Shanghai Miss

Last night i watched david ren's "shanghai kiss" at the imaginasian theatre. i have been hearing about this movie for years, but as with all asian american films i approach it with trepidation. in theory, i believe that there is validity in the idea of supporting asian american filmmakers, but at the same i do not believe in elevating bad art just because the creator looks like me. Personally, i think the best way to support asian american film is to push good filmmakers no matter their subject matter, and to ignore the bad ones. the goal should be to be the best filmaker, not the best asian american filmmaker. So, in the case of first time filmmakers, you never know what youre going to get.

the film, despite the ridiculous cover art of the dvd, is not about hayden panetierre, but in fact is centered around liam liu, played by ken leung. Ken Leung's face has been everywhere, but his most high profile roles have been in xmen3 and a celebrated role on an episode of the sopranos. but i first noticed him in spike lee's forgotten "sucka free city" a slightly muddled tv movie he made as a pilot for showtime i believe. he really shines in this movie. half of it is the writing, which is admittedly sharp in its dialogue. the problems arise however in plot and structure. the story unfolds for the most part unfussily, but often in inelegant directions, so its a mixed bag. i could see what mr ren was trying to say and do in his movie, but wished he had the maturity or the wisdom to express them more deftly. also, outside of ken leung's role, all the other characters are paper thin.

again, i think alot of that boils down to writer/director david ren's age and inexperience, as it is revealed that hes was 19-21 during the making of this film, so its clear that the character with any sense of reality was the one who resembled him most. however, the most disturbing and distracting part of the film is the love story between hayden panetierre's character and ken leungs, in that her character is a 16 year old and his is pushing 30. this kind of relationship was handled much more deftly in woody allen's "manhattan" between woody's character and mariel hemmingway's. but the directors decision to write hayden panetierre's character as having cutesy and infantile affectations did nothing to help cover up the creep factor in their relationship. furthermore, i think one of the fundamentals of handling a romance in movies is to make the romantic leads attractive in any way to the audience, and i think the only people who would be attracted to hayden panetierre in this movie are 16 year olds and pedophiles. and since ken leung's chracter is not 16, well then what can you say....

kelly hu however, was quite good in the movie sporting a believeable beijinger accent, but still, her stunning looks clearly place her as an american no matter how fobby you try and deck her out. she did however put in a stellar effort and shows that she is at least more versatile actor than lucy liu, which i know is not saying much...

also not to be overlooked is the asian american blogosphere's current obsession with having asian american male leads, which is fine, but i dont want that to be the main goal of a movie. in a way thats downright embarassing because movies are the province of fantasy and idealised situations, and if the only way i can see a brother hookin up is through some sad dudes power fantasy, then no thanks. thankfully this isnt the case, and the relationships with both white and asian women are handled matter of factly with not alot of time spent on the different races of the love interests, but instead more on the age differences or cultural differences, as in the case of ken and kellys romance.

but at the end of the day, i cant say this is a wholly successful movie, but it is what it is, the work of a budding young director, who although defintiely has a facility with dialogue and actors, needs more life experience to tell a story with wisdom. it seems perfectly at home going straight to dvd, as i am not sure it deserved a theatrical release. get it here if youre so inclined.