Shortcomings, 2023.
Directed by Randall Park
Starring Justin H. Min, Sherry Cola, Ally Maki, Tavi Gevinson, Debby Ryan, Sonoya Mizuno, Stephanie Hsu, Ronny Chieng, Jacob Batalon, Timothy Simons, Theo Iyer, Scott Seiss, Nikhaar Kishnani, Boran Anh, George Deihl Jr., Melanie J. Newby, Jess Nahikian, Adam Enright, Daniel Hank, Randall Park, and David Niu.
SYNOPSIS:
A trio of young Bay Area urbanites–Ben Tanaka, Miko Hayashi, and Alice Kim–as they navigate a range of interpersonal relationships, traversing the country in search of the ideal connection.
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, Shortcomings wouldn’t exist.
There are movies about fascinating, flawed characters learning lessons that remain endearing and likable in terms of a movie sense despite their, well, shortcomings. Then there are movies like director Randall Park’s debut feature film (written by and adapted from Adrian Tomine’s graphic novel), Shortcomings, where the lead character crosses so far into egomaniacal, narcissistic, woe-is-me territory that it’s challenging to give a damn whether he evolves as a person or remains the same bitter man-child convinced that society is conspiring against him, specifically when it comes to relationships.
Ben (Justin H. Min) manages a movie theater while complaining about the current direction of cinema, often posing to his girlfriend Miko (Ally Maki) if representation and diversity are essential. To break it down in modern-day layperson terms, he is anti-woke, and she is woke. Miko finds her drifting into a more involved role regarding such dynamics, increasingly getting frustrated that Ben doesn’t seem to care and is quick to blame such progressive developments as the reasons for anything negative in his life.
Exasperating this relationship falling apart comes when Miko inadvertently stumbles across Ben’s laptop open with porn exclusively featuring white women, discovering that he fetishizes relationships between Asian-American men and them. There is also a considerable portion of Shortcomings interested in analyzing the way outsiders observe these relationships and how those perceptions, at least in Ben’s mind, might be flipped when the dynamic involves a white man and an Asian-American woman. The script is also funny enough to find the humor here, but there’s no shaking the feeling that these filmmakers don’t exactly know what they want to say about interracial relationships. It’s just a soapbox to listen to Ben complain more.
Nevertheless, Miko decides they should take a break, leaving the Bay Area to intern in New York City. This leaves Ben with time and space to ponder things or, in his case, find more aspects to place the blame on. He also spends more time talking to his gay best friend Alice (Sherry Cola, who can also be seen on screen in the hilariously raunchy Joy Ride), who is similarly a train wreck, quick to get into physical confrontations (there’s a running joke about her kicking someone in the pussy while attending a party.) The key difference here is that during this juxtaposition, Alice, who is also funny and likable despite her flaws, does eventually befriend someone suitable for her romantically. She expresses a desire to mature and does so, driving a rift between her and Ben while making him even more offputting.
Simultaneously, Ben chases after white women, deceptively telling them he is on a break with his current partner while going on dates. Even when women are throwing themselves at him, he remains annoyingly judgmental and with the gall to blow up at someone else when their previous partner comes back into the mix. The issue is that while some of the scenes come with a few laughs, the filmmakers don’t fully characterize these women beyond eccentricities and weird quirks that cause Ben to become irritated and judgmental.
Shortcomings makes it hard to have a vested interest in whether or not Ben grows or changes as a person. And while there is absolutely space to tell stories about deeply flawed Asian Americans, there also comes a point when it feels as if there is no value in engaging with the central character or examining him. A woman could never look his way for the rest of his life, and it would be hard not to feel like justice has been served. A fun supporting cast isn’t enough to compensate for that significant shortcoming. Despite some solid jokes and a pleasant ensemble, the movie quickly becomes as irritating as Ben finds everyone else.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
