I could probably count on one hand the number of hollywood films I could actually relate too. Until Harold & Kumar, I've never seen a film with a leading Asian male playing a normal person. As in not some Kung Fu master or math nerd, etc. while reading AngryAsianMan's blog, it was refreshing to learn about Shanghai Kiss. I didn't know what to make of it at first, seeing that it's meant to be a straight to DVD production. Ken Leung plays Liam Liu, an ABC guy living in LA, aspiring to be an actor. Through fate, he becomes involved in a relationship with a high school girl, Addy, played by the lovely Hayden Panettiere (Cheerleader in Heroes). One day he gets a call from his alcoholic father in New York informing him that his grandmother has died and left the entire family house to him in Shanghai. Ken has never been to China and we see how he battles with searching for his identity. Is he Chinese or American? As an ABC myself living in Hong Kong, this is something that I've been able to relate to. While in Shanghai, he meets his first Chinese love interest and ends up moving there. All is fine and dandy until he realizes what a big mistake he's made. Some parts of the movie deal with serious issues that are thought proving, yet some parts are absolutely hilarious. Like the scene where Liam gets into a Shanghai Taxi and gets driven around the city.
Liam: "No! Jin MAO! It's famous! It's the tallest building in the city!"
Driver: "JIN JIANG!"
Liam: "You've been driving me around the city all day! What are you fucking idiot?"
Driver: "You fucked"
Liam: "You fuck it
Driver: "you fuckee"
Certainly something someone who's been to the mainland and tried taking a cab without speaking English would've experienced. Me and A agreed that unlike many Hollywood films, the scenes of Liam in Shanghai seem to be based on actual experiences in China.
What really got me into this film though was the caucasian female - asian male relationship. I am sure this topic has been subject to discussion and debate a gazillion times. Why is it that White male/Asian female couples are so much more common in today's society (At least in many parts of Asia and all English speaking countries) than vice versa? In popular media, we rarely see AM/WF couples on screen and Hollywood in the past has often portrayed Asian males as asexual kungfu artists or science nerds, roles even Asian females have been spared from. It seems that because of centuries of European colonialism, we now live in a kind of gweilo world (and all the chicks of the world are supposed to look up to them I guess). It's great to finally see a film where the Asian American guy is simply portrayed as a normal guy dealing with typical problems in life. Oh did I mention the petite Hayden is incredibly sexy and the chemistry between Liam and Addy is wonderful?I am disappointed this not getting a theatrical release, but I hope to see more films like this in the future.
