Girls Trip - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Girls Trip

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
Girls Trip pretty much embodies the life and feel of a modern girl comedy in the last 10-15 years. Sure its nothing new, but it has a charm and style all its own that actually had me giggling a lot more than I expected to. The basic premise follows that of Bad Moms, Mom’s Night Out, Rough Night and several other modern “girl power” comedies. It follows a group of 3-5 women who are out for a night on the town, only to be set by problems and trials in their lives that have them at each others throats, only to come together by the end with a bond that proves that life can’t always get you down. Yeah, Girls Night isn’t exactly innovative or new, but it makes itself entertaining by the simple fact that the four female leads have such an incredible chemistry that you just can’t help but get pulled up into their crazy life. Even if their shenanigans are cliched and the ending about what you’d expect, the 2 hours of girl bonding is really what the story is about, and in that aspect it delivers on all fronts.

College is supposed to be one of the greatest times of our lives. Friendships that we create are supposed to last a lifetime, our parents (usually) are still paying the bill, and we have this mix of responsibility and fun that is never able to be replicated anywhere else. However, life moves on, and those friendships that we create in the greatest times of our lives sometimes aren’t able to keep up. This is the case for lifelong friends Ryan (Regina Hall), Sasha (Queen Latifah), Lisa (Jada Pinckett Smith) and Dina (Tiffany Hadish). The four women used to be inseparable, but life has gotten in the way, and the yearly reunions have pretty much vanished for the last 5 years. Ryan has become a TV celebrity with her husband Stewart (Mike Colter), Sasha is walling in the world of celebrity gossip, Lisa is a family woman, and Dina is pretty much the same party girl she always was. After the 4 of them decide that a trip to New Orleans for a girls weekend out is a good idea, the quartet of middle aged women figure that a night on the town will rekindle that friendship spark that has slowly faded away over the years.

The trip starts out like you would expect. A bunch of middle aged women trying to relive their glory days. However, things soon start to go awry. Sasha gets a paparazzi photo of Stewart making out with an Instagram model, and soon their trip starts to spiral out of control It seems that Ryan has already known about her husband’s infidelity, and it has been pushed to the back burner as the two of them try to put on the innocent and naive face in order to win a giant TV contract. The rest of the girls decide that its time for them to get stupid wild, and try to hook up, dance the night away, and drink some actual European Absinthe to ease the pain of their own failures and instabilities that they’re dealing with (if you’ve ever tried TRADITIONAL absinthe, it’s some crazy stuff). Like usual, loyalties will be tested, hijinks will be gotten into, and friendships will be strengthened as the girls let their wild sides out and have some as the friends they once were.

Girls Trip was something that I completely disregarded when I saw the trailer. It seemed like such a ripoff of so many other modern “girl power” movies that I just wrote the film off as a throwaway film. Color me surprised when I actually delve into the movie and find out that the film is much more than the sum of a few cliched parts. The vast majority of the movie is about what you would expect from one of these films. Middle aged moms getting into more trouble than they should, and the stupid humor that comes from laughing at their foibles and mishaps. What makes the movie more than the sum of its parts is the intoxicating chemistry that the four leads have. Every one of the girls have their problems, but there is just this sense of joy and camaraderie that gets you through the stupid portions of the movie.

While I had a good time, the movie IS a dirty, raunchy, R rated comedy that does have more than its fair share of stupidity. Girls Trip was actually a bit dirtier than I expected, but nothing outside of the realm of your average dirty comedy. While I love a raunchy comedy more than anybody, There’s a few scenes that were so stupid and inane that even I had had shake my head and go “what?” a couple times. There’s a scene with the girls zip lining across the New Orleans rooftops that would make even Seth Rogen sit up and wonder if the movie was smoking a bit too much ganja. Then of course the bar scene where the girls get a bit too wasted on European absinthe (which does nothing to the person like it portrays) where you’re staring at the screen in utter shock and awe. While these things are distracting and stupid, there’s enough good points that they generally outweigh the stupid and inane portions of the movie. Especially with the great chemistry displayed throughout.




Rating:

Rated R for crude and sexual content throughout, pervasive language, brief graphic nudity, and drug material



Video:

Girls Trip comes to Blu-ray with a stunning looking 2.39:1 AVC encoded Blu-ray that really shines with colors and clarity, with only a few minor bouts of noise to mar the image. The biggest thing that the picture brings to the equation is the luscious array of bright colors. Everything from pink drizzle coated girls jackets, to the golden overtones of a ritzy hotel with gold inlay and everything in between bedazzles the screen. You can see every detail and nuance in Ryan’s blue dress, as well as deep blacks and shadow details in the midst of a crazy club scene where flashing lights and black recesses make their presence known. Fine detailing across the girls faces is excellent, with every little line and crease of the girl’s faces showing up, as well as intricate detailing along clothing and background items in their little party town. There IS some noise that battles the perfection of the imagery, but that noise isn’t too obtrusive or annoying considering how crisp and clean the majority of the movie is.





Audio:

Lets PARTY!!!!!! Universal’s stunning use of video and quality control doesn’t just stop at the picture aspect of the package. The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is rocking wild, with the girls tearing up New Orleans club life with pulsating bass lines from a concert, to the slamming, over aggressive, LFE of a club dance scene. Dialog is above reproach at all times, and the surrounds get used extensively. Whether that be music in the clubs/parties, or just the craziness and hubbub of New Orleans on a party night. It’s an excellent track that really pulls the most out of the 5.1 experience and gives us a stunning audio experience.




Extras:

• Deleted Scenes
• Gag Reel
• Planning The Trip – Planning a girls trip has never been more fun. Go behind-the-scenes with cast and crew to see how this hilarious comedy came to life.
• Outrageous Moments – Laugh along with cast and crew as we reveal the hilarious hijinks captured on set.
• The Essence of NOLA – Discover the soul of New Orleans and what the Essence Music Festival brings to this great city.
• Extended Performance "Because of You" by Ne-Yo
• Deleted Scenes with Commentary by Director Malcolm D. Lee

Final Score: ​

Girls Trip has no right to be as entertaining as it is. The movie should have fallen flat on its face with the crude comedy and cliched scripting, but its the cast that really makes this movie shine WAY more than it should have. The four women just feel naturally at ease with each other and their harmonious meshing creates the framework for rising above the generic script. Sure, this is a raunchy comedy with random nudity, stupid genitalia jokes, and grown women drinking more liquor than a bar supplies in a night, but the girls themselves MAKE it fun. Audio and video are amazing, and the extras are more substantial than I was initially expecting. While I won’t say that Girls Trip is the greatest comedy of the year, I will say that it was a lot of stupid fun, especially considering how much I truly expected to hate it upon going in. Recommended for a watch if you like a raunchy comedy.




Technical Specifications:

Starring: Jada Pinckett-Smith, Queen Latifah, Regina Hall,
Directed by: Malcolm D. Lee
Written by: Erica Rivinoja, Kenya Barris
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Spanish DTS 5.1
Studio: Universal
Rated: R
Runtime: 122 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: October 17th, 2017

Image

• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I had no intention of ever seeing this movie. Thought it was not worth my time.. But now, after reading the review, will check it out once it is on amazon prime/netflix.

 

[JBrax]

Thanks for the review Mike. Definitely not a movie I would have even considered renting but you’ve swayed me to check it out. A little raunchy comedy is fine by me if done right.