otherwise be a superficial raunchy comedy.

Kenya Barris, co-creator of ABC’s Blackish is a co-writer with Oliver and it shows. The jokes build; some with great polish, others with pure bathroom humor. No one stands too firm on respectability and a great deal of the laughs being birthed from Tiffany Haddish’s incredible performance as Dina, the true shameless hedonist, who reminds me of Charlie from Blackish. Haddish is an electric scene stealer and you cannot take your eyes from her antics. Tracy Oliver, co-writer, told The Hollywood Reporter that she wanted to break down the barriers of respectability politics and portray, "Black women being carefree and having fun just like everybody else. I think we need to show all aspects of black lives. I love Moonlight, I love Hidden Figures, but I also want to see some people who are having fun and just showing female friends hanging out." Achievement unlocked.

We’re also treated to a nearly full frontal of Kofi Siriboe (everyone’s current crush from Queen Sugar) so, worth it! 

Maria Jackson
Review by Maria Jackson
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