When it comes to comedies, I am a fool for the silly, vulgar and exciting. This past week’s viewing of Girl’s Trip starring Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Regina Hall and Tiffany Haddish gave me exactly what I needed and more.
Taking place in New Orleans during Essence Music Festival, Girl’s Trip chronicles the 5 year reunion of the starring group of girlfriends who call themselves the Flossy Posse. From the beginning, the movie is equally hilarious and relatable; especially for Black women who struggle seeing themselves on film in a real way. This movie does not water down any of the crazy conversations, situations or intricacies of best friendship that many of us find ourselves in when we’ve been in a long-lasting relationship with our girls.
We embark on a journey with Ryan (Hall), a successful author and her three best friends: the wild, brash, say-anything Dina (Haddish), the well-meaning but sometimes unscrupulous Sasha (Latifah) and every friend group’s favorite friend – the mom, Lisa (Pinkett). It has been 5 years since they have gotten together to let loose, get away from their responsibilities and most importantly, get back to the women that they were when they first met while in college.
As we know, with age comes wisdom, growth, maturity and life changes. The once wild-child starts a family, settles down and suddenly you don’t even know your best friend anymore. And over the course of years, responsibilities get in the way and even the best of friends can feel like strangers. But, true to many friendships among strong women, as soon as the group gets back together it’s like they were never apart.
This is what we find in Girl’s Trip when the four ladies touch down in N.O. ready to tear it up and remember their friendship as it once was. But, as we know, things can never go back to the way they used to be. Even the closest relationships endure the trials of individual change. This is where Girl’s Trip gets really real for it’s viewers. The Flossy Posse is back in action but faced with difficulties in their professional and personal lives that leak over into the 20+ year friendship they have built.
Ryan seems to be the glue of the friendship, pulling everyone back together after so long but as the movie reveals, even the most put together of our loved ones may be falling apart inside. It takes the strength and personalities of each member of the group to bring things together. What we end up with is a lesson in self-worth and the value of friendships – especially among women.
On-screen, all four women shine in their own way and give us a solid ensemble performance. Haddish is just as loud and crazy as she has been in anything else you have ever seen her in and serves as the comedic relief. Though quite vulgar and raunchy, Haddish leads most of the film’s best jokes and comedic scenes in a way that really bring you back to a night out with your besties. Who among us has not had a few drinks and got to sharing all your dirty sex secrets with her girls? Dina reminds us of the importance of fun and accepting the people we love for who they are. Haddish outshines her co-stars, comedically speaking and I am here for it. It would have been nice to get a little more from her character’s development but hopefully this starring role will open up even more doors for us as an audience to see her range and talents. I cannot wait to see what else she has to offer.
Overall, Girl’s Trip is the girlfriends movie I’ve been waiting for. It gives us relatability, comedy and originality. Unlike many other 2010s movies, I do not feel like I am watching a remake or redo of the same old movie over and over again. Of course, no comedy is complete without tropes but Girl’s Trip does not belabor us with so much cliché that it cannot be overlooked in order to enjoy the movie as a whole. I am not easily offended and even find myself laughing heartily at fart jokes so when Girl’s goes there with bodily function bits, awkward sex and the trippy consequences of drinking too much of the wrong stuff, I am quite pleased. In fact, the comedic timing of the film is so on point that there are parts of the movie that I missed simply because the entire audience was laughing so loud that the movie could not be heard.
What really draws me to the movie though, is the portrayal of four black women with no qualms about being their naturally black ass selves. They are smart, nasty, compassionate women just like the ones that we call our friends in real life. I am hard-pressed to identify another Black movie, especially starring all black women, that goes there the way that Girl’s Trip does without apology and is still completely full of Black Girl Magic. This is one to see in theaters and keep a copy on blu-ray for those girl’s nights in.
Peep the trailer below and catch Girl’s Trip in theaters July 21st!
