Hysterical, loud and proud to get down and dirty with the best of them, the movie Girls Trip was a surprise success of 2017, doing great business at the box office, debuting at #2 after Dunkirk.
Praised by many as an all-female answer to The Hangover series, the story of ‘The Flosse Posse’ is as feelgood as it is gross-out, emphasising friendship and loyalty in tough times and mugging for laughs in between.
The film boasts a stellar cast of comedic talent with Regina Hall as lifestyle guru Ryan Pierce, Queen Latifah as internet gossip blogger Sasha Franklin, Jada Pinkett Smith as nurse and single mum Lisa Cooper and breakout star Tiffany Haddish as the fun-loving Dina.
We start out with these friends from college now estranged, and the film follows the classic storyline of friends coming together again for the first time in years for a wild weekend away in New Orleans (Ryan having been offered on an all-expenses-paid trip, as well as being invited to give the keynote address as the Essence Music Festival).
The film focuses on the bonds between the women as much as the wild debauchery and misadventures they get entangled with, and a huge part of what makes it work so well is the soundtrack, which — as we all know — is a huge part of any reunion of old friends.
So with that in mind, we thought, why not escape into Girls Trip with a look into 10 banging tracks from the film that will make the perfect soundtrack to your own girls’ trip.
Enjoy!
1. Maxwell – ‘Ascension (Don’t Ever Wonder)’
Seeing as though this is a movie about a group of women reliving their glory days from the ’90s, it’s fitting that the first song in this list is a smooth slice of ’90s neo-soul. And it doesn’t get much smoother than Maxwell. A huge name in the late ’80s and early ’90s — and in many ways the male Sade — Maxwell’s track is the perfect song to help you slide into the party mood as you and your crew warm up. He even has a cameo in the film, so keep an eye out!
2. Chaka Chan – ‘I’m Every Woman’
Speaking of warming up the party muscles, this classic Chaka Chan anthem of female empowerment soundtracks the girls doing just that in the film, kicking in as they fly to New Orleans and down shots of Patron at fun-loving Dina’s insistence. This is the ultimate party-starting jam.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8xuUdI1an0
3. Missy Elliot – ‘She’s A Bitch’
Playing when the girls get into a dance-off with the Instagram model and villain of the film Simone (Deborah Ayorinde), this lesser-known Missy Elliott jam is the perfect track to keep the vibe building after Chaka. This is only part 1 of the dance off soundtrack though, with the vibe staying high as we roll over into…
4. Lil’ Jon – ‘Bad Bitches’
YEAH! WHAT! OK! That’s right, the godfather of crunk Lil’ Jon is here, and the party is taking off into the stratosphere. Serving as the soundtrack to the second half of the dance-off – before everything devolves into a good old fashioned bar fight – this song sounds like ‘white girl wasted’ feels like… which is to say, too good.
5. Anna Lunoe – ‘Radioactive’
A bit out-of-character with the rest of this list, but we’ve still got to give props to the homegrown talent making it big in Hollywood. Playing in the background of a club scene, the track is a solid banger and worth a listen.
6. Faith Evans – ‘Love Like This’
Back into the ’90s swing of things again with this top shelf number, which famously samples ‘Chic Cheer’ by Chic — another of the artists who makes a cameo in the film. You can 100% hear this jam soundtracking the adventures of The Flosse Posse in the ’90s heyday, and it’s the perfect track to get you feeling nostalgic for the simpler times of 1998.
7. Mase – ‘Feels So Good’
Playing in the film as P.Diddy – is he calling himself Puff Daddy again now? I can’t keep track – performs on stage, this somewhat forgotten hit doubles down on the ’90s nostalgia showcasing that classic Puff Daddy production that broke artists like Mase and Notorious B.I.G.
8. New Edition – ‘If It Isn’t Love’
Now this one is taking us all the way back to the ’80s for some OG boy-band goodness. These guys were the mould for acts like New Kids On The Block and Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC later on, and you can see — or should I say hear — why the trend caught on. In the film, the first act that the girls see at the Essence Festival — of all the nostalgia-inducing tracks on this list — this is the one that is most likely to make anyone who lived through the period swoon… just look at those choice flat tops.
9. Mariah Carey – ‘It’s Like That’
Now, it would hardly be a soundtrack of a girls’ trip without a Mariah Carey track. Rather than go with something more expected like ‘Heartbreaker’ or ‘Honey’ though, this song from her 2005 comeback album, Emancipation of Mimi, is a little tougher, and a little more hip-hop than you might expect from the divine miss M, but it’s awesome all the same.
10. Aretha Franklin – ‘Ain’t No Way’
Speaking of artists this list wouldn’t be complete without, Aretha Franklin is perhaps the definitive empowering female artist. And much in the same way Girls Trip avoids the obvious with the Mariah track, instead of going for ‘Respect’, as you might expect, we’ve got ‘Ain’t No Way’, a bit of a down tempo and thoughtful end to this party AF list. The perfect soundtrack to the kind of meditative introspection that comes with a weekend of debauchery and distraction. So sit back, relax, reflect, let the experience soak in.
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‘Girls Trip’ is out now on 4K Ultra HD™, Blu-Ray™, DVD & Digital
