Review of Better Luck Tomorrow (2003) by Roberto A — 06 Dec 2007

Much was made that this was "at long last" a movie about young Asian-Americans; but regardless of whatever progessive agenda this film was sallying forth with, it still should have adhered to the conventions of internal logic.

This ridiculous film eventually collapses on the weight of its own implausibilities. And the irony is that Asian ethnicity becomes nothing more than an afterthought after these kids start waving guns around and become low-level gangsters.

Like many teen flicks of its ilk, "Tomorrow" depicts a fantasy land where parents and teachers are all but absent. Indeed, we never even see the parents of any of the principal actors. I mean, the gang goes to a quiz bowl competition, by themselves, in VEGAS? Oh, c'mon, what parent in their right mind would allow that? The boys end up at the blackjack tables and a hooker in their hotel room, natch, just par for the course for these typical Cinematic Teens.

Justin Lin tries to chase down one too many genres to create an ill-advised mish-mash: Is this a cautionary tale about lack of parental supervision? Is this an wake-up call about teenage crime? Is this a film noir about a body buried in a backyard? (and buddy, I'd charge more than a measly 300 bucks to stow a dead body, but that's just me).

Is this about racism against people of Asian descent? That's barely touched upon, and Lin doesn't even bother mentioning if the kids are of Chinese, Japanese, Korean or whatever descent, but hey, it's all the same, right? It's all too bad because the ensemble here has real chemistry, and put on some great performances despite the absurdity of the script.

Roger Fan and Jason Tobin are particular stand-outs as the "Mastermind" and "Clown" of the group, and I kept wishing the film was more about them than the colorless lead. "Better Luck Tomorrow" might have been a great farce or a very strange film noir, but as a teen drama, it's a complete fraud.