I know it's my duty as an Asian-American right now to support Asian-Americans in films, but this movie was not that good. I won't say it sucked. It wasn't that good. But I supported it; I paid my $7.00 or $9.00 or whatever movie tickets are going for these days. It seems, in a backlash against decades (centuries?) of stereotyping, as American-born Asians, we feel the need to avoid
any confrontation with racial identity. We've gone from one extreme to another--from the
Joy Luck Club's hyper-awareness and a life centered around cultural conflict (particularly with parents) and badly faked Asian accents to
BLT hypo-awareness and a life without any parents, without any confrontation with identity issues. My hope is that some day there will be so many Asian-American films that some will be hyper-aware, some hypo-aware, and many in between in all areas of the spectrum. In the meantime, this is the best we have. Unconvincing motivation for murder, unconvincing crush on cheerleader (she's
not that hot, really), and kind of a meaningless plot. So, what does this movie have going for it? Well, novelty factor, for one--Asian-Americans love seeing people who look like them... finally! And white people must be bored of looking at themselves and African-Americans for so long, right? Plus, there are some nice, funny touches and good editing between scenes... some scenes end in unexpected and refreshing places, where you'd think some cliché ending would appear, but it doesn't.
--A.Y.