Better Luck Tomorrow

Actually, I think I like the title of this film more than the film itself. What happens to smart, rich, entitled Asian-American high school kids who start getting mixed up in crime and drugs? Things go more awry (as could probably be expected). The film got made as part of a young-promising-director's prize (which I don't remember the name of and can't find info on), and this is obvious in some of the choices Justin Lin makes for camera placement and movement (the most eye-catching is the camera revolving around three boys huddled together doing...well, I can't tell you). So, it has some interesting elements (other good bits are the dictionary entries and the slow-mo high school scenes). I felt pretty iffy about the ending, though, and since endings are so important, that diminished the quality of the film overall in my eyes. It's entertainment, but I'm not convinced it's saying anything worthwhile. I realize that it caused a great deal of consternation at The Sundance Film Festival because it wasn't "positively portraying Asian Americans," but I think it's more important to find out for yourself whether you enjoy a film all on its lonesome without outside influences. And it is enjoyable, it's just not doing anything earth-shaking.

year: 2002
length: 98 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0280477/combined