- Shortcomings
- Directed by Randall Park
- Written by Adrian Tomine
- Starring Justin H. Min, Sherry Cola and Debby Ryan
- Classification: 14A; 92 minutes
- Opens in select theatres Aug. 4
This is not Crazy Rich Asians. Nope, sorry.
If you’re looking for romantic fireworks, exotic locales and a feel-good summer hit, you’ve come to the wrong place. In search of awkward dates, acerbic banter and Asians behaving badly? Shortcomings won’t let you down.
These are the honest-to-goodness expectations that this dating dramedy sets for itself from the start, opening on a parody of that aforementioned 2018 blockbuster that helped launch Hollywood’s recent wave of Asian-inclusive films. As the onscreen protagonists kiss and celebrate their happy ending (played with winking gusto by Everything Everywhere All At Once’s Stephanie Hsu and Ronny Chieng who, surprise, also appeared in Crazy Rich Asians), a film-festival audience jumps to a standing ovation. All except our protagonist Ben (Justin H. Min), a classic misanthrope who real-life moviegoers – those all-in on this less-than-joyful but satisfying ride – will love to hate as much as his friends and love interests do.
Stephanie Hsu (left) as Mrs Wong and Ronny Chieng (right) as Mr Wong.Sony Pictures Classics
Shortcomings follows the ups and mostly downs of Ben, a frustrated filmmaker who’s spinning his wheels as the manager of a failing art-house theatre in Berkeley, Calif. As one of those types who loves to cite his cinematic influences (you know the ones: Eric Rohmer! Yasujiro Ozu! John Cassavetes!), he has no qualms broadcasting his likes and, mainly, his strong distastes. Loudly.
As for the faux-Crazy Rich Asians movie-within-a-movie, Ben finds himself unable to appreciate it as a milestone in representation, what with being more appalled at the “garish mainstream rom-com that glorifies the capitalistic fantasy of vindication through wealth and materialism.” This is much to the exasperation of his long-suffocating girlfriend Miko (Ally Maki), who wishes that Ben “might be able to see beyond your own snobby taste.”
Justin H. Min as Ben (left), Ally Maki as Miko (right), Timothy Simons (center) as Leon.Sony Pictures Classics
To Ben’s detriment, his overwhelming cultural pessimism is but a microcosm of his dour lust for life. And so the film’s second act takes off after Miko finally has enough and escapes to a three-month internship in New York. Ben’s obvious response: “Does everyone in Berkeley have a total hard-on for New York?” Left to bachelordom, he leans into his worst tendencies and the film’s best moments: trading pointed barbs with his equally down-and-out friend Alice (Sherry Cola) and chasing the many white manic pixie dream girls of northern California.
For some, it’s been a long wait for Shortcomings. Adapted from Adrian Tomine’s 2007 graphic novel of the same name, this tale of young, flawed Asian-Americans is considered a pioneering depiction of messy, everyday existence in under-represented communities. Back then, there weren’t many stories that tackled mixed-race dating (“You’re the one who’s into white girls!”), ethnic fetishism and racialized identity. There still aren’t many that touch on that particular holy trinity.
Justin Min as Ben (left) and Tavi Gevinson (right) as Autumn.Sony Pictures Classics
The book and its diverse cast of misfits struck a chord with comic actor and debut director Randall Park (best known as a sitcom dad on Fresh Off the Boat). In interviews prior to the strikes in Hollywood, Park said that he’s dreamed of adapting it for decades.
For fans of the source material, the translation to screen may be jarring at first. The style of Tomine, who is also known for his New Yorker magazine covers, is all studied pencil and ink and subtle facial expressions – fully realized comic worlds with no analogue. But with the framing of doorways and windows, walk and talks and medium shots that let the streetscapes seep in, Park’s thoughtful direction helps to evoke the panels and pacing of Tomine’s work.
The screenplay is written by Tomine himself, and many scenes are adapted nearly verbatim or expanded on. Race and dating, it seems, is a minefield in need of little updating. But there are some tweaks to bring his work into 2023: There’s the Crazy Rich Asians cold open, but also sarcastic nods to the Barbie-esque beauty of Margot Robbie and the dumb appeal of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (kudos to Park, who plays a recurring Marvel role as FBI Agent Jimmy Woo, for rolling with this riff).
Shortcomings could easily have been the unending equivalent of an agonizing blind date, if not for a star turn from Min. Last seen as a more saintly husband type in the Netflix series Beef, here he helps pull off the most challenging task as Ben: bringing a balance of humility to a character who needles, pokes and pushes away everyone around him.
The cast is further buoyed by Cola, the Joy Ride co-star and this summer’s MVP of comic relief, who sinks her teeth into her role as Ben’s gay best friend. And as Ben’s unfortunate love interests, Maki, Tavi Gevinson and Debby Ryan will elicit cheers as they mete out his comeuppance, one rejection at a time.
Put that all together and Shortcomings is best described as modern-day mumblecore, that low-key, talky indie genre that’s become shorthand for depictions of millennial relationship angst. Mumblecore, though, has long been criticized for telling primarily white stories with white protagonists (see HBO’s Girls or pre-Barbie Greta Gerwig). Shortcomings, then, is breaking barriers, even if it isn’t doing anything crazy like shattering box-office records.