Girls Trip is a Black, raunchy girl bonding “Hangover” knockoff (sort of) farce, only this time they got it right. With an all-star cast and a rock solid story involving each character’s personal ups and downs, Girls Trip is a hit. An American comedy directed by Malcolm D. Lee and written by Kenya Barris and Tracy Oliver, who based the script on their own experiences involving four female college friends who meet up for the first time in five years to go to New Orleans to attend the Essence Music Festival in order to reconnect and rekindle their sisterhood and wild sides. There are several nights of partying, hook-ups and bad decisions, as well as raw and vulnerable moments that strengthen their bond.
Below are character definitions rather than a synopsis of the film because it would be too hard not to spoil the very funny scenes and setups. For the most part, I enjoyed the movie and think you should check it out as well. Not for anyone under 18.
Dina (Tiffany Haddish) is foul-mouthed, funny wild and an abrasive woman with an unmanageable temper that gets her into lots of trouble. In real life she’s a standup comic known for her raunchy comedy routines (like the one in Girls Trip about farting during doggie style sex).
Ryan Pierce (Regina Hall) is a successful career-obsessed, self-help author who is married to a not so loyal, successful man, who she can’t seem to break away from. Ryan, otherwise seems level headed and in control of her life and business. She has no children but would love to have some.
Sasha Franklin (Queen Latifah) is a gossip magazine blogger who gave up her real dream of being an accomplished editor/reporter as a trade-off for fast money, which she needed, since she didn’t have the financial means to do otherwise.
Lisa Cooper (Jada Pinkett Smith) became a housewife and overly prudish, single mother devoted to her two boys with no life for herself. Edged on by her sisterhood, Lisa displayed her wild side during Girls Trip, stealing some of the funniest scenes of the movie.
Elizabeth Davelli (Kate Walsh) is the only white member of the crew and is Ryan’s oversexed manager / agent who made many bad decisions that lead to lots of laughs.
Stewart Pierce (Mike Colter) as the philandering husband in business with his wife, Ryan.
Malik (Kofi Siriboe) is a dark, handsome love interest for Lisa who had some of the funniest scenes in the film.
Julian Stevens (Larenz Tate) is a band member and former class mate of Ryan’s from college as well as a potential future love interest for Ryan.
Expect to see appearances by Mariah Carey, Ne-Yo, Faith Evans, Morris Chestnut, Gabrielle Dennis, MC Lyte, New Edition, Common, Estelle and Beyoncé as themselves.
There’s only one word to describe Magic Mike XXL, raunchy! If you’re looking to see anything like the last Magic Mike, forget it. This sequel has a new look and feel. They’ve stepped it up by 10 times the fun and excitement of old. Word of mouth is something else because I kept seeing large groups of ladies, especially the 50+ range flocking to see Magic Mike XXL. The shy laughter and red faces were infectious. I had no intentions of going to see it because I expected more of the same since I had seen the first Magic Mike. I was surprised and my curiosity was well satisfied once I saw what the “brouhaha” was all about. We all know about the outstanding bodies of Channing Tatum who plays Mike, Joe Mangoniello who plays Big Dick Richie, Matt Bomer who plays Ken and the rest of the group Adam Rodriguez who plays Tito, Juan Piedrahita who plays Salvador and Kevin Nash who plays Tazan. Dancer, Stephen “tWitch” Boss joins the cast as Malik to make matters even better. In this sequel, Mike returns to the team after failing at love and struggling with his furniture business. Their journey to the stripper convention in Myrtle Beach makes for quite a story. Jada Pinkett Smith plays Rome, a DJ and entrepreneur who is well known and old friends with Mike. Andie MacDowell plays Nancy Davidson, a rich mother looking for love who helps out the team and develops a relationship with Big Dick Richie. Over all, Magic Mike XXL is a ladies movie that is entertaining and not for the prudish. I think it’s worth seeing.
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