The summer usually sees at least one breakout R-rated comedy every year, and following the lukewarm reception of Rough Night, Girls Trip plans to try to score a better reaction with a similar premise. While this new movie has been flying somewhat under the radar up to this point, it appears that may be about to change, as the early reviews are now hitting online and they're so far looking incredibly positive. Our own Mike Reyes saw the film and was surprised how much he enjoyed it.
While only a handful of reviews have gone up online so far, as of this writing every one of them is positive. While the movie isn't necessarily perfect, it seems that that chemistry and camaraderie between the four women who share the story is just so much fun to watch that you're likely to overlook any issues simply because you're having so much fun. That's the perspective of The Hollywood Reporter anyway...
The progression from raunchy, raucous laughs into dramatic conflict and then out the other side into the uplifting empowerment of sisterhood and self-worth isn't entirely seamless, but there's too much dizzy pleasure here to get hung up on the flaws.
While the cast includes Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, and Regina Hall, it's relative newcomer, Tiffany Haddish that seems o be receiving the most praise. According to Indiewire...
Haddish's zippy charisma sets the tone early, zinging between bouts of physical comedy (no one lunges at a co-star with as much pizzazz as Haddish) and wonderfully inappropriate one-liners that are as shocking as they are masterfully delivered.
The term "raunchy" is getting used a lot in these reviews, which would seem to indicate that if you're looking for a solid adult comedy, Girls Night may be the film that you've been looking for. The summer usually sees at least one solid R-rated comedy and while previous years have given us Neighbors and Trainwreck, this year we've seen attempts like Snatched and Rough Night, both fail to bring in the audience that clearly exists for this material. Variety seems to think that Girls Trip will be the movie that finally brings in the crowds.
Girls Trip has something for everyone --- provided that they're old enough to see a hard-R-rated comedy, and not so easily offended that an explicit demonstration of the so-called "grapefruit technique" would send them running for the exits.
While most eyes next week will probably be focused on Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk or the science fiction blockbuster Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, perhaps we shouldn't be so quick to dismiss Girls Night. It sounds like the film is a great time at the movies and if it successfully attracts a different audience than those looking for more explosions, we could see a surprise box office success story.
