I have to be honest and admit that I usually avoid movies such as these like the plague, as most of them are filled to the brim with black stereotypes/tropes and “humor” that’s either just plain awful or will have you rolling your eyes. But I was pleasantly surprised by Girls Trip which yes…does have a few stereotypical tropes, but in the end comes off as a zany comedy that’s just as touching as it is filthy.
The story starts off with the life of Ryan Pierce (Regina Hall), a self-help genius that has seems to have it all and then some with the massive success of a new book, and a perfect husband named Stewart (Mike Colter) that’s also her business partner. Despite doing well and basking in fame, she still feels like something is missing from her life, which turns out to be her best friends from college who called themselves “The Flossy Posse”. Along with Ryan, the group features Sasha (Queen Latifah) that runs a celebrity gossip website, Lisa (Jada Pinkett Smith) the single mom who has given up on love to care for her kids, and finally Dina (Tiffany Haddish) who sadly hasn’t changed much from her college days and is still as wild and crazy as ever. Ryan decides to get the band back together and invites the ladies to join her in New Orleans for an event she’s scheduled to speak at. It’s all fun and games at first when the girls reconnect and enjoy nights out on the town, but it isn’t long before the problems in their lives come to the surface, and they’ll have to lean on each other to overcome these issues while trying to have a good time together.
Even with all it’s stereotypical faults and raunchy moments, I still found myself liking Girls Trip, as it was fun seeing old friends come together after so many years and finding ways to help one another through their personal woes. As long as you can push past that crazy naughty bits, you’ll find yourself enjoying the touching moments of friendship these ladies share as much as I did. Seeing that this is a Blu-ray release, the video and audio are on point and capture every detail on screen and through your sound system, even some details you may not care to see or hear for that matter. There’s also a nice amount of special features to take a trip through once the film is over, such as “Planning The Trip” that goes behind the scenes with cast and crew interviews, and “Outrageous Moments” has some funny moments with cast and crew as they show off some of the crazy things that happened on set. There’s also some deleted scenes with optional commentary by director Malcolm D. Lee, a hilarious Gag Reel that’s always a welcomed extra in my book as I can’t get enough of them, a music video and more to check out.
If you’re looking for a touching comedy to watch and don’t mind raunchy bits or can push past them, you’ll want to pack your bags and go on along for the ride that is Girls Trip. While I could’ve done without the stereotypical tropes and such, the friendship these ladies share and the special moments they share won me over in the end, and will hopefully do the same for all who take the journey with them.
