Jada Pinkett Smith always working on her marriage to Will Smith

In Girls Trip, thankfully, the storytellers mostly speed through those guideposts, assuming perhaps that the audience assumes perhaps that they must be visited, and busily gets back to its core strength: its hilarious material. Fellow Girls Trip star Queen Latifah said something similar to Fallon the night before: “Watch her, she’s gonna be massive”.

It’s been no secret that Pinkett Smith, who is married to Will Smith, is upset with how her and Tupac’s relationship is portrayed in the newly released film “All Eyes On Me”, which has suggested there was more romance to their relationship. To judge by the fan reaction at a recent screening of Girls Trip, the answer is a resounding yes. There isn’t much suspense about Stewart’s honor, because the men of Girls Trip come in two basic varieties: blandly handsome cads and blandly handsome gentlemen.

After a five-year separation, the so-called Flossy Posse – four best girlfriends from college – reunite for a weekend of debauchery in New Orleans. Together, Hall, Latifah, Pinkett-Smith and Haddish are breaking the mold around how black women are represented on the big screen and showing how multidimensional and carefree we can be. This is all ultimately portrayed as an easy (and enriching) fix, backed up by a climactic festival speech so long, unfunny, and empty that it feels like Ryan is about to announce her candidacy for office.

“OK, so what had happened was, Jada had invited me to dinner with her and Will Smith and I thought, ‘Ooh, this it”. What about their lucrative contract?

The capacity crowd roared at Packer’s allusion to the 2015 hip hop drama’s local box-office triumph – Regal Atlantic Station was tops in ticket sales during the movie’s opening weekend – and seemed more than ready to boost the “Girls Trip” bottom line as well. That is the level of comedic immortality Haddish’s Dina achieves in this film. We’ve caught this story before but not in it’s entirety until now. It may be Ryan’s party but its Dina’s film. Her enumeration of what she plans to do to Stewart in revenge for his scandalous photo is another scene-stealing moment. This one has a “flossy posse”, as the group calls themselves, that fires on all cylinders. Arguably, “Girls Trip” greatly differs from something like “Rough Night” in its humor, which is much cruder and ruder than anything “Rough Night” tried to do. And, girl, is it amusing.

Perhaps you’ve never attended the Essence Festival. Look for Mariah Carey, Maxwell, Ava DuVernay, Terry McMillan, Iyanla Vanzant, Morris Chestnut, Faith Evans, Common, Diddy, Ne-Yo, Doug E. Fresh and many others. Regardless of your race or gender, you’ll be laughing all the way home. She’s turned her life into a brand by selling other women on the idea that they can have it all, too, but now she’s not so sure.

But it’s more than just your average chick flick. “Why would I have my own boat?'” Haddish said on the show.

Stars (of four): 3. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

MPAA definition of R: Restricted.