Review: Better Luck Tomorrow is… believe it or not, a really well made movie directed by Justin Lin. What would typically be just another teenage angst coming of age movie, the subject matter in the film gives it an entirely different end result that dares to break the mold of what it is to be an Asian American. This isn’t just a movie revolving around the typical formula of boy meets girl; guy loses girl, guy and girl make up and everything’s alright. Lin does a good job at portraying this group of high school kids who are just too smart for their own good. To some, Better Luck Tomorrow has been given the violent depiction of Asians living in suburbia and rejected by many due to its graphic nature. But really, it isn’t about the violence, it’s about the breakdown of barriers and how they are depicted as any other person.

The characters in this movie comprise of Ben (Perry Shen), Virgil (Jason Tobin), Han (Sung Lang), Derek (Roger Fan), Steve (John Cho), and finally Stephanie (Karin Anna Cheung). The most notable performance is from that of Perry Shen who plays the part of the innocent, yet thirsting for adventure brainiac to almost near perfection. Through the course of the movie, you see his character evolve mentally and physically. His character’s innocence and frustration is further accented with the constant furrowing of his eyebrows and his puppy dog eyes expressions. At the core of his own self, all he really wants to do is get a basketball scholarship, graduate, and go to a four year college. All his hopes and aspirations seemingly come crashing down when he meets Derek. Derek looks like the very epitome of the word “dork;” he’s the president of the math club, the chess club, and a variety of other extracurricular school activities. Beneath it all however, Derek’s really a completely different person, and that’s not meant to be a compliment either. He coerces Ben into providing cheat sheets in exchange for cash, and eventually this action becomes second nature to Ben. From here on, the other characters: “Virgil, Han, Steve, and Stephanie” begin to become pivotal characters in the story.

Each and every character, with the exception of Stephanie, is depicted as a straight A student at first, but with the introduction of money and boredom into their lives, they all take a turn for the worse. Their day in, and day out lives begin to bore them. We watch in silence as drugs, alcohol and sex lead them down a spiraling staircase of addiction and violence. “Everyone needs a wake-up call” is the theme adopted the boys when they meet Stephanie’s wealthy boyfriend, Steve. Through a sloppy plan devised by Derek the “mastermind,” Ben and company are caught up in an unforeseen consequence of their actions. By the end of the movie, everything that is done, comes full circle and we’re treated to a happy ending in which everyone gets off scott-free. In a way, I guess that’s good, because generally, happy endings are easier to digest and leave the movie theatre with. In my opinion however, I would’ve preferred to have a tragic ending. In doing so, an ending of this type would reinforce the overall message of the film and emphasize living a straight life over a crooked life.

Editing and cinematography as demonstrated in the movie are some of the high points of the movie, as they are done very well. Each cut is done seamlessly enough to not cause the audience to be lost from one transition to another. Cinematography is also excellent with the use of some rather pleasant camera angles, pans and close-ups. A part that I particularly enjoyed was near the end where Ben is sitting on a bench as everyone walks around him as the camera speeds along. During this segment, we are treated to an inaudible commentary on what has become of the other central characters as the movie edits back and forth between each person. We see the changes, if any, each has gone through, and where they are headed in life after this ordeal. This was a very well done portion of the film, and I think it’s perfect the way it’s executed.

Better Luck Tomorrow is a movie that has generated much hype and controversy due to its subject matter. But the fact of the matter is that, the movie really isn’t all that “controversial” as it’s made out to be. It’s just a simple movie about teenagers getting into trouble, facing up to their actions and moving on with their lives. The only reason why this movie would be even considered remotely controversial is the fact that Better Luck Tomorrow is a movie starring Asians about Asians. Many have taken insult and offense to this movie; some saying “How could you make a movie that was so denigrating to your race?” At a Sundance Film festival screening, movie critic Roger Ebert stood up in defense of the movie shouting, “You wouldn’t say that to a White filmmaker!” I haven’t yet heard such truer words than that in defense of this movie, but I will attempt to shed some light on this.

I believe that Asians are afraid to show a new side to them; we are afraid to show that we are not just doctors, lawyers, and engineers. Really, why would a movie genre that has been done many times over in Hollywood make a difference now when the characters presented as Asian. Despite pushing for bigger and different roles from the stigma of what generally Asians are played as, when this movie comes along and dares to break the mold of traditional Asian characters in movies, it is met with opposition and disgust. That’s exactly what Director Justin Lin was attempting to do, was make a movie to break the stereotype! Is it really hard to accept images of Asians doing drugs, cheating, killing? I wouldn’t say so, because Asians have been playing those characters since as early as the 60’s, and even Hong Kong and Japanese films. They’ve played parts ranging from Yakuza, Triad, gamblers, and drug dealers. Is it because the characters of Ben, Han, Virgil, Derek and Steve are still in high school? Maybe it’s because they’re straight A students with a bad side? I suppose Asians in general don’t want to add more to their already stereotype image of “Asians are all good at math,” or “You’re smart because you’re Asian.”