Get Yours, Sis! — Girls Trip (2017) Review

Jared Hudson
Jul 23, 2017 · 15 min read
Girls Trip (2017)

It may be July, but a summer of black girl magic has been in full swing. In entertainment as a whole, we got SZA’s Ctrl and H.E.R.’s H.E.R. Vol. 2. Queen Bey finally gave birth to those twins. Issa Rae and her crew just wrapped up the press tour for the second season of the bombastic Insecure, which premieres this Sunday on HBO. Ava DuVernay not only dropped the first trailer for the soon-to-be-historic A Wrinkle in Time last week but is continuously proving every week that Queen Sugar is essential viewing. We just saw Taraji go off in the Proud Mary trailer (coming January 2018). Laverne and Viola are again killing the Emmy Awards with their nominations. Raven’s Home, the spinoff to That’s So Raven, just premiered yesterday and was a hoot, showing that Raven not only still has it but that she never lost it. I mean, the goodness just keeps on coming. And along comes a film like Girls Trip, a fantastic movie that puts on a sparkling pedestal something I already know to be true: black women are the shit.

Cheers to that!

Now, I first heard about Girls Trip late December of last year ahead of its trailer premiere the following month. The cast was the first thing that caught my attention. Jada? Queen? Regina? All in one movie together? I was immediately down to see this movie. The cast combined with the synopsis alone already sounded like a good time. And then the teaser trailer dropped at the end of January. All I saw was a vibrant, fun video of black women reconnecting after a long time and having fun. I was happy. And then the full, red-band trailer dropped. And I became ecstatic. Girls Trip was making it clear it wasn’t going to be your normal, run-of-the-mill tame chick-flick with women having a good time. No. It was going to be a full-on, no-holds-barred, fierce and unapologetic HARD R-rated good time for black women who aim to do more than just have fun, but let loose and enjoy themselves. By having a film like this featuring black women who are household names, Universal, Malcolm D. Lee (the director), and Will Packer (producer) had something very special on their hands. I mean, you have three of the most well-known black women of the film industry in a film together, living it up at the Essence Festival, a festival just outright celebrating the pure wonder and loveliness that is the black woman in a way that is framed as absolute escapism — it came off as an enthusiastic hug and kiss on the cheek for black women. In the months leading up to its release, the marketing really took off, particularly on social media where I began seeing promos for the film everywhere. I didn’t mind. If Universal was going to be flooding our timelines like this, then they must have complete confidence in their film becoming well-liked and successful. I found myself becoming more and more excited for the film leading up to its release, to the point where I just had to wrangle up the girls and be adamant about seeing this on opening night. Well, after finding that the 9:30pm showing was sold out, I was able to procure a seat in the rapidly- filling-up 10:45pm showing on the night of the film’s release. I saw Girls Trip. And I lived.

Lived, I tell you!

First of all, I just want to thank the writers. Erica Rivinoja, Tracy Oliver, and Kenya Barris are their names. Rivinoja is a staff writer for South Park. Knowing this, it is clear where the film gets some of its most crowd-reactionary moments. Tracy Oliver’s writing credits include the acclaimed Barbershop: The Next Cut and Kenya Barris is the creator of Black-ish — a show that speaks for its own excellence so well I don’t even need to use a complimentary adjective to describe it. So, when you combine talent like that with the fact that Kenya Oliver set out to write the film in a way that displayed black women as “carefree and having fun just like everybody else,” you get a movie that is more than funny; you get a movie that is an experience. Girls Trip is being called the breakout hit of the summer for a reason. I can tell you from firsthand experience the exact reason: Girls Trip just doesn’t give a damn. A damn about what, you ask? How often do you see black women in oppressive, stereotypical, and/or overtly insulting roles in film? Answer: Often. Now, I’m not saying that what Girls Trip does with its characters is anything new but when it comes to black women, roles and characterizations like this are rare. It seems like Girls Trip is well aware of this fact and was determined to expound upon it every chance it got. The film saw standards and practices for black women in film and audience expectation of that and said, “Girl, bye.” It just threw the whole subject of what we’re used to seeing with characters that are black women out the window. Girls Trip doesn’t care for respectability politics, honey. With this fact, it was like we were able to see the characters of Ryan (Hall), Dina (Haddish), Sasha (Latifah) and Lisa (Smith) shed that cloak of “safe black woman character” and fully embrace the flowing garment that is “complicated, three-dimensional black woman,” the black woman the media underuses or mischaracterizes. This is to say that with Girls Trip, there was no “good black woman vs. bad black woman” when it came to the main four. They just were. For example, Ryan was arguably the most sophisticated and affluent of the group. But did her social standing stop her from getting down at Essence Fest, prevent her from getting into a bar fight, or stop her from (rightfully) coming onto her old friend Julian (played by the ageless Larenz Tate)? Hell no. Girls Trip does a great job of showing that black women being “sophisratchet” is a very real and very loved thing. The movie says that black women shouldn’t have to pick and choose or be boxed in one or the other as society dictates them to be. No. They can be as inappropriate, gritty, and as nasty as they like — and still rock the hell out of a talk show appearance the next morning like it’s nobody’s business. Now, I can’t say for sure Girls Trip got it 100% right on that front. I’m not a black woman. I know of their experiences but I have never lived them. It’s not my reality. But from the passionate responses of the majority black women audience of the theater I was in, I’d say the film was right on the money.

An eternal testimony to black women, chile.

The lead characters may all be black women but their diversity is what makes their bond all the more meaningful. Ryan would be the Queen Bee of the group, the girl who has it all: handsome, loving husband Stewart (Mike Colter) and a business empire that is about to take off. Lisa is a mother of two who lives with her own mother; her straight-laced, maternal personality makes it harder for her to truly engage in the free-flowing fun that the trip consists of. Sasha runs a stalled gossip blog and is the most financially unstable of the group, her personal complications even further muffled due to a past disconnect between herself and Ryan. Dina wraps up the group as the film’s most outspoken, effervescent, and audacious character, being as real as she is hilarious. The characters are written and acted in such a way that you either recognize yourself as one of them or know one of them in your own friend group. While respectability politics were left on the side of the road, the film’s relatability level is high, which makes its comedic factor that much more impactful. With the characters’ experiences actually being based off of the writers’ own with their female friends, it just says a lot about how fact and fiction are sometimes different sides of the same coin.

From left to right: Regina Hall as Ryan, Jada Pinkett Smith as Lisa, Tiffany Haddish as Dina, and Queen Latifah as Sasha. When I tell you myself and the audience were caught all the way off guard by this scene!!!

With Girls Trip being a fun summer movie, it provided the perfect escape for those who just really want to kick back and laugh. And laugh we did. My stomach is actually still a bit sore from all the laughing I did Friday night. The film runs as a laugh-a-minute type of affair. If not done correctly, the humor and jokes can become overdone and the comedic effect begins to slip. Girls Trip confidently held up and didn’t hold back, the humor just gaining more traction with each scene. Part of the film’s charm was the chemistry of its cast. The film was extremely humorous but featured a healthy balance of heart and seriousness through the bond the four characters had with each other, showing that no matter what they may have going on in their lives, they are still connected and will always be the “Flossy Posse.” Girls Trip will be loved for its heart but will be forever talked about for its brash humor. This is where I feel Rivinoja flexes her mastery of shock value, with Oliver and Barris telling us, “Yes. Black women do this all too. Why? Because they can.” I cannot count the number of times the sold-out auditorium was filled with riotous laughter, the way the dialogue and action on screen was drowned out by hysterical screaming, or the kind of loud commentary that was yelled at the screen by different people but laughed at and agreed to by virtually everybody who was able to hear it. Now, while many hard R-rated movies are known for their brazen humor, Girls Trip has one key element to their brand of funny that put the film in a vein all its own. That element would be none other than Tiffany Haddish.

Tiffany Haddish, everybody! Clap! Now!

I have to admit that before Girls Trip, I had no idea who this woman was. I wasn’t checking for her and did not know her from anything that I had watched previously. When the cast was announced, her name was the only one I didn’t immediately recognize. After the trailer came out, I thought she was hilarious but didn’t bother looking her up. I could tell from the promotional material that she would do a good job in the film but I had no idea how good. After convulsing with laughter for almost two hours last night, it was clear that majority of my belly-aching laughs were due to Ms. Haddish and her performance as the character of Dina. Despite the fact that Jada, Queen, and Regina are A-list celebrities with top billing, Tiffany Haddish basically ripped the film right out from under them and ran without a moment’s notice. It’s not often where a lesser known actress can star in a film with stars bigger than her and manage to outshine every single last one of them. I say this not to insult Jada, Queen, and Regina for their work on the film. They were great and they know it. They got it like that. But my main point in praising Haddish is the fact that it looks like she’s been had it like that as well and why we didn’t know it before is beyond me. I mean, Haddish has receipts. She’s had some small roles in movies, television shows, and has even done some voice work. She’s done stand-up as well. Before Girls Trip, her biggest role was as a secondary character in Key and Peele’s Keanu (2016). Yet, no one was talking about her, at least in my circles. I can assure you right here and now that after this weekend, the name on everybody’s lips will be Tiffany Haddish.

Let him know, sis!

With this one role, which will undoubtedly be regarded as her breakthrough role and perhaps most iconic, Haddish had solidified herself as a household name, in the same circle that her co-stars have seen themselves in for years. The wonderful thing about Haddish is she doesn’t seem all that different from her on-screen persona in real-life: she has that around-the-way-girl type vibe that makes her very familiar to the audience even if a lot us had no idea who she was before the film. Even though she’s about to blow up now because of this role, I get the vibe that she’ll remain that down-to-earth girl, very humble, very sincere (check out her appearance on Jimmy Kimmel just this past week and you’ll see what I mean). Haddish was the best thing about Girls Trip because of her relatability, the fact that she had no filter, and because she proved that every friend group needs to have a Dina! Through her ride-or-die attitude, unabashed sexuality, uncensored attitude, and big heart, Dina had the theater in love with her as she literally made every scene she was in better than if she were absent. The girls all had the crowd engaged, but it was Haddish alone that kept the glorious cacophony of laugher, screams, commentary and the rhythmic beat of “Aye! Aye! Aye!” that the audience let out during that iconic dance battle scene going strong.

I don’t think you understand how hype the audience was during this scene. We all might as well have been in that very club!

It was incredible. I haven’t seen a relative newcomer which such a strong screen presence since Melissa McCarthy six years ago in Bridemaids (2011). I can already see the comparisons between Girls Trip and that film coming already but I can say matter-of-factly that Haddish fiercely rivals even McCarthy’s breakthrough performance, showing that she is a leading lady of comedy in her own right. I’m not sure if the crew knew what they were doing putting Haddish at the forefront of this film, with the writers supplying her character with the best jokes and the most brazen humor. Whether intentional or not, the tactic has paid off for both Haddish and them. Girls Trip will forever be known for Haddish’s performance in it and Haddish will not soon be forgotten for breaking out in such a way as she did when she let Lisa know that “You can’t get no infection in yo bootyhole. It’s a bootyhole!”

I know she just burned her mouth with hand sanitizer, but I like to think this is how touched Haddish will be from all the acclaim she’ll be getting from her role as Dina.

Aside from the film’s excellent and well-rounded characters, what also made Girls Trip so good were its themes, the direction, and just how truly good it felt to watch. I may not have been able to get together a group of friends to see the movie with, but I was very fortunate to have gone with my friend Shae and her friend Cassandra, who are black women. Now, I may have been laughing and feeling this movie but I know that cannot compare to the way Shae, Cassandra, and the 99% of other black women in that theater had to be reacting to this film, taking it all in. I remember Shae saying to me as we left the theater, in a voice filled with surprise and gratitude, “How did they know we needed that?” Throughout history and even presently, the black woman has continued to be a figure that is constantly put through the ringer in a variety of ways. From the general consensus that I get from them, it can feel hopeless or even impossible for them to get any relief in life. Girls Trip I feel acted as a nice beacon of light to these women, to show that through all the complications, adversity, and stress, black women still manage to shine and push through, truly living, laughing, and loving.

A true Waiting to Exhale moment. I love it.

While black men may have held the titles of director, producer, and one of the writers, Girls Trip played out in a way where it seems like the black women of the crew had primary control of the production. For the black women who are spoken for on the crew through the cast and writing credits, I feel each of them contributed to this film in their own way to make it as funny, real, relatable, touching, and above all cathartic for its target audience. Now, I’m not saying that women who are not black or people who are not black or women can’t or shouldn’t see this movie. I think it should be seen by all. Laughter is universal. And it’s too good to miss! But what I’m saying is Girls Trip was made in a way that makes it a visual embodiment of the acronym FUBU: For Us, By Us. Black women will connect to this movie the most because black women were the driving force behind the film’s conception, and black women will be the strongest word of mouth for this movie because they see themselves on screen in a way that those acting on screen knew was important to show. Black women ain’t your “Mammy.” They are not slaves. They are not sexual objects. They are complicated. They are flawed. They are funny. They are beautiful. They are independent, strong, and outspoken. They are there for each other. And they show that despite life maybe getting them down now and again, they know how to have a good time.

Happy, carefree, and living!

Girls Trip may have been directed by a man, but it is distinctly directed by the female gaze, which helps flip the script on expectations. Let me explain. The movie features nudity, but none of it is from the women. The movie gets a part of its R-rating from language alone — which is said solely by the main four. One of the appeals of the film may be its attractive male cast — particularly the exemplary and ethereally handsome Kofi Siriboe — but the women have all the control when it comes to those interactions. The female gaze has the audience really watching the film from the perspective of a woman, with the narratives and actions being catered to the feelings and thought process of the feminine as it is displayed on screen. I mean, when Malik (Siriboe) makes his first appearance on screen making eye contact with Lisa from the ground while she stands on a balcony… The sheer joy, appreciation, and shock that erupted from the souls of the black women in the audience??? I cannot make this up. It felt good to be in that theater among others who were not only enjoying the film, but feeling it, needing it. I regard Girls Trip as a cathartic experience for black women because it not only shows them as multi-faceted people but also brings it home with a message of self-worth and autonomy.

LISTEN.

Towards the end of the film, Ryan gives an impassioned speech as keynote of the Essence Music Festival, airing out the fact that she is not perfect and that’s okay. Ryan praises and cherishes her friends for seeing her flaws but loving them as well as her, lifting her up constantly instead of bringing her down, and saying that through their identification of the power she had within herself, she was able to recognize it as well and own it fully. There was a particularly loud, ardent, and drawn out grunt from one of the audience members during this speech, with Shae noting that they must’ve really “felt” what Ryan was saying, really recognizing and embracing that message. While humor makes up the body of the film, the heart of it beats with the bond of sisterhood Ryan, Lisa, Sasha, and Dina all share, that bond only having grown stronger by the end of the film. Through the infidelity Ryan suffers with her husband, even more topics that black women deal with on the daily were addressed: ageism, fidelity vs. infidelity, injections vs. real, and even infertility. Girls Trip was definitely 90% escapism, but that remaining 10% could be as real as it wanted, truly showing the black women in the audience that the black women on screen really got them.

What Girls Trip is for black women is something to truly celebrate.

I haven’t had this much fun at the movies since I saw Get Out back in February, which also was a similarly cathartic experience for its target audience. I feel like as with Get Out, Girls Trip will develop a strong word of mouth and produce healthy box office receipts to back its already exemplary run with critics. A+ on Cinema Score? 87% (currently) on Rotten Tomatoes? Endless positive reviews coming in from publications like Entertainment Weekly and Variety? Like TLC said, the girls are talkin’! …And people are listening and laughing.

The audiences have spoken and Girls Trip is a certified hit!

What’re you waiting for? If you haven’t seen this movie yet, round up your girls, get some cocktails before and/or after (or even during if your theater rolls like that), reserve your seats, and get ready to have an ab-tastic workout from all the laughter you will experience. Girls Trip was everything and everything that it does and is for black women makes it all the more brilliant. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to run to the market. I see I need to get some grapefruit…

…Lots and lots of grapefruit.
Well-rounded characters, endless laughs, and significant heart. A thank-you note as well as a letter of encouragement to black women. A stellar stand-out!
Jared Hudson

Written by

MFA Graduate of Pratt Institute in Writing and Activism. Social justice. Entertainment. Opinions. Representation. Progress.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade