Another weekend is here, and with summer in full swing, our air-conditioned living rooms are looking more and more enticing these days. On August 1, Prime Video added a whopping 51 new movies, with several new releases landing over the course of the week. It’s enough to make our good ol’ friend decision paralysis rear its ugly head, but don’t worry — I’m in the trenches sifting through all the new releases to help you decide what to watch.
Times are tough, so this week I’m shining a light on two great new comedies that just landed on Prime Video: the quirky “Licorice Pizza” with an impeccable ’70s soundtrack and the hilarious girls’ trip comedy “Joy Ride.” Pharrell Williams’ Lego-themed biopic “Piece by Piece” also just got added, which is a much-watch for any music fans out there.
For even more streaming recommendations, check out everything new on Prime Video in August. So without further ado, let’s dive into the best new movies on Prime Video to add to your watchlist.
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‘Joy Ride’ (2023)
The vibe: A raunchy Asian girls’ trip
I have a group chat of my hometown besties that I call “The Council” where I am very discerning about my streaming recommendations, but “Joy Ride” made the cut. This raunchy R-rated comedy from “Crazy Rich Asians” producer and writer Adele Lim revolves around Audrey Sullivan (Ashley Park), a lawyer on a business trip to China where she plans to reconnect with her childhood best friends Lolo (Sherry Cola), Kat (Stephanie Hsu), and Lolo’s eccentric cousin, Deadeye (Sabrina Wu).
Audrey’s promised a promotion in exchange for closing a deal with a prominent Chinese businessman, but their trip veers wildly off-course in spectacular (not to mention hilarious) fashion, including side quests to find Audrey’s birth mother and being forced to do copious amounts of cocaine. Much in the same vein as “Superbad,” “Bridesmaids,” and “One of Them Days,” it fits the mold of out-there comedies centered on friends in desperate situations.
Watch “Joy Ride” on Prime Video now
‘Piece by Piece’ (2024)
![PIECE BY PIECE - Official Trailer [HD] - Only In Theaters October 11 - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7Bc6trBc1kc/maxresdefault.jpg)
The vibe: An earworm-filled biopic that doesn’t take itself too seriously
Pharrell Williams is from my neck of the woods (shout out to the 757!) so I never miss an opportunity to shout out his stunning biopic “Piece by Piece.” It’s a bold turn, using Lego to tell the story of his rise to fame in Virginia Beach alongside P-town native Chad Hugo with their iconic Neptunes sound to his international smash success as a recording artist and producer with the likes of Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Daft Punk and more.
Colorful and endlessly inventive, “Piece by Piece” uses its Lego visuals in creative ways to depict Williams’ process for creating music, specifically his synesthesia (where individual notes and melodies appear to him as colors). With five new original songs written by Pharrell just for this flick, “Piece by Piece” is naturally a must-watch for fans of the chart-topping musician. It’s definitely more winding than traditional biopics, but fun to throw on in the background.
Watch “Piece by Piece” on Prime Video now
‘Licorice Pizza’ (2021)
The vibe: A madcap joyride with ’70s flair and larger-than-life characters
Last up, we have a nostalgia-filled coming-of-age-tale that’s a great pick for music lovers, with classic tracks from artists like David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Nina Simone, The Doors, and Gordon Lightfoot. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, “Licorice Pizza” stars Cooper Hoffman as Gary Valentine, a teenager who, on school picture day, shoots his shot with a 25-year-old photographer’s assistant Alana Kane (Alana Haim) with all the confidence of two kids in a trench coat trying to sneak into an R-rated movie.
If it ended there, it wouldn’t be much of a movie now would it? Over the years, he ping pongs through jobs, from a child actor to a waterbed salesman, and manages to rope Alan into his schemes against her better judgement. Their magnetic chemistry buoys a somewhat meandering plot peppered with nostalgic callbacks and some truly insane cameos.
Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
Watch “Licorice Pizza” on Prime Video now
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