Writer-producer Adele Lim, who worked on the script for Crazy Rich Asians, now makes her feature directing debut with this likable and brash Asian-American comedy about four women leaving the US for a trip to the Chinese homeland; they come to terms with their roots in various ways, expressing sexualities queer and straight and of course celebrating friendship.
It all barrels along, with a journey-of-discovery narrative template not entirely dissimilar to the recent Book Club sequel; the energy levels are high and there are some outrageous gags, between which the mandatory sentimentality is reasonably managed although occasionally the sex-positivity theme is rather earnestly signalled. And given how contemporary and hip the script is striving to be, and the fact that it’s specifically about four American nationals flying to China, the lack of any mention of the recent Covid lockdown and diplomatic froideur between China and the US is a bit weird. This project could, of course, have originated before the pandemic.
