Mainstream movie stars minority cast
By Mayka Mei
The story of the MTV/Paramount film "Better Luck Tomorrow" is nothing revolutionary. It's got your typical plot of good kids getting into delinquent hobbies and their risky businesses spinning out of control.
Yet right from the opening shot, you get a sense that there's something different in "Better Luck," and it has a lot to do with the cast. The film starts out with a common scene that could be from any coming-of-age movie plot: two Asian American high school students lounge in the backyard of a southern California suburban home talking about college. Wait a second, Asian American youth? That's not something you typically see in a mainstream American movie.
Ben is an all-around nice guy played by Parry Shen. His two closest friends consist of Virgil and Han (Jason Tobin of "Beverly Hills Ninja" and Sung Kang of "Antwone Fisher"). Together, the three of them are almost too smart for their own good. They spend after school hours stealing major electronic appliances while keeping their parents happy with honor roll GPAs. They're good at what they do; they plan in advance and never get caught.
Soon Ben is approached by Daric (Roger Fan of "Corky Romano"), the high school valedictorian and president of nearly every club on campus. For an easy 50 bucks each, Daric asks Ben to produce cheat sheets. To a boy who repeats SAT vocabulary around the house so as to make the words a part of himself, Ben's decision to work for Daric follows only a slight hesitation.
Of course no movie set during high school years is complete without a love triangle. Ben likes Stephanie (debuting Karin Anna Cheung), the school's head cheerleader, homecoming queen, and his biology class study buddy. Stephanie, however, is going out with Steve (John Cho of "American Pie 2"), a private school rich boy who has everything any guy could ever want.
Delinquency and romance - why "Better Luck Tomorrow" and not "Any Generic High School Movie?" For one thing, most high school dramas don't end in murder. It's not typical for a cell phone to ring underneath a backyard lawn reminding a group of idle kids that someone was killed. But as was mentioned earlier, "Better Luck's" signature distinction lies in its Asian American cast playing roles that aren't specifically written for martial arts action or take-out delivery service.
The entire cast gives a solid performance overall, but one of the most memorable characters of the movie is Virgil. As smart as he is when it comes to books and keeping the grades, Virgil is still as innocent and naïve as a 12-year-old. Tobin nearly perfectly portrays Virgil's fascination with such things as guns and pornography, but almost overdoes the performance.
Cheung also gives a commendable performance in her feature film debut and maintains the sweet, earnest demeanor that it takes to be Ben's love interest.
"Better Luck" may lack in original story line, but it stays true to its characters and their motivations. Besides, since when do people see teen movies for unique plots anyway?