Baby Steps

So it's a very poorly acted film with the word "okay" being used at the end of every sentence. The plot to have a baby by surrogacy takes them all over the world as if money is no problem, and eventually they end up with a child after a very long and confusing path. Interspersed with this is the bucking of traditions, cultural misunderstanding, and an eventual happy ending. I'm always wary when the person who stars in films like this, is also the writer and director. It's all just a bit too much and the result is a very badly produced, directed and acted story that seems to be cobbled together and a bit far-fetched.

Coming to iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play August 15, 2017, Oscar-winning producer Li-Kong Hsu ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") and Stephen Israel ("Swimming With Sharks," "G.B.F.") present the Taiwanese-American LGBT indie film about international surrogacy, interracial gay relationships, and the need for mommy's love. Yea, I said all that in one breathe! Danny (director, writer, star) Barney Cheng ("Hollywood Endings" 2002) lives with his somewhat live-in boyfriend Tate (the handsome Michael Adam Hamilton -"The Ten Year Plan" 2014) miles from his very traditional Taiwanese mom Grace (Ya-Lei Kuei - "The Wedding Banquet" 1993). With Danny being gay, and his brother (Patrick Pei-hsu Lee) bucking stereotypes, Grace worries she'll never see grandkids. When Danny decides it's time to start a family, Grace hops on a plane to meet his wife and start planning for the baby. Over the next 1 3/4 hours we watch as Danny struggles to come clean about his relationship, as he works through the surrogacy process at home (with family friend Love Fang) and abroad, and deals with intrusive mom. As a direct digital release, and if the film focusing on the LGBT community, "Baby Steps" should find appeal. However, as presented, the story is long winded, at times confusing and the overall direction is a bit stagy. While all the actors do a nice job with what they are given, dialogue tends to be cumbersome and some characters inclusion aren't needed to move the story forward. With this being Cheng's directing debut, along with writing and staring in the film, for a first time endeavor it was too much. Thus, the films short comings rest on his shoulders.