The film is directed by Malcolm D. Lee and written by Kenya Barris and Tracy Oliver , from a story by the pair and Erica Rivinoja , who based the script off their own experiences with their female friends. The film follows a group of four friends who go to New Orleans to attend the Essence Music Festival in order to reconnect after a long time. The film premiered in June [ 4 ] and received multiple awards and nominations, most notably at the 49th NAACP Image Awards , with Haddish's performance receiving critical acclaim.
A sequel is being developed. In an attempt to reconnect with her friends from college, lifestyle guru Ryan Pierce, dubbed "the next Oprah," decides to invite her friends on a girls' trip to Essence Music Festival in New Orleans, where she will be the keynote speaker. Shortly after arriving, Sasha receives a photo of Ryan's husband Stewart kissing another woman. The friends are reluctant to tell Ryan initially, but Ryan admits she is already aware of the situation and informs her friends that the two are in couple's therapy to address Stewart's infidelity.
After Dina confronts Stewart at their hotel with a broken bottle, the Flossy Posse are ejected and settles into a one-star motel instead. At the Essence Fest later that night, they run into an old friend Julian, a musician performing at the festival who Ryan flirts with. He later gives up his hotel suite so that the women have somewhere decent to stay. The next day, Ryan and Stewart host a cooking demonstration together at the music festival that goes awry when Stewart's mistress, Simone, shows up.
A potential investor is impressed, however, and a business meeting is set up for Ryan and Stewart with their agent, Elizabeth, who then introduces Ryan and Stewart to Bethany Marshall. Dina serves the women drinks spiked with absinthe right before the meeting, causing them to hallucinate.
At her meeting, Ryan thinks the waitress is Stewart's mistress; Lisa thinks her kids are at the club with her; Dina thinks she is flying; and Sasha thinks she is making out with an attractive man who is actually a lamp.
