Wondering if Joy Ride is ok for kids and teens? This R-rated comedy is raunchy, unrestrained, and for mature audiences, so sorry, kids, this one’s not for you. Here’s what parents need to know in this Joy Ride Parents Guide.
Joy Ride (2023) Parents Guide
The hilarious and unapologetically explicit story of identity and self-discovery centers on four unlikely friends who embark on a once-in-a-lifetime international adventure. When Audrey’s (Ashley Park) business trip to Asia goes sideways, she enlists the aid of Lolo (Sherry Cola), her irreverent, childhood best friend who also happens to be a hot mess; Kat (Stephanie Hsu), her college friend turned Chinese soap star; and Deadeye (Sabrina Wu), Lolo’s eccentric cousin. Their no-holds-barred, epic experience becomes a journey of bonding, friendship, belonging, and wild debauchery that reveals the universal truth of what it means to know and love who you are.
Parents need to know that Joy Ride is raunchy, full of sexual content, and not made for children.
Age Rating: Why is Joy Ride Rated R?
Joy Ride is Rated R for Crude Sexual Content, Brief Graphic Nudity, Language, and Drug Use which means some content is not suitable for kids under 17.
Language in Joy Ride
There is A LOT of language in Joy Ride including many uses of f*ck, sh*t, a**, a**hole, bi*ch, damn, and uses of Deity including many uses of g-ddamn. There are also uses of sexual words like d*ck, t*tty, balls, and pu**y as well as racial slurs used.
Mature Content: Is Joy Ride OK for Teens?
Joy Ride is full of sexual content and jokes that are inappropriate for tweens and teens, especially if you’re sensitive to that type of content.
There is frontal female nudity and threesomes. Two men are shown going down on a woman performing oral sex. Another scene shows a man thrusting into the back of a woman while she rides another man. There are also scenes of masturbation.
There are open discussions of sexual desires and pasts as well as sexual gestures shown. Conversations include different sexual acts and positions.
Characters smoke and use drugs like cocaine and hide them up their rectums.
Characters drink alcohol excessively and there’s a gross scene of characters projectile vomiting.
A character is shown filming a scene where he dies by suicide by slitting his throat with a sword and blood spurts all over the place.
Other mature topics include grief, adoption, racism, and family.
Is Joy Ride Appropriate for Kids Under 17? Parents Guide
Joy Ride is rated R for good reason and is not appropriate for kids and most teens. Due to the sexual content, nudity and mature themes, I recommend for Joy Ride for adults. But I also don’t recommend Euphoria for teens either, so take that for what it’s worth.
Joy Ride is like No Hard Feelings – shock value comedy with a lot of heart. However, Joy Ride tells a better story. The characters and friendships are what make this film special. I don’t think debauchery and crude material is needed to make a good film, but I also recognize that it’s entertaining for some audiences.
Vulgarity aside, the leads are all quite talented and have great on-screen chemistry. The emotional beats hit mixed in with outlandish behavior. The non-judgment amongst the friends show what true friendship is about. If R-rated raunchy comedies are your thing, then Joy Ride won’t disappoint.
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