better luck tomorrow. a new asian american movie opens tomorrow. there has been quite a grassroots campaign springing up around it. this is seen as the first big shot for asian americans to get some play on the big screen. minus the kung fu and the usual asian shenanigans. will this be a big deal? will anyone see this movie besides asian americans? can it carry on the traditions set forth by the joy luck club, mulan and crouching tiger? so far, the reviews have been very good, despite the tv previews looking generic as all hell, it'll be very interesting to see how the general public accepts this movie.



it will be opening up in only a few select theatres and cities to see how well it does. if it does well, it would presumably go big. if it doesn't do well? it would presumably die. or fade into asian cult status like the debut did. and so our fate rests in the hands of the millions of people who may choose to watch bulletproof monk over this "modern" asian american tale. they say to not pander to the lowest common denominator but sometimes you need them the lcd. i'm curious how much money it'll take for there to be continued distribution.



a few years ago at school, we went to a screening of yellow, which was then the only movie i knew about that had an asian american cast and an asian american "theme." it was a pretty decent movie, solidly stereotypical and certainly not anything ground breaking, but it was a start. i'm curious how better luck tomorrow will compare. jason tobin starred in yellow and aslo stars in better luck tomorrow (i hate the acronym for the movie. "blt." ugh). another star the movie is john cho, an actor i wrote about a few months back. will any of the actors from this movie make it into the mainstream media? is this the beginning of asians breaking out into non-traditional roles in entertainment? will we finally have some asian american representation in film and television? perhaps the answers will be revealed starting tomorrow.



the fact this film did well at sundance and was picked up for distribution by mtv means that this film stands a chance. the hope is that this film is nothing like the guru and the outrage that surrounded its cliches and stereotypes. which brings up the question: is having piss poor derogatory representation better than having no representation at all?