Shanghai Kiss

I've been following this movie since before it even started shooting and managed to see it earlier this year at the San Francisco Film Festival. Now I see it's finally getting released. When I first read about it, I thought, an Asian guy dating a white girl in a Hollywood movie?! As an Asian guy myself I hoped it was good because I was sick of people like William Hung representing us. Harold and Kumar had a romantic subplot but it wasn't really the focus of the movie and Harold is a bumbling nerdy stereotype. The problem with AA movies is that none have been really good. Better Luck Tomorrow and Saving Face was probably the best (Motel's good), but where are the sex, lies, videotapes, Reservoir Dogs, Little Miss Sunshines, The Squid and The Whales? For an AA movie to break through into the mainstream, there needs to be a film that can be considered as great as any of those. Even better, it needs to be as good as the best movies out there: godfather, Annie Hall, The Apartment. So you can tell I had high expectations.

This movie surpassed my expectations. This is the film that is "good enough" to put AA cinema into the mainstream and I hope it leads the Asian American revolution and also, raises the standards of other Asian American movies. Good is not enough Asian American filmmakers, your movies need to be great. This movie was funny, sad, romantic, beautiful, and deals will so many issues like a young man struggling with feelings for a teenage girl, alcoholism and how it creates a wall to your family, the loss of a parent at a young age, communicational gaps between 2nd generation American and his 1st generation father, what it means to be American vs Chinese, racial stereotypes in Hollywood, leading a practical, stable life vs a fulfilling life (becoming a lawyer or an artist), maturity vs immaturity, following your heart vs complying to what's socially acceptable, - and it faces all these issues in a funny way. This movie is so funny and that's what makes it so enjoyable. It's not a message movie nor is it preachy. It doesn't try to make a statement, it just tries to entertain but the message, the statement comes through subtly. I hope other Asian American filmmakers take notice. The bar has been raised.

hi, looking at the poster makes you think it might be just another teen/high school/college movie about love, friends etc. but this movie did surprise me a lot in terms of plot and made me laugh without using the f word but instead by using clever dialogs and many small scenes.

It is a movie about a troubled Asian American men (Ken) in his late twenties - a wannabe actor, without job, financially still depended on his dad, whom he cant get along with. at the same time, he gets to know a young 16 year old gorgeous (Hayden) high school girl, whom he really likes, but having the age difference in his head, his moral tells him not to take advantage of that situation. His life suddenly changes when inherited a house in shanghai and he decides moving there to find his own identity and to accept the fact he is not only amercan, but also Chinese.

like any other romance movies, the movie also starts off a little bit cheesy in the beginning, where the two main antagonists meet each other in the bus. But behind that, the movie differs a lot from the usual concept of a romance movie. The main plot is basically about a man's journey finding meaning in life, at the same time involved in a love relationship which is socially not acceptable due to the age difference. Besides the thoroughly thought dialogs, the unique plot, what I personally like most is the way Asian American man is portrayed here. He is not some math nerd, some kung fu guy, he is just some normal guy who is fun and troubled at the same time. Like you and me. This movie is definitely suitable of watching with your girlfriend/date, but it can also be enjoyed by watching alone.

i am going to order it as soon as it is available in Germany, and if you find any grammatical mistakes, you can keep it for yourself!

This movie wasn't what I was expecting at all when I sat down to watch it. It looks like they're marketing this as a light romantic comedy, which it is in a way: it's very very funny and romantic. But behind the comedy, there's layers of sadness that reminded me of Woody Allen at his best. Ken Leung's Liam might be the most complex character since Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. Here's a guy who can't really emotionally connect to anything - his family, his Chinese heritage, women, maybe the world. All he really has is his friendship with a free-spirited girl named Adelaide (Hayden P) who tries hard to get him to emotionally open up. Except she's only 16 and he can't be with her anyway. His father (Lo Pan), who he blames for his mother's death, calls him one day and tells him that his grandmother left him a house in Shanghai. So he decides to go their to sell it and make some bank.

That's the basic set up, which is conventional enough, but what is intriguing is every decision Liam makes throughout the rest of the movie. He's impulsive, impetuous, and relies solely on Al Pacino/Scarface type gut instincts. Even though he intellectualizes throughout the film, it's as if he doesn't trust himself nor his conclusions.

For example, there's a scene towards the beginning where he's drinking with a buddy of his. His buddy points out a cute girl at the bar, and Liam completely blasts her, calling her fake. Then at last call, when he's lost his buzz and the emptiness and loneliness of life has crept in, he starts to talk to this girl, whom he takes home. Later, she's lying next to him, making small talk and a tear runs down his face. It seemed shocking to me at first, but after a moment I knew exactly why he has crying. The scene was handled very delicately and very few actors could've pulled it off. This is such an interesting character that you can watch him eat a meal for an hour and not get bored.

Hayden is cute and charming. Her character is a dichotomy of maturity and playfulness, often at the same time. There's a scene at the end with her that's almost heartbreaking. J D Moore is hilarious as a writer who's fascinated by the opposite sex. I guess the weak link here is Kelly Hu, who's perfectly satisfactory, but her performance lacks depth. Also, her Chinese accent seemed to go in and out at times.

The best part of the film is the dialogue, which I guess is the thing that made me compare this to Woody Allen.

The movie is not without flaws. As mentioned: Kelly Hu's performance, the subplot with Byron Mann's character at the end (I won't spoil it) seemed contrived, some stilted dialogue by the river (or where ever they were), the scene where they first meet is slightly unbelievable (Beverly Hills teenager taking the bus?) although their relationship was developed well.

I'd say this is love or hate type movie. You will love it if you liked: Lost in Translation, Garden State, old Woody flicks, Little Miss Sunshine and other quirky indie comedies like that. Few things in the plot may not be believable for some, but I doubt anyone would say this isn't entertaining.

Before Spike Lee came around, Black male actors weren't getting the best roles - a) They were usually the first to die in any movie, b) they normally played the roles of drug dealers, gangsters, criminals, slaves, convicts, and pimps). c) Their roles were restricted to action/crime, musical, or sports-related movies.

Spike Lee changed all of that and it's because of Spike that we got to see black actors, such as Denzel, Terrence Howard, and Jamie Foxx (to name a few)get powerful Oscar-worthy roles.

To date, Asian actors are still suffering in Hollywood.

The only roles Asian actors can get in Hollywood are: a) the evil Asian-villain who gets beaten by the white hero...and the white hero saves the beautiful Asian girl from the clutches of "Dr.Fu-Manchu" b) a gangster, Viet-Cong soldier, Shaolin-Monk, Martial Arts teacher, Chinese-takeout cook/delivery-man, computer-geek, pingpong player, etc... c) anything to do with Martial Arts

It's about time that we have an Asian Spike-Lee! David Ren has stepped up to the batter's box and hit a grand slam with this one and I hope that he comes back for more!

This flick has it all...relevant themes, great movie, great cast, and great director!

Regardless of some of the stereotypical female characters, unrealistic situations (i.e. white girl picking up Asian guy on a bus), this movie explores some very real issues and important themes.

One of the reasons i think this movie has been taking a lot of flak for its characters development is its the first of its kind to have a Asian American MALE LEAD who DOESN"T fit the stereotypical molds. So obviously, lots of things are unrealistic. But lets examine why they seem unrealistic and seemingly improbable. It is because its never been portrayed.

Media defines culture. Music, movies, literature, art, these things are what defines culture, so obviously anything that happens in the world that can be attributed to any of the aforementioned mediums has credibility and realism, and anything that does not seem improbable. But we have to remember, HUMAN BEINGS write literature, create art, make music and direct movies. WE are in control of what defines us, and i think this movie does a great job in creating a NEW definition of what normal Asian Americans can be like, again it is a movie, so its hypothetical. Does anyone not watch spider man? Again the point is not about whether its realistic, because it is, i've seen it and i've been where this character's been, the emotions that are portrayed are very real, and if your not Asian American, or are not 1.5 generational Asian American, then you simply do not experience this cultural identity confusion and you probably will not understand this movie. But for those who fit the description and can identify with ken leung's character, this movie contains very real emotions, and of course we should be the ones that like this movie. it is kind of a movie about Asian Americans.