Knockin’ on Hollywood’s door
By Paul Mendoza
April 5, 2003 9:00 p.m.
When Justin Lin searched for talent for his anticipated debut
feature, “Better Luck Tomorrow,” it was not the acting
that dismayed him.
“When we were casting, I popped in Jason Tobin’s
(the character Virgil) audition reel, and it was six scenes in a
row of him in these big movies and sitcoms, but it was all just him
delivering Chinese food,” Lin said. “It was really
disturbing to me.”
Therein lies one of the issues on which “Better Luck
Tomorrow” attempts to shed light. Not only does the film
grapple with current perceptions of Asian Americans in the mass
media, but it also highlights the hardships that minority actors
face today. “Better Luck Tomorrow” provides an
opportunity for the young Asian American acting community to show
their capabilities.
When Justin Lin first shopped “Better Luck Tomorrow”
around for funding, he found many people had trouble with the
predominantly Asian American cast.
“I remember we were taking (the script) out, people were
like, “˜We love the script, but can you change them to
Caucasian characters? I know Macaulay Culkin; can he be the
lead?'” he said. “But as a filmmaker, I had to
make a decision to say, “˜No. This is the film we want to
make.'”
Parry Shen, who played Ben, found this opportunity so valuable
he was willing to work for free at a very critical time.
“This film was shot during pilot season, when most actors
make all their money,” Shen said. “I was willing to
forego that and do this movie for free because this role was
something I’d never seen before. My agents were cursing me
out at the time, but after they saw the film at Sundance, they
apologized.”
John Cho, Steve in the movie, best known for coining the term
“milf” in “American Pie,” found the
complexities of the characters in “Better Luck
Tomorrow” very appealing.
“These characters are specifically Asian American, but
it’s just one component of their identity,” he said.
“They were young, they lived in Orange County, they were men
or women … and all these characters are deeply, deeply
flawed.”
Much of the controversy surrounding “Better Luck
Tomorrow” focuses upon these flaws. The characters engage in
casual sex and violence, and while the cast says some of it is hard
to watch, Cho asserts that this is a vast improvement over the
current one-dimensional portrayals of Asian Americans.
“There’s been a strange reaction to the bucktooth
houseboy,” said Cho. “Now we have perfect people on
television all the time, and that’s just as empty. It’s
flaws that make you want to follow the characters’
stories.”
“Better Luck Tomorrow” has already earned high marks
from critics like Roger Ebert and Elvis Mitchell and made a
successful run of the film festival circuit, leading to its
acquisition by MTV films. However, like any other film, it will be
held to the ruthless economic standards that make it so difficult
for independent films to be released in the first place.
“We’ll find out by Sunday (April 13, when box office
results come in) whether we’ll move on or we’ll be
gone,” said Lin. “I’m surprised how any
independent film could be a success because you’re proving
yourself every weekend. They expect you to perform 500 times better
than the average movie, and it could be gone within a week or two
weeks.”
Hollywood’s wait-and-see approach to “Better Luck
Tomorrow” has yet to yield positive results for its cast of
young actors. Shen’s most recent job had him playing another
Chinese food delivery boy on a bike. This time, though, he
didn’t have to use broken English; his character spoke
Spanish.
The lack of diverse and challenging roles for minorities remains
an issue in the industry, but Cho is encouraged by the potential
success of “Better Luck Tomorrow” and hopes that
potential artists are not discouraged.
“I meet so many Asian American kids who ask me, “˜How
do your parents feel about you going into acting?'” he
said. “What it tells me is there’s a lot of Asian
American kids who are interested in a career in the arts and not
doing it. What I would say to an Asian American actor or anyone in
the arts for that matter is to not step on your own head, to go for
it.”
