Satan's Luau

Better Luck Tomorrow (2003): B+

BLT ... BLT ... BLT
(ed.note: actually feeling the digestive effects of my lunch here as I write this)

For our Saturday movie of choice, SheDev and I saw Better Luck Tomorrow ... after seeing it and throughout today, this movie is sticking to me so I figure I had better write about it.

The plot of the film follows the lives and interactions of six high school students ... did I say they were Asian American?

I think as a service to my four readers ... you watch the film and go geesh, where have I seen some of these faces before ... WELL, mostly in the background of other films ... acting ferns if you will ... to add color and decor to some films, I suppose ... fault of the casting of movies, not their own

I digress away from the review to bring you ... WHERE THE fROCk HAVE I SEEN THESE PEEPS BEFORE?

Ben (Parry Shen): The New Guy and Starship Troopers; and many TV roles including King of Queens, Buffy, and Party of 5

Virgil (Jason Tobin): Beverly Hills Ninja; and TV roles on Nash Bridges and King of Queens, and lots of commercial work (Zima, Sega, Levis, Coke)

Han (Sung Kang): Pearl Harbor; and on TV's NYPD Blue, Felicity and Martial Law

Daric (Roger Fan): Corky Romano

Stephanie (Karin Anna Cheung): East West Players, a talented singer

Steve, Stephanie's Boyfriend (John Cho): American Pie & AP2; American Beauty; Flintstones movie sequel; Bowfinger; and many TV roles including Charmed and Felicity

Ok, so back to the review, I guess it still is quite odd to me to see Asian faces on the silver screen in primary roles ... in other words, these actors and actresses playing leading and supporting roles instead of filling out the need for an Asian face --- or stereotypical "oriental" character (e.g., the ninja, the kung fu guy, the asexual nerd, the henchman, and the list goes on)

I suppose I should say that I have been mostly pleased with what I have seen from independent Asian American films with Asian Americans in the lead and supporting roles in the past five years or so ... Eric Koyanagi's "hundred percent" (HOLLYWOOD, this movie needs a distributor!!!) and Gene Cajayon's "The Debut" ... It always seems so unfortunate that these movies are big hits at independent film festivals ... then never get mass distribution to America at large ... or if they do get distribution like Kayo Hatta's "Picture Bride", there is no continuity in terms of seeing these AA directors continue to film and get distribution for them

Although I felt very torn about this movie after seeing it, I think it does stand for one proposition: it is not often that one sees Asian acting talent in lead roles, it is also not often that one sees an AMERICAN story told with Asian faces --- in many ways this movie is the state of the art film for the Asian American

An onscreen validation that the American experience is lived by people from Asian cultural backgrounds and BORN IN AMERICA, yes, no ACCENT ... an expression that Asian Americans have familiar, if not mundane, overstated American dreams like each and everyone else in our nation

And I look at this movie with some bittersweetness because there is a conventional wisdom that if this movie does not do well, this may be one of the few references in my lifetime where a mainstream film about American experiences was told from the unique AA perspective and played by AAs

The subject matter of the film is straightforward and at times shocking ... I know that people in the Asian critical race theory movement will want to indicate to everyone about how this movie makes the effort to paint the lives of young AAs in both a positive and negative light .... this movie takes the concept of Model Minority, bavarian pretzels it, puts it on the puree function on the blender ... but basically indicates that the lives are human lives in all their singular, flawed and pure moments

Ok, so back to the review, this movie is NOT what I expect out of an Asian American film ... but it is clear that this film has an agenda focusing on redefining portrayals of AAs on film and also challenging what the concept, largely PC-in nature, means after all these years

I had heard that when this screened at Sundance that there was a shouting match between Ebert and another critic relating to the issues of what does a positive portrayal of a AA (or any minority for that matter) character mean and whether there is a duty to always show AA characters in a positive light

I think that both sides of the issues have extremes ... whether its the Yellowsplotation Chan comedies or the get tough Jet Li/Chow Yun Fat bad martial arts mofo ... or movies like The Debut or hundred percent that are more positive and show slices of AA life and relationships

If this movie was kept totally clean with completely idealistic, "positive" archetypal characters --- it would have been aptly titled Model Minority Today, Tomorrow, Always --- a clear positive of this film is the experimentation and worthwhile endeavor of putting out AA characters that were full in their depiction and were morally complex (and hard to embrace)

It all comes back to the nature of the enterprise ... that is an AA film about living in the burbs of SoCal ... they live because they must live, they are ON, there is an American story to tell ... there is no justification for why they should be on or in this movie ... the so called living breathing experiencing 3-D American character ... this time with Asian faces ... as opposed to movies which need one-D asian faces to create the margins and fill with appropriate martial arts action, comedic moments, or a colorful background

Without disclosing too much of the plot, this movie is about growing up in America ... the suburban life of the upper middle class ... much as Malibu's Most Wanted mocked it ... this movie tries to be straight with it and show the excesses that may lie beneath the calm exteriors of these lives

When SheDev and I were talking about it last night, we came to one conclusion ... if it were whites or blacks cast in these roles, it would be another run of the mill movie in the sense that we had seen it before and that there's really no shock value in either the novel or the graphic sense of the term --- I think what we were getting at is UNIVERSAL FEEL ... this story could have been about any other group, teen suburban angst (if such exists) has no color

I was left wondering whether this movie could arouse the support of the AA community ... and honestly I'm not really sure ... if you take last night's turnout of approx 30 at the theatre I was at ... I think this movie genuinely confused the audience

Whether that was because a Hawaii audience does not appreciate the "mainland slash Kotonk/haole-fied experience" may be a reason for it ... Was it that it was just so shocking to see Asian faces in a typical American feeling movie? maybe... or maybe we in Hawaii are so desensitized to Asians not being marginalized that it comes down to ... SO WHAT? What's the big deal about this? ... maybe the Hawaii audience just wants to be entertained and see familiar aspects of their Asian lives on the screen too

Yeah, I could go into the whole schpiel about media images and what is "American beauty" and what power means ... and how AA's female or males are sexualized ... I suppose that if you really went on autopilot here in this nation watching such images ... you would really go "WASP" ... from top to bottom, including what and who you are attracted to ... values, everything

But that's a bit too deep for me .... so let me conclude my review ... this movie is so brilliant at times, and so frustrating at other points ... but I think its because this movie forced me to think of it against other movies ... you know, mainstream ones ... which is a good sign that an AA movie can be made and be relevant even when you take the AA analysis hat off ... and just real disturbing but in a entertaining way

PS. I have provided links to some multimedia for the movie that I feel gives off the right vibe of the movie ... the movie FEELS like these promos, so if you don't like the promos, you may not like the movie --- fair warning

From the Luau, I give this movie my highest rating because it is a challenging movie on many levels ... is it an American classic, no ... but will it get to you and haunt you after, yes ... and its always nice to see fresh faces in films, its my Affleck-itis acting up again ... ha



The Characters: (Requires Quicktime)

Overachiever: Likes Vocab: Pursuit of Calvin Murphy

Clown:Geek:Plays Rough

Perfect: Bored Beauty

Beauty's Boyfriend: Cycle Breaker

Silent Muscle

Valedictorian: Mr. Clubs President: Rulemaker