Gothamist finally saw Better Luck Tomorrow this past weekend and enjoyed it very much. We don't know if it was the intelligent acting or the frenetic insanity of it, but the film seemed like a breath of fresh air, not just in its depiction of Asian-American teenagers, although that was a big part of it. This recent L.A. Times article about the trend towards depicting extremely gritty teen life captures what was intense about seeing Better Luck Tomorrow: The idea that teens (i.e., people) are fallible and empowered to make decisions in non cookie-cutter ways, a la What a Girl Wants. Although that's an idea Gothamist would like to pitch: Asian teen movie with Colin Firth. Oh, yes.
Roger Ebert gives Better Luck Tomorrow four stars. Which is great, until you realize he also gave A Walk in the Clouds four stars.
Another film that expands perceptions of Asians is Charlotte Sometimes, practically a four person play about young Asians living in California, but they might not be Asians for all you know.
Gothamist previously on Better Luck Tomorrow.
