Adele Lim Had to Cut a Major Scene from ‘Joy Ride’ Because Water Buffalo ‘Don’t Take Direction’

After proving that Asian actors were more than capable of carrying a movie to a massive box office haul with “Crazy Rich Asians” (which she co-wrote), Lim went in a much raunchier direction for her directorial debut. Her SXSW hit “Joy Ride,” which follows a group of four messy, oft-horny friends taking a trip to China to find one of their birth mothers, has earned plenty of praise for bringing a dose of diversity to the R-rated comedy space — but as it turns out, it could have been even wilder.

At a Q&A at the Directors Guild of America over the weekend, Lim spoke about the lengthy process of bringing her vision to the big screen. She recalled that the original script she co-wrote with Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao featured the four friends crossing a river on a water buffalo. While the scene was ultimately scrapped due to logistical concerns, it came closer to fruition than one might expect.

“There was a huge, huge setpiece that was going to be the centerpiece of the movie that isn’t in here,” Lim said. “Because it was about our four [leads] trying to cross a river, getting on a dragon boat that capsizes, and getting on a water buffalo. And we were full on it! We were auditioning water buffalo. And y’all know that water buffalo don’t necessarily want to get in the water. They don’t take direction — also [they’re] covered with lice. So this was maybe a week before shooting. And we realized like, oh, shoot, we got to scrap this whole big thing that we’re building toward… So that was something we had to do fairly quickly.”

Even without the presence of water buffalo, “Joy Ride” has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics.

“After the well-deserved success of ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once,’ it is a literal joy to see the momentum of diverse representation continue with ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ co-writer Adele Lim’s directorial debut, ‘Joy Ride,'” Marisa Mirabal wrote in her IndieWire review following the film’s SXSW premiere. “This particular Asian American-led film is making history with an all-female cast, including a non-binary actor. ‘Joy Ride’ is a prime example of how important representation is on screen and proves that Asian American comedians can be just as funny, raunchy, and successful as their white male counterparts.”

Additional reporting by Anne Thompson.