Movie Review – Girls Trip

For some odd reason, many people are convinced that women can’t be funny. Despite the litany of hilarious comediennes on our television shows, podcasts, and stand up specials, Hollywood seems incapable of giving that same spotlight to an all-women ensemble cast. When Bridesmaids premiered in 2011, we saw many headlines stating that it was the” Female Hangover” and that it “Proved that women can be funny!”….give me a break. While comparisons are inevitable, this shock and awe over a women centered comedy, got really old, really fast.

That being said, while I’m a woman in my 20’s (an age that seems to love these comedies), I don’t typically enjoy them. I find that they try too hard (i.e., Rough Night). For me, it’s been a really long time since I saw a quality comedy, let alone one with women at the helm. To say I was hesitant to see Girls Trip, is a severe understatement. I thought it would fall into the “black women” stereotypes, and while it did in fact do this, it was in a multi-dimensional way that made Girls Trip a joy to watch from start to finish.

“The Flossy Posse” comprised of Ryan (Regina Hall) , Lisa (Jada Pinkett Smith) , Dina (Tiffany Haddish), and Sasha (Queen Latifiah), were the best friends in college, but have grown apart with time. Sasha is a successful author on the path to a television show and media empire (much like Oprah) with her husband Stewart (Mike Colter), a retired NFL player. She lives a picture perfect life, so when she gets passes to Essence Music Festival in New Orleans, she invite her former best friends for some good old fashion fun in “The Big Easy.”

With some big household names and recognizable names in this film, you may be scratching your head wondering “who is Tiffany Haddish?” and I can tell you now, she’s one of the funniest women in the world. Her sense of humor is crude and crass and her comedic timing is amazing. She had the audience laughing so hard, I often missed parts of the joke.

My favorite part of this film was the completely pure and transparent support these women had for one another. It wasn’t about being mean or backstabbing- which is an easy cliché Hollywood loves. Don’t get me wrong, they fought (hilarious fights at that) but the film really stressed the strength in having supportive friends.

Sex, fighting, dirty jokes, dance battles, and hair bonnets before bed (a small detail I loved seeing a group of black women wearing) has solidified this as one of my favorite comedies of 2017 and really makes me want to go to Essence Fest 2018.