Better Luck Tomorrow
BBB
(out of 5)
A high school student (Parry Shen) with a penchant for perfectionism works hard to achieve nothing but the best in school, then spends his evenings committing petty crime with his friends. The sense of power his little clan gets from these escapades goes to their heads and convinces them that they are powerful enough for more. Pretty soon they find themselves in some deep trouble that they might never get out of. While their situation isn’t exactly a sympathetic one (do I care if upper middle class teenagers turn to crime for fun and then get into trouble?), the story is engaging and the entire cast likeable. Most of its appeal, though, will be in its featuring a cast of Asian Americans who do not engage in martial arts or Long Duk Dong stereotypes.
USA, 2002
Directed by Justin Lin
Screenplay by Ernesto Foronda, Justin Lin, Fabian Marquez
Cinematography by Patrice Lucien Cochet
Produced by Julie Asato, Ernesto Foronda, Justin Lin
Music by Michael Gonzales, Tobin Mori
Production Design by Yoo Jung Han
Costume Design by Sandi Lieu
Film Editing by Justin Lin
Film Festivals: TIFF 2002, Sundance 2002
Cast Tags: A.J. Green, Aaron Takahashi, Alden Ray, Anthony Moore, Ariadne Shaffer, Ashley Arai, Ben Donaldson, Beverly Sotelo, Brandon Bain, Brandon Dennis, Bruno Oliver, Bryan Baluyot, Chad Young, Chris Good, Christopher J. Francis, Christopher Monjoy, Christopher R. Edmonds, Collin Kahey, Crystal Keith, Daniel R. Bonneau, Danielle Conner, Darian Weiss, David Laurence, Denise Barnard, Diana Bonilla, Dominique Ricks, Donna Tina Charles, Emmie Hsu, Esther Mercado, Evan Leong, Ina Burke, Jaime Serene Kelly, James Isaac Barry, Jason Reyes, Jason Tobin, Jay Green, Jeff DeJohn, Jeff Russell, Jennifer Wu, Jerry Mathers, Jesse Bustos, Jessie S. Marion, Jimmy Lin, Joe Hernandez-Kolski, Joey Barro, John Cho, Jon Paul Lourenco, Jonathan Uyloan, Joseph Jaldon, Juliet Wong, Justin Murphy, Karen DiTota, Karin Anna Cheung, Kenji Matoba, Kenwood Jung, Kevin Alfoldy, Khalil Semaan, Kristen Stinson, Laura Esposito, Lela Lee, Lily Hu, Lisa Grant, Marc Montecillo, Mark Baluyot, Nanette Matoba, Nate Petre, Octavia Osby, Parry Shen, Pauline Kanako Kamiyama, Ramona T. Ramirez, Robert Zepeda, Roger Fan, Ronald Dross, Ryan Cadiz, Scott McShane, Sean Alexander, Shane Kualapai, Shirley Anderson, Smita Satiani, Stephanie Little, Sung Kang, Suzanne Keilly, Terry White, Tom Chalmers, Troy Cartwright, Walker Edmondson, Walter Butler, Wayne Ford
Independent Spirit Award Nomination
John Cassavetes Award
