Stephanie Hsu’s character in Joy Ride almost had a queer storyline – but like many queer scenes, it did not make it into the final version.
That’s right, we were this close to seeing Stephanie Hsu and Sherry Cola fantasies come true! In an interview with Collider, some of the cast revealed the gay plot that was nixed from the film.
Joy Ride follows Lolo Chen (played by Sherry Cola), Deadeye (played by Sabrina Wu), Kat (played by Stephanie Hsu), and Audrey Sullivan (played by Ashley Park) as they embark on a wild international adventure. The film is outrageously funny and keeps the audience guessing how much more trouble they could get into (a lot).
Though the film does touch on queer sexualities and identities, it does not do a deep dive into either. However, according to Hsu and Wu, Joy Ride almost had a “little gay” subplot.
The Queer Scene We Missed Out On
While chatting about improvisation between the actors, especially Cola and Hsu, during that slap sequence, Wu could not help but gush about their natural chemistry. “There was so much electric magic happening between Stephanie and Sherry,” they said. “It was, like, a little gay. It was awesome.”
“There’s a whole gay track between Sherry’s character and my character that kind of got edited,” Hsu added.
What? A gay storyline between these two icons? The characters do not exactly get along in the beginning of the film, and the tension between the two was already high, so it’s easy for us to imagine that passion going in a different direction. Unfortunately, whatever the writers had cooked up never made it to the big screen—this time.
“[It] will be saved for the sequel, but Sherry is livid about it,” Hsu said.
“It needs to happen in the sequel!” Wu added.
Though Joy Ride hit theaters on July 7, early reviews of the film were already praising it for its raunchy humor and heartfelt messages. It currently has a 92% on the Rotten Tomato meter – meaning we would not complain if the team got back together for a sequel film anytime soon. Who knows where their next adventure will take them? We hope wherever it is, there are plenty of gay scenes that transpire there, and make it into the final film.
Joy Ride is now playing in theaters.
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