Stephanie Hsu reveals gay subplot was cut from ‘Joy Ride’
Stephanie Hsu, the Oscar-nominated actor, has revealed that a gay romance subplot was cut from the 2023 movie Joy Ride.
Appearing in the movie beside the likes of Sabrina Wu, Ashley Park and Sherry Cola, Hsu explained to Collider how a gay romance story was cut from the movie to be potentially saved for a future sequel. “There’s a whole gay track between Sherry’s character and my character that kind of got edited and will be saved for the sequel,” she told the publication, “Sherry’s livid about it”.
Commenting on the dropped plotline, co-star Sabrina Wu adds: “Yeah, I know. It needs to happen in a sequel or something. But everyone is so quick, and some of those quick, off-the-cuff jokes — the movie is so joke-dense, and of course it’s the writers, but it’s also the actors who are just on fire sometimes. It is really scary to me. It’s like should-I-quit-comedy level scary”.
Further elaborating on the possibility of this romance in a sequel, she explains: “I had so many questions! I didn’t know what coverage was, how to advocate for myself, and I felt very much like Stephanie and Sherry and Ashley were like family and always checking in with me. I just would not be able to give the takes that I gave if it weren’t for them. I’d be like, “Oh yeah? You like that? Um, I feel terrible, but yeah, you know best!” It was good to just feel like I could say what I thought was funny and try — whatever, you get what I’m saying!”.
Hsu shot to popularity in 2022 due to her celebrated performance in Daniels’ ‘Best Picture’ winner Everything, Everywhere All at Once.
Joy Ride has been embraced by fans and critics alike, with Hsu thriving in the movie thanks to a script from Adele Lim, the same screenwriter behind the beloved 2018 film Crazy Rich Asians.
Take a look at the trailer for Joy Ride below.
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