Luckily, this isn’t a picture that lives and dies on big fights or charged monologues.Įven when you expect “Shortcomings” to land on a redemptive note, it surprises you. When the raw emotional outbursts need to flourish, Park can also slip into less-than-flattering coverage coated by less-than-snappy editing. The film doesn’t break new ground in the genre, hewing close to rom-com tropes that’d feel at home in Judd Apatow’s late aught works. The tight dialogue runs the gamut from quips about experimental music and international and blockbuster cinema (“Snowpiercer is a sequel of Willy Wonka” is a theory one theater worker shares with another) to gags concerning representational movies and assimilation. While “Shortcomings” aims at identity, particularly Ben’s inability to be comfortable with his attractions-which causes him to default into an oppressed versus oppressor stance-the film relies on keen jokes to make a punchy mood. But Ben is poison to everything he touches. When Miko moves to New York City for an internship, Alice, recently transplanted to the big apple herself, allows Ben to stay with her as he searches for Miko. She puts up with his idiocy as he sometimes acts as her beard for her traditional Korean parents. The film's heart is the balancing act between Alice and Ben’s friendship, including open dinner talks and double-teaming at parties. The other major highlight in the cast is Sherry Cola as Ben’s loud, gregarious Lesbian best friend, Alice. And Min, who found critical acclaim as the android in “ After Yang,” demonstrates his immense range as he plays with Ben’s surface-level features with the exhilaration of a man dancing on an electric fence. Surely, more lies beneath the surface? But there is no there, there. They initially like his corrosive wit, believing it’s a charming feature rather than an unfixable glitch. You can never tell if or when you’re seeing the real Ben. Min savors the script’s savage barbs and quick sarcastic one-liners. Park worms through Ben’s many relationship troubles: He gets with Autumn, for instance, and then turns his sights to the politically charged Sasha ( Debby Ryan), endangering each with his caustic humor. It works because the film fully embraces the wretched unlikability of Ben. In the hands of Park, Adrian Tomine's graphic novel (adapted here by Tomine) finds cutting new dimensions in the miserabilism of an unabashed asshole. “Shortcomings” is a wickedly funny, absorbing character study and solo feature directorial debut by actor Randall Park (“Fresh off the Boat”). Will he cheat on his girlfriend, Miko? If he, along with the premise, comes off as loathsome, that’s sorta the point. His attraction is tested when he hires the oddball performance artist Autumn ( Tavi Gevinson) to work the ticket window at the theater. Much to his chagrin, however, Ben loves white women. Ben is a failed film student who spends his days managing an arthouse movie theater and watching Criterion discs such as Ozu’s “Good Morning.” He can’t fathom a world where he isn’t the prime arbiter of taste.
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