Shortcomings

Well made, well acted, well written but the characters are just so unlikable it is hard to care for any of it.

Opening with an reenactment of a scene from Crazy Rich Asians and then have its central character, Justin H. Min's Ben, takes potshots at it afterwards, to the annoyance of his rich girlfriend, Ally Maki's Miko, Randall Park's wickedly funny directorial debut, based on Adrian Tomine's graphic novel which the author has adapted himself, establishes its credentials as a painfully self-aware inverted rom-com or the anti-Crazy Rich Asians, if you like. It's certainly a risk, to adopt someone as flawed and pretentious as Ben as its core, who begins the film with a relationship, a job and a gay bestie, Sherry Cola's Alice, whom he confides in, and watch him fritters them all away as he spirals towards the nadir (or is it 'nader') of his twentysomething life. Thoughtfully and amusingly reflecting on 21st century urban interpersonal relationships, this knowing comedy is charming and smart enough to meet this challenge and more. With all the main characters being Asian-Americans, there's an extra dimension at play here, infusing the film with sharp and insightful observations based on this distinctive perspective, especially with Ben's hypocritical horndog-like pursuit of his dream white-girl, which is the kind of cringe-comedy I find excruciatingly funny (Take note: The Hypnosis). While Ben and Alice has great sparkling chemistry and there's a bonkers third act cameo by Timothy Simons, it's Ben's comeuppance for all his sins turning out to be that he's surrounded by equally flawed and selfish people, to one degree or another, which proves the most refreshingly unexpected and hilarious. Thoroughly enjoyable, with an elliptical but resolutely anti-romcom ending, the film proves that racial representation on screen doesn't always have to be positive. In fact, the inclusion of negative ones demonstrates a certain kind of equality and Asians can be insufferable dickheads too.

Funny, harsh, meta, sad and hopeful. A brilliant film about realising that everyone has shortcomings, including you.

As a fan of the graphic novel, Randall Park's directorial debut perfectly captures the essence of the story and probably even improves it in some ways. Also amazing that the author also wrote the screenplay. Great film

A movie about being selfish and cynical. Dialogue driven. Had a couple chuckles, a couple feel goods, but overall but an okay movie.

Jesus, people really watch this....and enjoy it?

Beautifully acted movie with a relevant story, undermined by a grave script problem concerning the main character Ben—whose 1-hour-and-30-minutes of malevolent sarcastic jibes, then 2 minutes of humility at the end, is utterly ludicrous!! What a pity.

The sense of humor in this film was spot on for me!!

Enjoyed the film! Was funny and refreshing sense of comedy.

Shortcomings is raw, and near sadistic portrayal of a man whose self sabotage and self hatred damage his relationships and friendships like a relationship firebomb . The star is trapped inside his own intellectualism and self hatred .His overly critical observations are unwelcome everywhere he goes. His attitude immediately turns off everyone he meets with the exception of a woman who sees him for who he really is. She changes everything for him and sets the fire that engulfs him and burns down everything and everyone he held close in order to force him to face himself . What remains is a rich, bold movie about love, loss and human nature that , at its core, is sometimes terribly flawed , and yet worth fighting for .