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Directed by: Justin Lin Starring: Parry Shen, Jason Tobin, John Cho This movie was on limited release so I can imagine many of the people here haven't seen it. It came out in the spring of '03 with mixed reviews from critics, some claiming that it was a great look into Asian American high school life, and others claiming it was pretentious bullshit that tried to artificially boost the collective Asian American teen self-esteem. Having seen how the media in the United States usually does not encourage positive Asian American role models, particuarly male ones, I was skeptical about the naysayers. However, when I finally watched it, I was severely disappointed. Perhaps this was because the movie was so blindly reviewed by critics on both sides of the argument pool, and was so incorrectly advertised by commercials and word of mouth. The "over-achieving Asians" are not any different from white, black, or hispanic over-achievers. We all know what high school over-achievers are like: constantly studying or involving themselves in activities to get themselves into a good college under the impression that an acceptance guarantees a good paying job and a happy life. The four boys that the movie focuses on ( Ben, Virgil, Han, and Daric) could be of any race or color and the movie would not be any different other than the (very) occasional joke about asian american stereotypes ("Hey so this (party) is where all the asians hang out, huh?" "Yeah, the library was closed.") As a movie about a power-trip gone bad, it does not do anything particularly well. The group decides that they can use their brains to scam and make money, which is nothing new. Eventually, they spin out of control, and their lifestyles explode in their faces. The climax, involving a betrayal and a gruesome murder by the main characters, was incoherent and rushed. The ending is ambiguous; the fate of the main characters is uncertain when certainty of punishment is the only moral choice. Perhaps my feelings about the movie are not completely objective but for the reasons I've stated, this movie is not recommended. RATING: 2.0 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0280477/ KimchiHead fucked around with this message at 15:30 on Aug 16, 2004 |
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May 31, 2004 07:51
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The reviews were actually pretty positive overall; 79% good at Rotten Tomatoes. I liked this movie a lot. I thought it was an interesting look at a demographic that everybody's well-aware of, but that hasn't received much exposure in the entertainment media. I disagree with the thread starter that the ethnicity of the characters is irrelevant, for several reasons: the first is that the overachieving Asian has become such an icon, and so completely detached from any notion of recklessness or criminal behavior, that to feature both of these elements existing simultaneously within these characters is far more jarring and intriguing than if the characters were white or black or Hispanic. The second main reason is simply that it's so rare to see Asian actors and characters at all in the media, and it's refreshing to see so many of them in a film that doesn't marginalize them under the general and vague category of "minority." The performances were really good; I think the story does fall down a bit towards the end. Overall, though, I think it's an engaging movie. 4 edit: vv I am not going to discuss this, because this is not a discussion forum. You said what you thought, I said what I thought. Propaniac fucked around with this message at 04:29 on Jun 1, 2004 |
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May 31, 2004 18:56
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I want to make something clear. A movie featuring the asian overachieving stereotype mixed with criminality would be a great idea; unfortunately, Better Luck Tomorrow is not that movie. I should have elaborated on this before but I thought my post was too long so here goes: The characters lack any kind of asian identity other than the fact that they look Asian. This has less to do with outright intention and more to do with the fact that Lin just did not care to develop his characters. Ben, Virgil, Daric are overachievers who happen to be asian; there is nothing that separates these boys from boys of any other group other than the fact that they look asian. There is a small segment about Ben being a token minority on a basketball team but this is not examined, and soon forgotten. The few references to Asian-American stereotypes are mostly used as comic relief, and do not add anything intriguing or worthwhile to the characters. In this sense, the ethnicities presented were irrelevant. You could say that presenting the ethnicities as irrelevant is a good step into the acceptance of Asian-Americans as simply Americans and not as foreigners who are seen as different, and I would agree with you. However, the movie played itself as if it really showed the struggles associated with Asian-Americans and their stereotypes, and it did not. KimchiHead fucked around with this message at 20:16 on May 31, 2004 |
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May 31, 2004 20:06
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I just considered it a really good movie about high school. Not as fantastic as Election or Rushmore or Donnie Darko perhaps, but it had almost as interesting characters and situations. Great music too. I like the fact that all the main characters were of asian descent but most people wouldn't have even noticed that if it hadn't been lamely promoted as an 'asian-american' movie.
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May 31, 2004 21:13
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This was such a bad movie. I rented this movie expecting it to be halfway decent considering the reviews that were given. The acting is horrible and the scenes are drawn out in most cases. I was severly dissapointed by this movie, and I generally love all movies (hell i still watch battlefield earth). This is one of the worst movies i have ever seen, still its not bad compared to the horror of "The Pledge". 1/5
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Aug 16, 2004 07:43
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I loved this movie. I'm surprised it's getting all these bad reviews. It has great character development. First we are introduced to a group of Asians. The 'American' portrayal of Asians is evident as we see them applying to Harvard, Stanford, etc. But then we see, that there is more than meets the eye as they shoplift, drugs, etc. It makes us think about how different people can really be. By the way, I'm pretty sure this movie was based on something similar that happened in real life.
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Aug 16, 2004 23:40
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I really like this movie. Not a life-changing movie or anything, but very good nonetheless. I didn't see it so much as a portrayal of asian culture, but of Southern California teenage culture that featured asian kids. Really, if you're going in looking for a thesis on race in America you're not going to like it. There wasn't anything that really stood out but most of what was in there was pretty good. The plot was interesting and kept me guessing. I also really like the character development, it really fleshed out the characters. The direction was good though not exactly Oscar calibre and the acting ranged for really good (the Virgil character) to passable (the Stephanie character). The end really tied it together for me, too. After watching these character develop all movie it finally came to a head. A 4.5 from me.
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Aug 19, 2004 05:35
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just finished watching this for the second time. i'd say that i enjoyed it more the second time than the first, strangely. the acting was pretty mediocre, i thought. virgil was so loving annoying and obnoxious, he's like an asian Farva in high school; except the movie isn't a comedy. the malfunctioned love story was weak, but i liked the ending except for the final scene in the girls audi where they drive off into the suburban sunset. virgil killing himself wasn't expected, and the scene in the hospital was one of the best of the movie, imo. overall: 3/5
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Oct 11, 2004 05:10
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I saw the movie when it was released in Boston, and bought it on dvd because I liked it so much. The movie is in fact loosely based on the Stuart Tay murder (an orange county high school student). I actually did the research after seeing the movie, and feel that it was pretty accurate even though the director didn't intend on it being that way (I think he's covering up for lack of an original idea). Despite this shortcoming, the movie is definitely worth watching. The selling point is that it's something most people can relate to; people who went to or are currently in school I hope.
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Oct 11, 2004 22:58
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