‘Girls Trip’ is An Everywoman Extravaganza For Us, By Us [Spoiler Free Review]

Source: Girls Trip

With Girls Trip in theaters today, our own Thembisa Mshaka breaks down the reasons why you need to see this film ASAP!

Out today in theaters, Girls Trip is the cinematic journey every sistah needs to take—to escape, relate and let go. Directed by ensemble film master Malcolm D. Lee (The Best Man franchise) and starring Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Regina Hall and Tiffany Haddish, the cast is on par with its black woman centered predecessors, Waiting to Exhale, Set It Off, and more recently, Hidden Figures.

If you’re the type to shed tears when you laugh or when you’re deeply moved, bring tissue—this film will take you there and back. As I watched, and later, as I reflected on the last two hours in a #BlackGirlMagic afterglow, I realized that while the cast doesn’t literally represent every black woman (we are no more a monolith than our people as a collective is), there were five things that made this an everywoman extravaganza for us, by us.

Source: Girls Trip

The Essence Is Genuine

The Essence Festival and New Orleans play the fifth and sixth lead characters, and they are glorious. Sadly, I have never attended the pilgrimage made by the multitudes of black women (and the men who love them). But Girls Trip dropped me right into the three-day event of megastar concerts and educational seminars.

The script deftly wraps its story around the festival, punctuating the film with unforgettable moments and a slew of artists making seamless performance cameos. The blackity black kinetic energy of NOLA, at once communal and ancestral gave the film a vibrancy that kept me glued to the screen. The colors, the music of the second line, the French Quarter partying? Listen, after watching Girls Trip, I am now more determined to go to the Essence Festival, which was truly an integrated marketing win for the magazine and Time, Inc.

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Source: Girls Trip

Black Women Are An Anti-Stereotype

Black women are given permission to be the anti-stereotype. Each character has a distinct personality: Ryan (Hall) is the pragmatist. Lisa (Pinkett Smith) is the perfectionist. Sasha (Latifah) is the voice of reason. Dina (Haddish) is the firecracker. Every circle of friends has their role player, and the Flossy Posse is no different. But in this circle, we also have women who are sexperts (Dina) and novices in bed, despite being divorced with children (Lisa).

Girls Trip has so many aspects of us covered; Lisa’s conservative and regimented mother nullifies the broken welfare queen. Sasha’s struggling with her finances, but not with her confidence. She knows she’s a great journalist. Ryan’s the one who brings the Flossy Posse back together, but this skill fails her when it comes to her seemingly perfect marriage. Dina is that friend who is the wildest at parties, but makes sure all her girls take a knee and thank the Lord for their blessings.

Black women get to be everything in this film—and not just in the visibly fabulous sense. These longtime friends get to be incontinent, insecure and indivisible all the while.

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Source: Girls Trip

Girls Trip Is Not About Man Candy

The man candy is fantastic, but not the focus. Michael Coulter and Larenz Tate play the men in Ryan’s life and they are delicious for their own reasons. The equally delectable Kofi Siriboe makes the kind of appearance Queen Sugar viewers have been waiting for. And none of them leave anyone for a white woman, the trope that is all too familiar and painful for women of color everywhere in Hollywood and in reality. We are free from that baggage on this trip. Black women are adored and desired for who they are throughout. And for those who like their candy of the female persuasion, there is plenty for the eye to behold! Every shape and complexion, too. Because, Essence Festival.

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Source: Girls Trip

The Black Woman Bond Is Explored Richly

The unique, unbreakable bond among black women friends is explored beautifully and hilariously. From their #ProfessionalBlackGirl banter about hair and wardrobe to the college dance routines that live in their bones despite years of dormancy, Girls Trip illuminates the bonds that are the norm among black women—not the ones forged by racism and sexism as in Hidden Figures, or by culpability as with the women of Set It Off. The sting of a falling out, the hurt felt by the group when one sells herself short, the overflow of joy that comes from supporting one another, all dynamics usually reserved for white women in buddy films from Thelma and Louise to Bridesmaids. This is all the peaks and valleys of friendship without spirits being broken and souls being burdened and dammit, we deserve to see it larger than life so we can revel in it, and so others can witness it. Speaking of others…

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Source: Girls Trip

There’s No Racheal Dolezal in Girls Trip

There is no white girl antagonist. No Columbusing of our hairstyles and dance moves. No Western beauty ideal for black women to reckon with or rebuke. In fact, “Becky” is in the background. And she is even on our team (!!!) at the service of Regina Hall’s character from the door, as her literary agent. This really is a story centered on black women, not a story about us, but usurped by white women a la The Help—or The Beguiled, where Black women disappear altogether despite being set during slavery. Kate Walsh is pitch perfect at channeling how to be down by misfiring with colloquialisms and crossing the line with Ryan’s husband. When Ryan lovingly tells her, “You are a guest. Act accordingly” the whole theater exhaled.

--To close, go see Girls Trip with your girls—as in grown woman friends though, not younger sisters, daughters or nieces. Because, F-bombs galore and X-rated use of produce are peppered throughout the film. Guys, see it if you want that fly-on-the-wall moment, so you can see how it goes down when you’re not around. Girls Trip is smart, sexy, fun with just the right amount of emotional gravitas—just like the women it portrays. Get your ticket and enjoy the ride.

Girls Trip is in theaters nationwide starting today, July 21. Go cop your ticket immediately!

Thembisa S. Mshaka is the author of Put Your Dreams First: Handle Your [entertainment] Business. A 25-year veteran of the music and creative industries, she continues to support black female initiatives in the entertainment and creative spaces. Follow her (and us!) on Twitter @PutYrDreams1st.