Rating: Not Rated
Movie Release Date: N/A
DVD Release Date: October 9, 2007
Plot 411: A man returns to the motherland and learns to like who he is.
Review: This was an odd film because it tried to do so much with so little. The main character, Liam (Ken Leung), is a Chinese American trying to make it in Hollywood. He is rather limited in his opinions about his culture and heritage. He doesn't appreciate it and actually battles against it, thus conforming to society's "white is right" mantra. Despite being cognizant of how messed up this is, he continues to struggle against society's whacked perceptions and his own skewed viewpoints. While returning home from an unsuccessful audition, Liam meets Adelaide (Hayden Panettiere), a high schools student. They quickly bond and he begins to wrestle with his feelings for her despite her youth. Before things can get sorted out, he goes to Shanghai to claim a house his grandmother left him. Here, he finally discovers what it is like to be Chinese and begins to embrace his culture. I just want to say that if Panettiere hasn't gotten on your last nerve yet, she will in this movie. This movie is also too ambitious for what it's trying to say. Questions of identity, racial stereotypes, societal pressures and views on love are all pertinent to the plot of this film but are just too heavy for this medium. Maybe with a stronger plot and better actors, these themes could be more fully explored. Instead we get some ramshackled attempt at a meaningful film. Also in this film is Kelly Hu, James Hong and Joel Moore.
Movie Release Date: N/A
DVD Release Date: October 9, 2007
Plot 411: A man returns to the motherland and learns to like who he is.
Review: This was an odd film because it tried to do so much with so little. The main character, Liam (Ken Leung), is a Chinese American trying to make it in Hollywood. He is rather limited in his opinions about his culture and heritage. He doesn't appreciate it and actually battles against it, thus conforming to society's "white is right" mantra. Despite being cognizant of how messed up this is, he continues to struggle against society's whacked perceptions and his own skewed viewpoints. While returning home from an unsuccessful audition, Liam meets Adelaide (Hayden Panettiere), a high schools student. They quickly bond and he begins to wrestle with his feelings for her despite her youth. Before things can get sorted out, he goes to Shanghai to claim a house his grandmother left him. Here, he finally discovers what it is like to be Chinese and begins to embrace his culture. I just want to say that if Panettiere hasn't gotten on your last nerve yet, she will in this movie. This movie is also too ambitious for what it's trying to say. Questions of identity, racial stereotypes, societal pressures and views on love are all pertinent to the plot of this film but are just too heavy for this medium. Maybe with a stronger plot and better actors, these themes could be more fully explored. Instead we get some ramshackled attempt at a meaningful film. Also in this film is Kelly Hu, James Hong and Joel Moore.
Watch It: If maybe you yourself are rebelling against your own Asian-ness?
Skip It: At all costs because it's pretty lame.
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