Joy Ride is coming out this week and I am definitely excited to see a raunchy comedy with four Asian American female leads. I’d already been familiar with Ashley Park and Stephanie Hsu, but the promotion for this movie was my introduction to Sherry Cola. (I was sure that was a completely made up stage name, but it’s a version of her real name, Sherriña Colada.) Anyway, Sherry is an actress and standup comedian who was born in China, grew up in California, and at this point has a few acting credits under her belt. She talked to InStyle about her own identity, Asian representation, and what this movie means to her. Some highlights:
On how she relates to her Joy Ride character: “I literally spent seven years in college because I just was not studious. I was partying. I had other distractions, so I definitely relate to Lolo,” Cola explains. “I think her character is just so messy and chaotic, and she doesn’t have direction per se, but she has passion.” “I think Lolo is bisexual for sure. I’m queer, and I feel like all of these identities, being a queer, Chinese-American immigrant woman, these are qualities that society never rooted for, but I’m now embracing as superpowers,” Cola notes. “I also fully am not your model minority and Lolo definitely isn’t. So this version of me, I feel like, is one of the most genuine, authentic versions of me that I’ve ever portrayed on the screen.”
On what this movie means to her: “It was just so special going into this together and diving into new territory. I don’t know if even the public realizes that this has never been done. For the lack of better comparison, movies like The Hangover, Bridesmaids, Girls Trip, these big box office hits that get groups of friends out to the theaters, that kind of comedy we haven’t seen in a while, let alone with these faces. It just has never existed. It’s such a breath of fresh air, so I’m just so proud.”
On her career plans: “I want to do more projects that have intention and make an impact in this way because we are so multi-dimensional. These Asian faces cannot be put in a box, and I think that’s what’s happening right now in real time,” she says. “We’re shifting the narrative, and we are redefining ourselves in a way that feels authentic. We’re just shattering these stereotypes and reclaiming our identities because this is our voice, and we’re going to choose how to use it.”
I liked this article and thought it served as a solid intro to Sherry Cola for someone like me, but would have liked to learn even more about her beyond the movie. The piece made her come across a lot like how her character seems in the trailer. And the character definitely seems cool. She really pops in the trailer and looks like she’ll be so funny. As for what Sherry does say about her own life, it’s interesting. The slacking off and taking a long time in college because of partying, valuing passion over direction, and embracing her different identities as superpowers paints a pretty clear picture of her for the rest of the profile. It’s clear that this movie means a lot to those involved for what it represents for Asian women — debunking racist and sexist stereotypes and showing how different and complex people can be.
Photos credit: Marion Curtis/Starpix/startraksphoto.com, Faye’s Vision/Cover Images, InStyle via Instagram
Both versions of her name sound like yummy drinks. Can’t wait to see this. Very happy for all the ladies involved.
Well, I will look out for this! Sherry Cola sounds like a fun friend!
I have been dying to see this, it looks hilarious and momentous.
I’m a Sherry Cola fan. First saw her on Good Trouble, but I didn’t know much about her. I enjoyed this article about her – thanks for the post!
Same, except it took me 9 years to graduate 🥳. Granted, some of that time was spent abroad studying but by the time I finally did graduate it was with two majors because I had so many credits! And then I went to Grad school ….😉
Ha! It took me 14 years & 3 schools before I finally earned my bachelor’s! I’d like to say it was something like too much fun getting in the way, but alas no. It also took me two tries at two different schools across 15 years to finally earn my master’s. But I made it! 😉