Girls Trip Movie Recap (2017)

 

Girls Trip Movie Recap

We start the movie by meeting a group of women known as the Flossy Posse. We start off with Sasha (Queen Latifah), a journalist and blogger. Then there is Dina (Tiffany Haddish breakout), she viewed as the ghetto black girl trope but she’s a free spirit woman who plays by her own rules. Lisa (Jada Pinkett Smith), is viewed as the responsible one a mother and nurse and divorcee. Finally, there’s Ryan Pierce (Regina Hall) an author and mogul who sells marriage and love with her husband, played by Luke Cage. But over the years, the women drifts apart as most friends do. One day, her agent informs Ryan that the Essence Festival wants her to be a keynote speaker for their event (all expenses paid), which she accepts as she believes it will get the Flossy Posse back together.

Back with the other women, Sasha is struggling and facing eviction as her blogging not pulling in the views they should (just like this channel). Dina, at her place of employment, crashed out over employer over eating her yogurt and she gets fired as a result. Lisa thinks about staying home from the festival as she doesn’t want to leave her kids behind. But Dina come crashing in like she lives there, and urges Lisa to go and be free and step out of her shell. Ryan’s agent tells her that if things go well at Essence Festival, it could open a door for a talk show with her and her husband. The agent gets too touchy with Luke Cage.

The posse reunites at the airport, turns out there where some tension between Sasha and Ryan from a past incident, more on that in a bit. Lisa made a distinct jacket for the Flossy Posse but no one is feeling it. On the airplane, the girls asked when was the last time she found action in the bedroom and one of their goals for her to get some. While on their one-hour flight to NOLA, Dina leads everyone into taking coke shots while singing I’m Every Woman.

They arrive in New Orleans (it’s always impressed me to see how this city recovered from Katrina) and immediately soak in the sights and sounds of Bourbon Street. While on Bourbon Street throwing Mardi gras beads, Lisa catches an eye for Ralph Angel. Sasha gets a message from a unanimous source and it spots Luke Cage with a random Instagram model. The Posse doesn’t know how to tell her. But Dina couldn’t hold the secret in and tells Ryan out loud. Ryan doesn’t know how to take it, but is not phased for now as she focused on having the weekend of her life.

While Ryan gets checked in, the rest of the posse spot Luke Cage minding his own business. Dina decides to raise all hell and then some and they get kicked out of the hotel. Ryan then confronts her husband about the encounter. But he ensures everything is going to be just fine, even though he cheated. Because of Dina’s crashout, they check in a one-star hotel. A random hobo wanted a time of his life for five dollars and the girls order him to leave, only for him to flash the audience (can’t believe they got away with this scene).

While they get ready with night Dina says something extremely concerning. Lisa appears in an outfit that came from Guatemala. After, looking like she dressed from wherever, Ryan gives her a more revealing outfit (first and not last callback to Set It Off). Night one and the Posse once again tells Lisa to let loose, and Lisa goes on the hunt and it’s failing. Back stage we meet Julian, usually when we see Larenz Tate tomfoolery often occurs. But this movie will not be the case as his character manage to behave himself. He reunites with Ryan and she’s eager to see him. Ralph Angel spots Lisa backstage and they chat. Dina then gets her wish and spots Diddy & Mase but all she cares about is Diddy the man’s whose (you know some running gags have their limits). Baby oil messiah, then spots Dinah flashing at him, gives her that creepy stare before invited her onstage. After night one ends, they go ziplining on Bourbon street. It’s all fun and games until Lisa gets stuck. Adding on the fact the she has to go #1, she proceeds to R. Kelly street goers. Dina saves her and does the same.

Thanks to Ryan’s connection with Julian, the Posse move in to his suite. Lisa tries to get lucky with Ralph Angel but (how can I put this in PG terms?), let’s just say it was more than what she bargained for and she backs out. Ryan and Luke Cage are set to make their first appearance at Essence and Ryan insists that she fine. But back at the suite, the girls are having breakfast and it takes us to the grapefruit scene, not showing that. At the convention center, Ryan and Luke Cage are having a cooking session and while having said cooking session, the Posse spots the Insta model and Insta model comes on stage. She commends the food, more so the sausage and this leave Ryan to do a demonstration on what you can do with a sausage like cutting it with a clever, beating it with a tenderizer, or cutting with a kitchen scissors.

Dina encounters a street seller and he offers her absinthe and as he tries to warn Dina not to use it all at once but you know Dina, she don’t listen. She spikes everyone’s drink before their night out. Things go from bad to worse as everyone, including her agent and in a mood at the club, pink elephants on a parade high. They realize Ryan is having a meeting with an important business meeting. Ryan keeps believing that she seeing the Insta model. Dina thinks she is flying, Sasha is making out with a lamp and Lisa thinks she seeing Ralph Angel.

After recovering with a bottle of water, the girls go to an underground club to hide wearing wigs as disguises and we get our second callback from Set It Off. This time they spot Insta model, for real and with Mannie Fresh on DJ, the have a dance battle. After the dance battle, they get into a fight and get out scot-free. At the hotel, Lisa runs into Ralph Angel, for real this time and she proceeds to use the grapefruit technique on him, but it goes horribly wrong.

I forgot to mention, Sasha is task to find a mega-tabloid story for Essence Weekend and she is conflicted to use the Insta model and Luke Cage, but is hesitant as her and Sasha are “friends”. While attending a Ne-Yo show at the House of Blues, Insta model tells Sasha that she’s pregnant and it’s Luke Cages. They tell Ryan and she’s devastated. Ryan and Luke Cage has tried to start a family but Ryan is infertile. Luke Cage walks in and they have a conversation. They talk about having Insta model to sign an NDA about the whole incident. Ryan, who cares a lot about her image, decides to let him off easy…AGAIN.

The Posse is not pleased about Ryan sticking with Luke Cage. At this moment, Insta model comes out about the affair. Ryan accuses Sasha of striking a deal to leak the affair and save her blog. Sasha denies all and we finally find out why Ryan and Sasha weren’t on the best of terms. Sasha quit her job from Time magazine to work with Ryan on her blogsite. That was until Ryan met Luke Cage and left Sasha in the dust. Basically, bros before gardening tools but opposite. That argument leads to everyone beefing, mid movie conflict stereotype, and everyone go their separate ways.

Next day, Sasha makes a blog and apologies to her past actions. She then makes an announcement that she’s taking down her blog site. Sasha was about to the leave but the Posse find her and they beg her to stay. At this moment, the girls try and catch Ryan’s speech at the Essence Festival. Ryan sticks to the prompter and the script. But something deep down inside leaves her to go off script. She finally admits the affair, pictures are real. Her life is not perfect, expresses why she stuck around an unfaithful man but mentions that her friends have been faithful through thick and thin. After the speech, the Posse reunite with Ryan and all is good. Ryan’s agent comes in and tells her that the business deal is on with Ryan alone. Ryan agrees on the condition Sasha becomes her assistant. The movie close with them celebrating the final night at Essence Fest, with Ryan choosing Julian over Luke Cage. Not before we get one final call back from Set it Off with them puff puff passing.

Final Thoughts: Oh boy, this movie. Based on the cast alone this movie aged, interestingly enough. I guess I can talk about the characters. I’m going to start off with Lisa, the mother of the bunch. She was closed off since her divorce but came out of her shell once she saw Ralph Angel. Sasha, she was a blogger known for gossip but little she knew how hurtful it was towards not only other celebs but herself. Dina, let me say this was the role that skyrocketed Tiffany Haddish to superstardom. She was the wild one, free-spirited, play by her own rules even if it came off as the ghetto black girl stereotype. There were moments throughout the movie that’ll leave you scratching your head but she always has her girls back as she was the first to tell Ryan about the affair. In fact, Ryan was the one that frustrated me the most. After her posse told her that Luke Cage was cheating, she still stayed by his side to save face, that was her problem. She has done so much building this power relationship, that she didn’t want to throw that away. My thought on the movie, again it aged weirdly but I understood why it worked at the time. I heard rumors of Girls Trip 2 being in the works but that been a rumor for the last 7 years. But as I was writing this, Tiffany Haddish did say she got the script for the sequel so who knows my guess would be in the 2028-2030 area for that movie. But I guess I can recommend but set your expectations carefully.