Day: July 26, 2012

LFM Reviews Shanghai Calling @ The 2012 Asian American International Film Festival

By Joe Bendel. Go-getting corporate attorney Sam Chao is used to doing things his way. So is China. China’s bigger. Temporarily posted to the go-go city on the East China Sea, Chao is in for a steady diet of culture clashes in director-screenwriter Daniel Hsia’s Shanghai Calling, the 2012 Asian American International Film Festival’s opening night film, produced by this year’s Asian American Media Award recipient, Janet Yang.

Chao is not thrilled with his new assignment, but it is clear the partnership he covets depends on his performance opening the Shanghai office. His firm has come to China because that is where their most important client, eccentric industrialist Marcus Groff, has relocated. Never really in touch with his Chinese heritage, Chao does his level best to offend all his new colleagues as quickly as possible, particularly his assistant Fang Fang and his expat relocation specialist, Amanda Wilson. Unfortunately, Chao is going to need their help when makes a hash of Groff’s latest deal.

For reasons that remain elusive, Fang Fang has eyes for the boss, whereas Chao finds himself attracted to Wilson. That would also seem to be an odd choice on his part, but it fits with Chao’s cultural identity. He is the whitest guy in the room, especially compared to Wilson and expat business community leader Donald Cafferty, the “Mayor of Americatown.”

Hsia’s screenplay is quite astute observing the dynamics of the American business community in Shanghai, contrasting the old school old guard, represented by Cafferty, with the yuppie upstarts. It definitely feels like Calling reflects an insider’s perspective. However, the vibe of the romantic subplots are a bit too Gary Marshall (even the poster looks a bit reminiscent of New Year’s Eve). At least Hsia keeps the cast of characters manageable.

Daniel Henney (geek-famous as Agent Zero in X-Men Origins: Wolverine) maintains an easy likability, even when he is cruising for his ego bruising. Likewise, Eliza Coupe is like a cross between vintage Meg Ryan and Bonnie Hunt as Wilson, the harried single mother. However, some of the brightest lights are found in the supporting cast. In what could have easily been a shticky caricature, Bill Paxton brings out the wit and humanity of “Mayor” Cafferty. Not just window dressing, Zhu Zhu (of the Chinese remake of What Women Want) plays Fang Fang with real spirit and sensitivity, while Geng Le has a nice understated nerd charisma as Awesome Wang, a journalist-fixer often hired by the expats.

Clearly, Calling is not interested in muckraking. When Chao crashes the factory bootlegging Groff’s revolutionary cell-phone, it looks nothing like the Foxconn NPR describes. Nor does the film have anything to say about China’s internet freedoms, or lack thereof. That might limit its documentary value, but it is rather pleasant as an East-meets-West courtship (of both the personal and professional varieties). Though becoming more common, such American-Chinese co-productions still must present challenges (indeed, such is the basic premise of the film), so 2012 honoree Yang’s contributions as producer are surely considerable. Recommended for those who enjoy light cross-cultural rom-coms, Shanghai Calling screened last night as part of the 2012 AAIFF’s opening gala and also on Saturday (7/28), but both showings are sold out, so good luck queuing stand-by.

Posted on July 26th, 2012 at 9:49am.

Danes Behaving Badly: LFM Reviews Klown

From "Klown."

By Joe Bendel. At last, the Dogme Hangover is here, via Denmark, where they prefer their humor raw and black. Even if you wanted to, you are not likely to see a raunchier film in an art-house theater this year than Mikkel Nørgaard’s good-taste defying Klown, which opens this Friday in New York.

The feature film follow-up to the successful Danish television show (just like Sex and the City, in this one limited respect), Klown picks up with comedians Frank Hvam and Casper Christensen playing crude, self-absorbed versions of themselves. The lads are about to embark on a canoe trip that Christensen envisions as a smorgasbord of cheap illicit sex, but Hvam has other issues on his mind.

After doing something unspeakably heinous (think the “styling mousse” scene in Something About Mary raised to the power of ten), Hvam’s pregnant girlfriend starts questioning his potential as a father.  Naturally, he responds by kidnapping her socially awkward twelve year-old nephew Bo to burnish his paternal cred on their tour of debauchery. (Actually, Christensen uses a more colorful word than “debauchery,” which you can probably guess.)

Looking like a taller, slightly less pear-shaped Drew Carey, Hvam is basically a decidedly blue Costello, while the wiry Christensen is a real horndog of an Abbott. While they have a good bantering rhythm, the fundamental essence of their humor is their willingness to go “there,” as in you can’t believe they just went there. Based on the movie version of Klown, it seems like no joke is too naughty for them, but consistency can be an issue.

From "Klown."

By the way, Klown is absolutely not for children. The fact that a minor like Marcuz Jess Petersen appears as Bo might be grounds for prosecution in a few jurisdictions, especially given the questionable taste of some of his scenes. Good luck to him at school now that this is out there. Yet, it is Christensen and particularly Hvam who always suffer the worst humiliations.

In a bizarre, tripped-out way, Klown could be interpreted as a pro-life movie, because Hvam goes to ridiculous lengths to convince his girlfriend not to abort their unborn baby. Nonetheless, it is impossible to imagine the Church endorsing it any time soon, or GLAAD for that matter. While it is a bit slow out of the blocks and Nørgaard’s approach lacks breakneck energy, there are some genuinely huge laughs to be found down the stretch. Bracing in its tasteless outrageousness, Klown is recommended for those who rather enjoy being shocked and are weary of the phony uplift of Will Farrell-Judd Apatow Hollywood vehicles. Have no fear of that when Klown opens this Friday (7/27) in New York at the Village East.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on July 26th, 2012 at 9:51am.

LFM Reviews Deranged

By Joe Bendel. For a slacker-copper, the good news is his latest dodgy stock recommendation appears to be panning out. The bad news is pretty much everything else. A pandemic is sweeping Korea and the pharmaceutical company he was tipped to may be somehow involved in Park Jung-woo’s Deranged (trailer here), which opens this Friday in select cities.

Thanks to Jae-pil’s dubious stock picks, his beleaguered brother Jae-hyeok found himself deep in debt, with a wife and two children to support. Once a promising medical researcher, he now kowtows to doctors on behalf of Joa Pharm, an industry bottom-feeder. Things are bad for the brothers and they will quickly get worse when Jae-pil investigates one of the first victims of a mutated parasite. At first, it stimulates the appetite, but hosts never gain weight. They become increasingly thirsty, eventually feeling compelled to submerse themselves in water, at which point the parasites burst out Alien-style, leaving a desiccated husk behind. It is not a pleasant way to go, but pandemics never are.

As the scope of the epidemic becomes apparent, Jae-hyoek’s family starts showing symptoms of contamination. Again, there is some good news. A consumer drug evidently fights off the parasitic agents. It is even one of his company’s products, but they recently discontinued production due to low demand.

From "Deranged."

As Jae-hyeok desperately scours the black market for the suspiciously scarce pills, Jae-pil peels away layers of the nasty corporate conspiracy. Indeed, Deranged suffers from a rather pronounced case of Big Pharma-derangement syndrome. Yet, in a way, it serves as a reminder that the pharmaceutical industry produces products that save lives, whereas politicians do not produce anything at all of lasting value.

Nevertheless, Deranged is an awfully darn scary depiction of the mob mentality in full force. It is not pretty to witness. In fact, it takes on classically tragic proportions when each time Jae-hyeok tries to act decent and compassionately, the irrational rabble only further stymies his efforts to save his wife and children.

As the frantic Jae-hyeok, Kim Myung-min is convincingly guilt-ridden and distraught. Yet, it is former pop idol Kim Dong-wan who really commands the screen as the slightly roguish Jae-pil. Unfortunately, former Miss Korea and current vegan cooking show host Honey Lee (a.k.a. Lee Ha-nui) does not get to do much more than look concerned as Yun-joo, Jae-hyeok’s former colleague and Jae-pil’s beleaguered lover. However, Lee Hyeong-cheol totally perfects evil smugness as Joa CEO Jason Lee.

Slickly shot by cinematographer Ki Se-hoon, Deranged shrewdly avoids the gruesome in favor of the more horrifically human. Despite the not so occasional soap-boxing, it is a rather tight, character-driven outbreak thriller. Recommended for those who can easily overlook its anti-corporate bias, Deranged opens this Friday (7/27) at the CGV Cinemas in Los Angeles, the AMC Cupertino in the Bay Area, and the AMC in Ridgefield Park, NJ, sort of near New York.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on July 26th, 2012 at 9:48am.