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Girls Trip

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Girls Trip
The faces of four women, framed by the legs of another person in the foreground
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMalcolm D. Lee
Screenplay by
Story by
  • Erica Rivinoja
  • Kenya Barris
  • Tracy Oliver
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyGreg Gardiner
Edited byPaul Millspaugh
Music byDavid Newman
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release dates
Running time
122 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget
  • $27.7 million (gross)[2]
  • $19 million (net)[3]
Box office$138.1 million[3]

Girls Trip is a 2017 American road trip comedy film directed by Malcolm D. Lee and written by Kenya Barris and Tracy Oliver, from a story by the pair and Erica Rivinoja, who based the script off their own experiences with their female friends. The film stars Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Tiffany Haddish, Jada Pinkett Smith, Larenz Tate, and Mike Colter, and follows a group of four friends who go to New Orleans to attend the Essence Music Festival in order to reconnect.

Girls Trip premiered at the American Black Film Festival in Miami on June 14, 2017, and was theatrically released in the United States by Universal Pictures on July 21, 2017.[4] It received positive reviews from critics and grossed $138 million worldwide. It also grossed over $100 million domestically, the only comedy of 2017 to do so.[5]

Plot

Four lifelong best friends, the "Flossy Posse", have grown distant over the years. When lifestyle guru Ryan Pierce (Regina Hall) who is dubbed "the next Oprah" is offered an opportunity to be the keynote speaker at the Essence Music Festival she decides to bring along her friends to turn her work vacation into a girls' trip.

Joining Ryan is Sasha (Queen Latifah) an ex-journalist from Time magazine who now owns a floundering gossip site and is suffering from financial struggles, Lisa (Jada Pinkett Smith) a nurse and uptight mom who hasn't had a boyfriend since her divorce years earlier, and Dina (Tiffany Haddish) a happy-go-lucky impulsive party animal who is currently unemployed after assaulting a fellow employee.

While on the trip Sasha is sent a tip that shows a picture of a black mans head kissing an instagram model, presumed to be Ryan's husband Stewart. The friends are reluctant to tell Ryan, but when Dina spills the news, Ryan shocks them by telling them she is already aware of the situation and that they are in couple's counselling. Nevertheless, when Dina sees Stewart at their hotel she threatens him with a bottle resulting in her getting ejected and banned from the hotel. In solidarity all the girls leave with her, but the only hotel they're able to get is a sleazy one star motel frequented by prostitutes.

The ladies go to Essence Fest where they run into Julian, another old friend, and Malik, a young man who spotted Lisa earlier in the crowd. After the concert Ryan comes on sexually to Julian, who nicely rejects her, since she's still married. He gives up his suite so that the women have somewhere decent to stay. Meanwhile Lisa takes Malik with her intending to have sex with him, but stops as she's intimidated by the size of his penis.

Ryan hosts a cooking demonstration with Stewart that goes awry when Simone, his mistress shows up. Nevertheless, a potential investor is impressed and a business meeting is set up for Ryan and Stewart with their agent, Elizabeth. Unfortunately right before Dina serves the women Absinthe which causes them to hallucinate. At her meeting Ryan thinks the waitress is Stewart's mistress, Lisa thinks her kids are at the club with her, Dina thinks she's flying and Sasha thinks she's making out with an attractive man who is actually a lamp. The girls eventually pull Ryan out of the meeting though they leave behind her agent who is also hallucinating having drunk the absinthe with them.

The girls decide to go to a club to dance off the absinthe where they run into Stewart's mistress and have a dance off before getting in a bar fight. They are rescued by Julian who picks them up before they can get arrested and take them back to their hotel.

Ryan and Stewart are offered a massive deal from chain store Bestmart, who want to use them as spokespeople. Ryan goes out to celebrate with her girls, going to one of Julian's shows. While there Stewart's mistress shows up and tells Sasha that she's pregnant and that Stewart has stopped returning her calls. She offers to give Sasha's blog exclusive content to her affair with pictures as well. Stewart once again goes to Ryan to convince her to stay with him to finalize their deal. Nevertheless his mistress goes public, and when she does Ryan lashes out at Sasha accusing her of being the one who leaked the pictures. The fight spills out into the relationship of all the women and they all part on bad terms.

Dina and Lisa make up quickly. After Sasha takes down her blog, disgusted with the celebrity gossip racket, Dina and Lisa reunite with her and the three of them get together to go rescue Ryan who has decided to stay with Stewart through the scandal.

Ryan begins to give her keynote speech and deny that the picture of Stewart and his mistress is real. When her friends walk into the room and Ryan sees them she realizes she has to stay true to herself and turns her speech around revealing that Stewart has cheated on her and she wants to stay true to herself. The speech is a massive success and when the women reunite after the show Ryan apologizes to Sasha. Ryan's agent arrives and tells Ryan that the deal with Bestmart is still on but with her alone. Ryan decides to take Sasha with her as her business partner the way they planned to be years ago. A series of events shows the girls happily reunited and Ryan beginning a relationship with Julian.

Cast

Various musicians, actors, and authors make cameos as themselves, including Mariah Carey, Ne-Yo, Faith Evans, Morris Chestnut, Gabrielle Dennis, MC Lyte, New Edition, Common, Estelle, Sean Combs, Carla Hall, Sunny Hostin, William Levy, Babyface, Doug E. Fresh, Lalah Hathaway, Maxwell, Mase, Ava DuVernay, Lorraine Toussaint, Jaina Lee Ortiz, Terry McMillan, and Iyanla Vanzant.

Production

In February 2014, Universal announced that director Malcolm D. Lee and producer Will Packer would collaborate on a film tentatively titled Girls Trip,[9] with South Park writer Erica Rivinoja attached to script.[10] In May 2016, Universal set a release date of August 11, 2017 for the film.[11] It was also reported that Regina Hall would star, and Kenya Barris and Tracy Oliver were rewriting the script.[12] Oliver told The Hollywood Reporter that she wanted to break down the barriers of respectability politics and portray "Black women being carefree and having fun just like everybody else. I think we need to show all aspects of black lives. I love Moonlight, I love Hidden Figures, but I also want to see some people who are having fun and just showing female friends hanging out."[13] Queen Latifah and Jada Pinkett Smith joined the cast in early June 2016,[14] and Larenz Tate joined later that month.[15] The film's release date was changed to July 21, 2017,[7] as principal photography began in late June 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana,[16] and included filming at the 2016 Essence Music Festival.

A teaser trailer for the film was released on January 31, 2017.[17] A red band trailer for the film was released on February 9, 2017.[18]

Reception

Box office

Girls Trip grossed $115.1 million in the United States and Canada and $23 million in other territories for a total gross of $138.1 million, against a net production budget of $19 million.[3]

Girls Trip opened alongside Dunkirk and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets on July 21, 2017, and was projected to gross around $20 million from 2,583 theaters, with industry experts saying it could debut as high as $30 million.[19] It made $11.7 million on its first day, including $1.7 million from Thursday night previews at 2,195 theaters. The film grossed $31.2 million in its opening weekend, finishing second at the box office behind Dunkirk and marked the largest opening of director Malcolm D. Lee's career.[5] In its second week the film dropped just 37% and grossed $19.6 million, finishing 3rd at the box office behind Dunkirk and newcomer The Emoji Movie,[20] and in its third week the film made $11.4 million, finishing 4th.[21] On August 17, the film crossed the $100 million mark domestically, becoming the first comedy of 2017 to do so.[22][23]

Critical response

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 90% based on 127 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Girls Trip is the rare R-rated comedy that pushes boundaries to truly comedic effect—and anchors its laughs in compelling characters brought to life by a brilliantly assembled cast."[24] Review aggregator Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating to reviews, the film has a score of 71 out of 100, based on reviews from 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[25] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale, one of fewer than 60 films in the history of the service to receive such a score.[5]

In Variety, film reviewer Peter Debruge wrote, "When it comes to Hollywood studio comedies, most of the time, we are lucky to get one unforgettable set piece, whereas Girls Trip screenwriters Kenya Barris and Tracy Oliver deliver at least half a dozen. And rather than simply letting an effective joke stand, they double down, milking it for all it's worth. In this case, it works like a charm, especially with Haddish's character, a relative newcomer who nearly runs away with the movie—the way Melissa McCarthy all but stole Bridesmaids. Girls Trip rivals even Bridesmaids in its ability to keep the comic situations coming."[26] For CinemaBlend, Mike Reyes wrote, "While there's still plenty of time worn clichés in Girls Trip, there is a genuine sense of friendship, and comedy throughout, that make the film one of this summer's most surprising comedies. You can believe that these four women are the best of friends, which is something that's not always easy or focused on in a comedy of this type. Girls Trip has an energy that's undeniable, eventually winning audience members over with a theme of friendship that's well built in the context of the film."[27]

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Result Ref.
Critics' Choice Movie Awards January 11, 2018 Best Comedy Girls Trip Pending
Best Supporting Actress Tiffany Haddish Pending
Best Actress in a Comedy Tiffany Haddish Pending
NAACP Image Awards January 15, 2018 Outstanding Motion Picture Girls Trip Pending
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Tiffany Haddish Pending
Regina Hall Pending
Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture Malcolm D. Lee Pending
Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture Kenya Barris and Tracy Oliver Pending
New York Film Critics Circle January 3, 2018 Best Supporting Actress Tiffany Haddish Won
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association December 8, 2017 Best Supporting Actress Tiffany Haddish Nominated

References

  1. ^ "Girls Trip". AMC Theatres. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
  2. ^ "Girls Trip Budget Info". Louisiana Economic Development. May 2, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "Girls Trip (2017)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  4. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (2017-03-23). "Universal's 'Girls Trip' To Open The 2017 American Black Film Festival". Deadline. Retrieved 2017-07-20.
  5. ^ a b c "'Dunkirk' Seizes $50.5M; 'Girls Trip' Is Malcolm D. Lee's Highest Opening; The Reasons Why 'Valerian' Crashed". Deadline.com. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
  6. ^ a b Callahan, Yesha. "Larenz Tate to Star in Will Packer's Girl Trip". Theroot.com. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  7. ^ a b Tambay Obenson (2016-06-26). "Tiffany Haddish Will Go on a 'Girl Trip' with Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith and Regina Hall – Shadow and Act". Shadowandact.com. Retrieved 2017-02-25.
  8. ^ Mike Colter; Luke Cage (September 30, 2016). "Mike Colter Interview With The Breakfast Club (9-30-16)". The Breakfast Club (Radio program). Interviewed by DJ Envy, Angela Yee and Charlamagne Tha God. New York City. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  9. ^ Dominique Hobdy (2014-02-25). "Malcom <sic> D. Lee and Will Packer Team Up for New Movie 'Girls Trip'". Essence.com. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
  10. ^ Jeff Sneider (2014-03-19). "'South Park' Writer to Take 'Girl's Trip' With Malcolm D. Lee, Universal". Thewrap.com. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
  11. ^ Dave McNary (2015-06-22). "Will Packer Sets Female Comedy at Universal". Variety. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  12. ^ Busch, Anita (2016-05-13). "Regina Hall to Star in Will Packer's Untitled 'Girl Trip' Film At Uni". Deadline. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  13. ^ "'Girls Trip' Stars Celebrate Sisterhood at L.A. Premiere". Hollywood Reporter. 2017-07-14. Retrieved 2017-08-18.
  14. ^ Mike Scott, NOLA.com (2016-06-06). "Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith in talks for NOLA-shot 'Girl Trip,' THR reports". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  15. ^ Dave McNary (2016-06-24). "Mike Colter, Larenz Tate in Queen Latifah's 'Girl Trip'". Variety. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  16. ^ http://theybf.com/2016/07/02/jada-pinkett-smith-queen-latifah-get-into-character-to-shoot-‘girl-trip’-in-new-orleans
  17. ^ Rogo, Paula. "Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Regina Hall 'Girls Trip' Movie, ESSENCE Festival". Essence.com. Retrieved 2017-02-25.
  18. ^ "Red Band Trailer For 'Girls Trip' Movie Starring Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, & Jada Pinkett Smith". VannDigital. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  19. ^ "'Dunkirk' likely to win rare box-office battle of original big-budget movies". Los Angeles Times. July 19, 2017.
  20. ^ "'Dunkirk' Marches Ahead Of 'Emoji Movie' For Top Spot With $28M+". Deadline.com. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  21. ^ "'The Dark Tower' Opens To $18M+ In Diverse Marketplace: Was The Decade-Plus Battle To The Screen Worth It?". Deadline.com. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  22. ^ "'Girls Trip' Speeds Past $100M; A Box Office Anomaly In Unfunny Year For Comedy". Deadline.com. August 17, 2017.
  23. ^ wilsonmorales. "Girls Trip Crosses $100M, 1st Film To Do So Produced, Directed, Written and Starring African Americans - blackfilm.com/read | blackfilm.com/read". Blackfilm.com. Retrieved 2017-08-18.
  24. ^ "Girls Trip (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
  25. ^ "Girls Trip reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
  26. ^ Debruge, Peter (July 12, 2017). "Film review: 'Girls Trip'". Variety. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  27. ^ Reyes, Mike (July 13, 2017). "Girls Trip Review". CinemaBlend. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
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