Joy Ride

An underlying heartfelt charm provides most of the joy in Joy Ride, as long as you’re willing to dig beneath the aggressive crudeness and over-the-top ribaldry.

The latest raunchy female-centric comedy to borrow the Bridesmaids narrative template, this high-spirited saga about sisterhood and ethnic identity seen through a contemporary Asian American lens makes strides in terms of on-screen inclusion and diversity when it’s not relying too heavily on low-brow tropes.

Indeed, the film generates many of its laughs from the offbeat chemistry between its stars and from playfully tweaking cultural stereotypes rather than its eye-rolling attempts to be outrageous or shocking.

Audrey (Ashley Park) is a corporate lawyer who was born in China but adopted and raised by an American family. So when she’s asked to close a significant deal for her firm in Beijing, she takes along childhood friend and eccentric artist Lolo (Sherry Cola) to help with any language issues.

They’re joined by Lolo’s K-pop fanatic cousin (Sabrina Wu). And overseas, Audrey reconnects by chance with Kat (Stephanie Hsu), a former college classmate who’s now a famous actress engaged to a hunky co-star (Desmond Chiam).

However, what was supposed to be a tightly focused opportunity to mix business and pleasure quickly goes off the rails, thanks in part to adventurous personalities, unplanned detours, and plenty of alcohol.

Rookie director Adele Lim was a co-writer on Crazy Rich Asians, which feels like a cousin to this effort in terms of its progressive outlook on gender politics in Asian culture and its ability to juggle multiple subplots while maintaining a zippy pace.

The screenwriting tandem of Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao (“Family Guy”) tries to generate comic momentum with a labored series of broad gags, whether it’s the gals getting drugged up to avoid arrest on a train, or improvising a K-pop music video to escape another tight spot.

Beneath the surface quirks and predictable misadventures, however, are perceptive observations about connecting with your roots, being proud of your heritage, and the cross-cultural bonds that tie us all together.

Along the way, the enthusiasm of the ensemble cast becomes infectious, and the rich cultural specificity makes Joy Ride smarter and more sophisticated than it initially appears.

Rated R, 95 minutes.