Shanghai Calling

SHANGHAI CALLING may not light any fires of excitement in filmdom but it is a successful dual country effort to quash some misconceptions about China and the US and the news we hear daily. And if it were for that alone it would be worth an evening's outing, but graced by a really top notch cast of fresh actors not well known - yet - it becomes a tender little romp set in the spectacular beauty of Shanghai! The story is a predictable one:a young handsome Chinese American Lawyer (a very fine young actor hunk Daniel Henney) who was born in America and speaks no Chinese at all is sent by his major law firm in New York to gain access into the big business happening in Shanghai - home of the manufacturers who make everything used in this country it seems! Once in China he encounters Chinese customs of which he is ignorant, a language he does not understand, an ex-pat mayor of Americatown (Bill Paxton), a beautiful single mom (Eliza Coupe, another one to watch) who has moved to China to give her daughter a new life and is in charge of finding homes for new businessmen, a gorgeous assistant (Zhu Zhu)who falls for him, and a crazy ex-pat (Alan Ruck)who teaches English as a sideline to womanizing. When our young lawyer seems to fail at everything he intends to do he engages a fix-it guy humorously called Awesome Wang (Geng Le) and gradually our lawyer finds a new outlook on his cultural heritage, rights some wrongs, and falls in love.

Daniel Hsia directs and keeps the momentum going throughout film - even when relying on the ubiquitous chase scenes (here on bicycles). It is a fine introduction to coexistence between the new China and the somewhat backwards USA! Grady Harp

There are some laugh out loud jokes and meaningful insights about Asian American expat in China. The romance isn't terribly convincing. The legal manufacturing tussle is funny then fairly interesting but the resolution seems hasty. The cast is pretty good. Daniel Henney mumbles a bit but he is suited to the role even though he isn't full Asian. Okay watch if you don't expect a lot.

I like this movie. I don't love it, I don't hate, I don't regret watching it, but I don't really remember it until I watch it the next time. That's the best I can tell you, and I think that's unfortunate because with the stars in the movie, the location, the cinematography, and the score, it should have been so much more. But it's slightly above average and that's frustrating.

First off, the story is the movie's biggest fault. There's just so little stakes-- nobody is living or dying. It's just very inconvenient for all those involved. It draaaagggs the movie down so much because every time we are taken away from a character moment or a comedic scene to focus on the plot, the movie gets boring. Secondly, the movie foremost wants to be a travelogue that will get you to movie to Shanghai. Since it doesn't accomplish the first thing very well, it doesn't accomplish the second thing very well either. If they had just tried to tell a compelling story instead of forcefully hinting at the charm of Shanghai, maybe it would have been more effective.

So, why did I like it then? Everything else is pretty stellar. The comedy writing is great. There's a lot of lines ("DOES ANYBODY HERE UNDERSTAND THIS GUY?") that are funny and a lot of character interactions ("Pretty Chinese girl!") that land very well. Like I said, the cinematography is nice. Shanghai is beautiful and the landscape photography really makes it pop. THE ACTORS. Daniel Henney is so charming and likable even when he is doing bad, unethical things. Eliza and Zhu Zhu are great as the "love interests" and bring a lot out of the secondary characters. Bill Paxton is a step down from his best films, but he has some general charm too.

Whenever we're given a moment to sit with the characters, the movie lands. It's just a shame that the story is so subpar. I heard through the grapevine that the movie was at one time considered as TV show, and I think that would have been a way better option since having a compelling narrative would not be as important. Instead, it kinda just serves as a nice DVD that sits on my shelf for whenever some friends come over, and we don't wanna go out.

An amazing movie beautifully directed and even more effectively presented by all the actors. The story is in itself groundbreaking and plus the way of representing the story added more to the movie. A great for one time watch. A worth watching one for sure. You will not be disappointed.

I watched this on the plane returning to California from Shanghai and it was spot on right about the "expats" (who never think of themselves as carpetbaggers or immigrants). I was in Shanghai to teach an MBA course on business ethics and this film sent exactly the right message on that very topic. Instead of going to a new country to skim the cream in whatever unscrupulous way one can get away with, why not try being a model for others on how to succeed by doing the right thing.

I thought Shanghai's Bund itself was the star of the show, and rightly so, and the leads are both rising stars to watch. The editing could have had less abrupt resolutions, though. A bit too pat for Sam to meet a philosophical Chinese guy in a (brazen advert) Costa Coffee who leads him to enlightenment in a coffee bean.

However, the comedic moments are genuinely hilarious!