Joy Ride is a roller coaster of raunch and sweetness

“Joy Ride” is a heartwarming film about identity and friendship wrapped in a package of penis jokes. The directorial debut of Adele Lim, a co-writer of “Crazy Rich Asians,” applies “Bridesmaids” humor to a story that is surprisingly genuine and full of richly developed relationships.

That said, it’s hard to recall a film with more sexual innuendo — including the Fifty Shades franchise. Despite the gooey emotional core, this is comedy based largely on threesomes, vomit and drugs.

The main protagonist, Audrey (Ashley Park), a successful lawyer who was adopted from China by a White American couple, has been best friends with Lolo (Sherry Cola) since childhood, bonding over being two of the few Asians in their almost lily-white hometown. Audrey feels disconnected from her Chinese culture, while Lolo — the very definition of failure to launch, who lives in Audrey’s backyard — is connected to her roots through her family.

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When Audrey is sent to China on a business trip, Lolo, a self-described sex-positive artist, tags along as her translator, bringing her cousin, nicknamed Deadeye for reasons that will become apparent, without asking. Deadeye, a nonbinary character played by nonbinary actor Sabrina Wu, is a riot as a socially awkward BTS stan whose personality rivals that of Ringo Starr in “Get Back”: happy to be included in the group yet oblivious to the interpersonal drama bubbling around them.

In China, Audrey meets up with her college BFF Kat (Stephanie Hsu), a famous actress who has been lying to her religious fiancé about her purity. Immediately, Kat and Lolo clash, both feeling possessive of Audrey, a fish out of water who wears her backpack in front for fear of theft by “Chinese youths.” Their rivalry, which could have turned into a predictable cat fight, is mostly used to introduce mean jokes but lacks real bite.

The business purpose of Audrey’s trip — whose details are left confusing and vague — goes south after the executive she’s supposed to be schmoozing (Ronny Chieng) dismisses her as “another typical American” disconnected from her heritage. To rectify the situation, Lolo lies and says Audrey is close with her birth mom. This propels the gang on a cross-country search to find Audrey’s biological mother so that they can bring her to a party and close the important deal.

All that is a little convoluted, but the story — which contorts itself in ways that don’t always feel natural — is less important than the ride, dropping important threads that advance the relationship between the characters and dole out laughs. Just don’t expect realism and consistency here.

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If it sounds odd to call a film in which characters shove cocaine into various orifices earnest and beautiful, that is the line that “Joy Ride” straddles (and I mean “straddle” quite literally at times). On the one hand, Audrey struggles to come to terms with feeling neither White enough nor Asian enough. On the other hand, she worries about never having slept with an Asian man yet masturbating to images of Master Splinter, the rat sensei from “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” — because, as she puts it, he’s a good father. Believe it or not, the juxtaposition is expertly handled.

On the theme of identity, “Joy Ride” pays attention to small but crucial details: using chopsticks to eat bagged chips, Audrey hating the smell of oranges (which in Asia are said to bring good luck and happiness), or Kat and Lolo hilariously lamenting the frustrations of visiting family in China. Without these rich tidbits, the story would be just another hollow road trip. The intricacies and complex relationships elevate the story, painting a full picture of the first-generation Chinese immigrant experience.

Also, this is what an effortlessly queer film looks like: With the exception of Audrey, each of the main characters is explicitly a member of the LGBTQ+ community, but their sexuality isn’t the focus. These are interesting characters who simply happen to be queer, and whose queerness is referenced with humor. When the group meets Kat’s fiancé (Desmond Chiam) and takes in the hunky, shirtless virgin in sultry slow motion, the look of confusion on Deadeye’s face is priceless. In “Joy Ride,” queerness is in on the joke but is not itself the punchline.

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The story is tight, packed with one good plot twist — and one predictable one — and snappy dialogue. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t quite stick the landing, with an ending that is unable to combine the humor and natural chemistry that otherwise flow effortlessly. Despite the shaky dismount, “Joy Ride” is a raunchy, riotous adventure, chock-full of self-discovery and heart.

R. At area theaters. Contains strong and crude sexual humor, coarse language throughout, drug and alcohol use, and brief graphic nudity. 94 minutes.

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