Better Luck Tomorrow: The seedier side of the model minority
Written: Apr 12 '03
Product Rating:
Pros: A Roaring Asian-American male voice. A penetrating look at stereotypes. A compelling story.
Cons: Still, very much a story of stereotypes. The themes were somewhat shallow and simpleminded.
The Bottom Line: Well-constructed, but not terribly deep, Better Luck Tomorrow is still a good movie. More importantly, it is a milestone for the male Asian American voice in popular culture.
Apparently, the place to see or be seen if you were Asian-American in the Bay Area on Friday night was the opening of Better Luck Tomorrow a film by newcomer Justin Lin that has caused somewhat of a stir. I have in a previous review [1] lamented the lack of an Asian-American male voice in contemporary pop-culture, with the exception of the martial arts stories, and even so, most of those are from China. It is sad when our most visible face is the earnest but pathetic efforts of Star Trek’s Garret Wang. Thus though trailers and buzz for this movie failed to excite me, I felt obligated out of solidarity to attend.
Better Luck Tomorrow filled a few column inches and piqued a bit of a stir among Asian Americans when after being nominated for the Grand Jury award at Sundance, it was picked up for distribution by MTV films (a distributor with a select and varied track record including Election and Jackas-: the Movie). The controversy arose because it supposedly did not portray Asian-Americans in the best light, and that as an underrepresented minority [2], we have a duty to look perfect in the eyes of outsiders. Ha!
The line outside the theater, the nearly entirely Asian crowd, the fact that I randomly bumped into four separate social circles of friends at the showing, highlighted the drawing power of this film.
The movie is about a group of Southern Californian (So Cal) Asian-American over achievers who get caught up in their ego and ambition and adopt a high risk second life of crime.
Primarily, this movie is about stereotypes, and hence I can understand the outrage. On the surface, they are the model minority. For example, Ben (Perry Shen) the main character, is perpetually learning a new vocabulary word a day for the SATs despite already scoring a 1540, he is the employee of the month at his after school job, a member of nearly every club in school, a Spanish translator at the local hospital, and part of the national champion Academic Decathlon team. (Despite the blatant stereotypes, it is all so true. He’d probably have practically the same college application as mine.)
They are constantly viewed as the bookish nerds more fitting in the library rather than at the party. Yet behind it all, there is a seedier underbelly. And at this point, a whole other set of stereotypes are evoked. That of the Chinese mafia, the story of the Triad in America has been persistent since the Chinese first came to California. Beneath it all, these overachieving kids thrill to illicit pleasures, where their brains and prowess are diverted to illegal pursuits. This would be a movie that has been made a million times, except that the role normally played by pampered white prep school boys is instead replaced by earnest hardworking Asian-Americans kids, thus making for a far more sympathetic group, and also establishing the central tension that drives the story.
The themes progress in a largely clear and uncluttered fashion. The imagery and symbolism are artfully used but typically none too subtle. The tension builds, steadily and inexorably, to what can best be described as the best ending possible that doesn’t pis- anybody off. Though, like in Adaptation while you understand why they did it, and you understand that it was fully consistent with the movie’s themes, you are still left feeling vaguely unsatisfied.
As for the production details, the film looked fairly professional, given that its budget consisted of ten credit cards, as one of the stars shared, in his special appearance before the screening. It is an example of the amazing possibilities of today’s digital age. The lighting felt a bit amateurish at times, though still light years better than that of British television dramas. The actors were believable, each with a bit of film experience, though this is the first major part for nearly all of them. The cinematographer had an affinity for extreme close ups, which left little room for error. Combined with a hip musical soundtrack, the pieces were largely well done.
As for the concerns of those who did not want the movie released, I somewhat understand. It was a movie that while trying to break stereotypes, played into them. However, it is also fundamentally an American story. Though the main characters were somewhat not fully integrated in their high school, they could not possibly belong anywhere else. It was their home, and that was always accepted.
All in all, Better Luck Tomorrow was a well-constructed though not terribly deep movie. It had simple themes though it dealt well with moral ambiguity. As a film, it is worth watching. As a key piece in the advancement of the male Asian-American voice in pop culture, it is a milestone. That bumps up my rating of the movie up a star and up a grade. Though given the number of Asian-American personal acquaintances of mine who are starting to make their way up in the film industry, it certainly won’t stop here.
Final grade: A-
_________________________
[1] Barbarians are Coming by David Wong Louie
http://www.epinions.com/content_20974505604
[2] Though I feel the voice of Asian American men is rare, I feel in terms of visibility, Asian-Americans are over-represented. If you recall that Asians account for only about 1 in 30 of the U.S. population, the fact that you see any at all on television is remarkable. The fact that they are quite common, especially among newscasters, but also in most commercials, is often unappreciated.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.