Girls Trip: What A Concept

Y'all! I'm cutting to the chase. Let's talk about Girls Trip...

"What's happening?" You ask. Black Girl Magic Summer '17!

Y'all!... This movie was everything and a half. It was everything x2. My sister invited me along with a group of her friends to see the movie during the $30 million-grossing weekend, which was its first weekend in theatres (pronounced thee-8-ers, not theer-ters for you weirdos out there). The theatre was pretty full, mostly with women of color... I actually don't recall seeing any vanillas or men.. Not to say you (if you fit either of those categories) can't attend the movie. In fact, I urge you to go. Tell a friend, bring a friend, phone a friend, whatever! Go see this movie no matter what color you are! But be warned, it has truly earned its R-rating.

It stars Regina Hall, Tiffany Haddish, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and Queen Latifah. The producers also so sweetly give us Kofi Siriboe and Larenz Tate to savor over. We follow this group of friends as they relive out their old partying days on a trip to New Orleans for Essence Fest. As one friend, Regina Hall, has become wildly successful, she foots the bill for the trip, and we watch as scandal arises and shaky friendships are called into question. Through lots and lots (and LOTS) of laughter, we watch on to see genuine friendship prevail as the movie ends on a positive, inspiring note.

So, I love this movie for several reasons:

It's a comedy that was actually die-laughing-so-hard funny.
There were good looking females.
There were good looking males.
There was a not-too-predictable ending (at least, I don't think it was.)
Essence Fest.. I must go next year.
and the list goes on...

But what I really really love is that I sat down for two whole hours and was able to see myself, my friends, and family reflected on the big screen in a warm, friendly, inviting, and realistic way. When the movie began, I immediately thought of my girls from college and childhood and how we're all working hard to make our ideal lives happen. Although we're all in different stages, taking different routes, we're still right alongside one another, being each other's biggest supporters. And when we do get together, tuh! It goes down. (Well, sometimes. We have jobs and we get tired easily. Who needs to stay out until last call when the hotel bed feels like heaven? Amiright?) It felt nice - no, it felt great to see that on the big screen. I'm saying this a lot nowadays, and I'll continue to say it....

Outside of this movie being extremely relatable for my ebonies, I always enjoy seeing newbies or longtime newbies (actors that have been on the scene for a while but haven't had their "Everybody will know me after this" opportunity) finally get the big break they deserve. I recognized Tiffany Haddish's face from some funny clip show where comedians gave commentary on viewer-recorded shorts, but I knew she'd been in other things. Turns out, she's been working pretty consistently for at least the last decade. I'm sad that the Universe is only now sharing her greatness with the masses.

Kofi Siriboe, although young, has had progressive roles over the last 2-3 years. The two most notable to me are Awkward (which I didn't watch) and Ralph Angel on Queen Sugar, which I most definitely tune into each week. This show was created by Ava DuVernay, is beautifully executed, and again, portrays a humanizing ebony experience on screen. His role as RA (pronounced Rah) speaks to me on such an authentic level because it's so incredibly hard to believe he's even acting. He so elegantly adopts this person, this life that I know I've met before, at school, or stayed up talking to in the wee hours of the morning over the kitchen table. His gift of so honestly connecting with the character to tell that story is a beautiful one. I'm rooting for him, and will continue to root for him in his journey.

And finally, I love when movies connect from one to the other when there is seemingly no connection in the storyline. For instance, if you saw Straight Out Of Compton, I'm sure you can relate in guffawing (yea, I'm obnoxious. Look it up!) when O'Shea said "Bye Felecia!" I hollared. So imagine my delight when a Set It Off reference was thrown in there. It was like the icing out of the container since the cake batter was too good to bake. In other words, it really sealed the deal for me. In more other words, too good to be true... Ok, I'm rambling.

In summary, Girls Trip is a bomb ass movie that I want, implore, urge, and that I ask you to go see. Laughing is good for you, so it's self-care... You're welcome. ;)

What was your favorite part of the movie? Who'd you go see it with? What did you love most about it? Talk to me!

-seria