“Girls Trip” is like a fun vacation with a few minor hiccups. When reminiscing, you won’t remember that you didn’t pack enough pairs of socks, that the hotel coffee was terrible or the measly 15-minute flight delay. Those problems irk in the moment, but they don’t color your memory of the whole experience. Similarly, “Girls Trip” has its issues – its overlong two-hours-plus running time, unnecessary narration, excessive product placement, etc. – but that all fades and what remains is how hilarious this movie is. This isn’t a film for polite chuckles; instead, it’s an raucous R-rated comedy that inspires wild whoops of laughter. Seriously, cancel ab day at the gym because they’re going to get a workout here. You’ll cough the next day and wince.
Written by “black-ish” showrunner Kenya Barris and “Survivor’s Remorse” writer Tracy Oliver, “Girls Trip” begins with flashbacks to the four women at its heart and their friendship through the years as the “Flossy Posse.” In the film’s first moments, director Malcolm D. Lee and the unneeded voiceover (which disappears until the movie’s last minutes) get in the movie’s way. The brief scenes starting in 1995 offer nostalgia and quick giggles, but the editing makes “Girls Trip” look cheaper than it is. Once we’re firmly in the present and the characters are allowed to breathe, does the film open up and work its magic.
Narrator Ryan (Regina Hall) is an inspiration to others, boasting a seemingly perfect marriage to a charming retired athlete (Mike Colter) and proclaiming that she has it all as part of her personal brand. Sasha (Queen Latifah) was a big-name journalist, but she now struggles to pay her bills with the revenue from her gossip site. Lisa (Jada Pinkett Smith) is a divorced mom of two and the default mother figure for the group, in both her protective stance and her matronly necklines. Finally, Dina (Tiffany Haddish) is the wild one of the Flossy Posse, as quick with a quip as she is to start a fight.
After a five-year hiatus, the group reunites for the annual Essence Festival in New Orleans, with Ryan’s celebrity earning them perks galore. Many of these involve Ciroc Vodka, and it’s unsurprising when the brand’s Sean “Diddy” Combs makes an appearance as well. Lisa is encouraged to cut loose, and her wild weekend begins with the appearance of young Malik (Kofi Siriboe). But predictably, all isn’t as perfect as it seems in Ryan’s life, which creates drama within the group and beyond it.
Rather than being relegated to best friend, comic relief or unnamed background character, black women are at the center of this film. They’re given a voice and representation often still lacking in studio comedies, and using the Essence Festival as a backdrop doesn’t feel coincidental. “Girls Trip” is a celebration of the black female experience, but the specificity of the jokes and these characters doesn’t leave anyone else behind. You might miss some of the cameos or the deep-cut references, but this is a broadly crowd-pleasing comedy, and that’s meant as a compliment rather than an attack. This movie is a lot of things, but it never resorts to being bland to win over more quadrants of the audience.
“Girls Trip” may be the first film to feature the combination of jokes about the Middle Passage, Martha Stewart and “Set It Off.” The humor is delightfully specific and it’s unrelenting. Even its more serious moments are punctuated by laughs, largely thanks to the endless comic energy of Haddish. “Girls Trip” does a good job of distributing the jokes among the four leads, ensuring that no one is stuck being the straight woman, but Haddish runs away with the movie. Less well known than her costars, she is a force here, game for anything with every punchline landing as sure as Dina’s punches do. She’s the queen of raunchy dialogue, but there’s deft physical comedic work here, too. One, umm, gag about oral sex involving a grapefruit and a banana is the dirtiest moment for fruit on screen since “American Pie,” and it leaves viewers struggling to catch their breath through their hysterics.
“Girls Trip” is the latest offering in the mini trend of raunchy female-led comedies, after June’s “Rough Night” and last year’s “Bad Moms,” and we’re not complaining about the growth of the sub-genre. It doesn’t hesitate to earn its R rating, and some of its best moments are its bawdiest (thanks largely to Haddish). The movie has its flaws, but they’re tough to remember in the face of the fun it provides for two hours. [B]