By John Corrado

New releases for the week of July 7th, 2023.

Theatrical Releases:

Joy Ride (Wide Release): The directorial debut of Crazy Rich Asians co-writer Adele Lim, Joy Ride is a lot of fun and often very funny, while also being surprisingly smart and heartfelt in how it explores culture and identity. The film follows Audrey (Ashley Park), a young woman who was adopted at birth from China, who goes back with three friends (Sherry Cola, Sabrina Wu and Stephanie Hsu) in search of her birth mother. The dynamic between the four leads keeps the film fresh and fun, while Lim also nicely handles a tonal shift partway through. I really enjoyed this one, and it deserves to be a hit comedy. (Full Review)

This Place (Limited Release): Tamil-Canadian filmmaker V.T. Nayani’s directorial debut (which premiered at TIFF last year) is a queer love story between two young woman from different backgrounds in Toronto; Iranian-Mohawk Kawenniióhstha (Devery Jacobs) and Tamil Malai (Priya Guns). While This Place very much feels like a first feature (there are a few elements that feel a bit amateurish), it’s still a mostly satisfying love story that works thanks to the cultural specificity of its characters. It’s opening in limited release this week, before arriving on VOD/Digital platforms across Canada on August 15th. (Full Review)

Something You Said Last Night (TIFF Bell Lightbox): Canadian writer-director Luis De Filippis’ evocative debut feature (which also premiered at TIFF last year) follows a young trans woman, Ren (Carmen Madonia), on vacation with her family. As I wrote in my review, Something You Said Last Night is “a testament to what happens when trans filmmakers tell trans stories.” Guided by Madonia’s captivating, internal performance, the film breaks free from a conventional “coming out” narrative to instead offer an engaging, naturalistic portrait of a trans person simply living their life and navigating the world. A small gem of queer cinema. (TIFF 2022 Review)

More Releases: Insidious: The Red Door (Wide), Sound of Freedom (Limited), The Lesson (TIFF Bell Lightbox), Desperate Souls, Dark City, and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy (Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema), Users (Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema)

Streaming Releases:

The Out-Laws (Netflix), WHAM! (Netflix), Gold Brick (Netflix) Lac-Mégantic – This Is Not An Accident (CBC Gem), Bernie Langille Wants to Know What Happened to Bernie Langille (CBC Gem)