It’s an epic weekend on the road in “Girls Trip”– now playing at the Somerville Theatre.

By Dre Joseph

Have you ever been on your way to work or driving around town and a song comes on the radio or your music streaming device and you yell out, “Oh! That’s my song!”? You turn up the volume, blasting your speakers as the bass thumps and rattles your car that has now turned into a time machine transporting you back to when you and your crew use to “turn all the way up” on the regular?

If so, that was more likely than not a crazy time when you got into all sorts of trouble, doing things you would never tell anybody. Taking a vow to keep those skeletons locked in the closet forever. Yeah, of course, you remember. Funny, right? Things you never told a soul, including your children and your spouse. So, imagine all the hijinks four college girlfriends get into after a five-year hiatus. Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and Tiffany Haddish take you on one ruckus weekend in Girls Trip, full of insane, sex-driven, raunchy comedy (and action) featuring gorgeous black women.

Girls Trip is about four lifelong friends traveling to New Orleans for the annual Essence Festival to rekindle their friendships that have been estranged for five years. They soon discover that everyone’s life is not what they have imagined, leading to a wild weekend in the Big Easy. Imagine The Hangover meets Sex in the City. Instead of having Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha, there is Ryan (Hall) the well-established television personality with the seemingly perfect life and marriage.

Sasha (Latifah), once an award winning journalist that is now an online tabloid reporter trying to get the next big story before she loses everything. Lisa (Pinkett Smith) the former party girl, now a divorced mom with two kids, trying to loosen up and find her “true” self. And then last, but certainly not least, Dina (Haddish), the loud-and-brash, say what’s on her mind, “ride or die” one of the foursome, whose rebellious behavior ALWAYS lands her in hot water.

Simply put: Girls Trip is laugh out loud hilarity. At times, the laughter is so loud that you miss the dialogue in a scene or two (more like 7). Although you can easily predict the outcome of the movie, it is the journey that keeps you enthralled. From one outrageous scene to the next, you are thinking to yourself, surely there cannot be more craziness after that, right?

And just when you think you have seen the most outrageous scene, then comes another one that will have your mouth hanging wide open and your stomach cramping from laughter. From a dance-off at a downtown New Orleans nightclub, to the strange man in the window, to zip-lining and getting stuck with no bathroom in sight (the preview doesn’t show the funniest part) to the so-called grapefruit diet. I will say this … if, however, you are not a friend of the raunchy and the obscene, sit this one out. This is definitely not for the extreme comedy faint of heart.

Although the casting is perfect in Girls Trip and everyone pulled their weight (and then some) on screen, the film’s clear-cut scene-stealing winner is, undoubtedly, Tiffany Haddish (Nekeisha from The Carmichael Show), as she is truly the film’s beacon of light. Her offbeat humor and improvisation is surprisingly unexpected, but very much appreciated. She is that friend you love, but at times, are afraid to be seen with in public because you never know what she is going to say. She is ready to fight at the drop of a hat, but loves you unconditionally. You never have to guess what she is thinking, because she is not afraid to tell you what is on her mind. We should all have friends like that.

While viewing this film, I noticed that I was one of only three men in a sold-out theater, dominated by an audience of young black women. The roar of the female laugh was powerful in that theatre that night, as I looked around, I saw women crying with smiles on their faces, holding their stomachs, leaning on their girlfriends so as to not fall out of the seats due to a lack of body control. Everybody in that theatre got their money’s worth watching Girls Trip. And fellas, you should as well, because funny is funny. Take your wife or husband, or your girlfriend or boyfriend, your “side chick,” or go by yourself. Either way, you won’t regret it, because laughter is food for the soul and, needless to say, Girls Trip offers a plentiful serving.

Verdict:

With Hollywood being Hollywood, there will DEFININTELY be a sequel. Plus, add to that the fact that film studios and/or production companies are feeling the pressure now to crank out movies that are more representative and inclusive of all moviegoers. I think they finally figured out that black and brown people pay to watch movies too. So, with that said, I think Girls Trip 2 will be coming to a theatre near you, sooner rather than later. And by the time it does, you’ll be ready for that second plate, I’m sure.

Girls Trip is currently playing at the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square. Go online at: http://somervilletheatre.com for show times.

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, will be to see this movie and try not to laugh. Good luck … and Godspeed!

Rating: 2.8/4