Customer Reviews

Better Luck Tomorrow

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

An incredibly powerful and absorbing film, Better Luck Tomorrow is worthy of the best film makers in the business today. That it was made by a UCLA film student is all the more astounding.

The film follows the lives of Ben and Virgil, two overachieving high school students whose lives are initially consumed entirely by the question of how to make themselves even more appealing on a college application. As a measure of rebellion and a way to assert themselves outside of the limited confines of a college application, they form a "mafia" ring of sorts with two friends. They start out by providing cheat sheets for money. They progress to stealing school property, and ultimately, begin dealing drugs.

In the end, the central theme of the movie is one of control over one's own life, and how quickly that control can be lost even when it appears that the exact opposite is true. The action is fast-paced, the dialogue is crisp and sharp, and the characters are all memorable and textured. Virgil is perhaps the most memorable character from a film in years.

This movie is intelligent and stylish movie making at its finest.

Justin Lins Better Luck Tomorrow crackles with as much fury and bravado as Martin Scorsese did in his similar themed Mean Streets. Even though reviews of this film would have you believe that BLT is primarily about the Asian high school experienceit is not. What it is about is the disaffected, prone to violence and crime youth culture: a theme that has been with us for many years probably beginning in the 50s with Rebel Without a Cause or The Wild Ones, when teenagers were discovered by film makers who looked at the Baby Boomer culture and saw dollar signs.
Though his film is populated by an almost 100% Asian cast, Lin has decided not to play the Asian Card. One of the ways he accomplishes this is to not have the obligatory scene in which his characters sit down to dinner with their parents who scold and serve up bowls of rice with their advice and warnings. In fact, there are no parents or teachers in this film at all.
Lins characters are Universal and therefore represent a whole generation of teenagers no matter what ethnicity. Ben (Parry Shen) is the main character and he is conflicted about life: on the one hand he is hell bent on getting into a good school and playing basketball yet on the other hand, he dabbles in the illegal to make extra money. His friends: Virgil (Jason J. Tobin), Han (Sun Kang) and Deric (Roger Fan) form his posse and they are likewise conflicted. One of the many pleasures of this film is that that Shen and his buddies really care and protect each other which sets this film apart from other youth culture movies and it is refreshing.
Better Luck Tomorrow is raw, volatile, disruptive, thought provoking yet tender and loving. It is a testament to Lin and his cast and personally I cant wait for Lins next film, for he is an unmistakably talented new director.

Justin Lin's Better Luck Tomorrow is a story about testing boundaries. Better Luck Tomorrow reminds me more of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment than anything else. The narrative of the story centers on a core group of four teens that, seeking to make money, find some rather creative techniques to this effect. The eventual rise in prominence leads them to a lifestyle of partying to have something to do with their time in the center of a tedious, and boring suburban existence. Ben (the overachiever) as well as his cohort aspires to a future in higher education while, conversely, seeking security in a life of crime. Until they meet Steve, this core group's routine was somewhat predictable. Not to give anything away in the story the whole narrative takes a very different turn from there.

Juxtaposing this movie alongside the more benign The Debut is a bit ironic, I think. While The Debut is really about Asian-Americans (in this particular case the Filipino-American community) Better Luck Tomorrow is not about a particular community but speaks to a universal theme of growing up in America. To call it an Asian American movie is, I think a bit of a misnomer. It succeeds as a dark, sassy film, but it fails when it tries to be unconventional. That this breakout movie by Justin Lin is Asian American because of its director and its characters I will grant it. The theme though it is not uniquely Asian - taking for granted that such can be describes as a state. Anyway, this does not take away from the sensitivity with which Lin treats the characters and the angst that they experience - for that this movie, I feel, deserves it accolades. The sad truth is that it is not a movie of what can happen but what is happening. In this case I would have to defer to the viewer to make heads or tails of the excess of the movie.

Miguel Llora

Better Luck Tomorrow may be overrated, but it is definitely a fascinating character study, a lot more emotionally satisfying than most recent teen flicks. It has stirred up a flurry of criticism by portraying Asian-American teens who cheat, steal, drink, fight and otherwise behave as badly as all the other disaffected kids in movieland. Of course, critics who suggest that movies must only portray minorities in angelic form are altogether misguided. Films are about life, and life in this country is just as likely to alienate and confuse Asian-American teens as anyone else.

Director (and co-writer) Justin Lin understands that; ultimately, ethnicity is beside the point in his story. His affecting portrait of mixed-up teens headed down a dangerous road indulges in some excessive dramatics, but still rings true to the experience of youngsters growing up without moral anchors. His key character is Ben (Parry Shen), a high school senior with all the right tools for success - brains, affluence, Ivy League ambition and killer study skills. He also has a malleable conscience that allows him to sell cheat sheets to fellow students, and to help his buddies Virgil (Jason J. Tobin) and Han (Sung Kang) run credit card scams. None of the characters' parents ever appear; they trust their hyper-achieving kids based on their academic records. So does everyone else, a fact that leads the youngsters to believe their grades free them from the normal rules of behavior.

Lin does not ignore the fact that his characters are regarded differently from their Caucasian peers; when Ben joins the basketball team after compulsively practicing free throws, he is disgusted when a fellow student writes an article casting him as the team's token Asian. The author of that article, Daric (Roger Fan), is another straight-A student who becomes a friend to Ben and leader of the new pack that makes its name by beating up a thick-headed jock who taunts them with racial insults. From that point on, they are on a downward spiral into drug dealing and dangerous behavior, stoked by money and youthful hormones. Ben's growing obsession with pretty cheerleader named Stephanie (Karin Anna Cheung) - and the illusion of power that criminal enterprise gives him - puts him on a collision course with Stephanie's boyfriend, the richer and more sophisticated Steve (John Cho). Things turn out badly, of course.

The teenagers in his tale have known tragedy and guilt beyond their years, with effects that will not be easily erased. Better Luck Tomorrow uses Asian-American characters, but at heart it is a story about all the lost children drifting into emptiness on a tide of material wealth and moral bankruptcy. An intense, frustrating, and worthwhile journey.

"Better Luck Tomorrow" is a clever and disturbing film that is disguised as something upbeat and bright, only to hide dark and troubled layers within. It's for sure a film that takes you by surprise by giving you something you'd never expect from the looks of it. This is probably one of the film's strongest strengths.

Ben Manibag appears to be your average overachiever; a bright kid that gets good marks in school and has a steady job. He appears to be every parents' dream. However, Ben and his friends are living double lives as they play dirty outside of school. Always committing some sort of petty crime, it is only a matter of time that Ben and his friends become greedy and start taking more risks and performing dangerous crimes. The appearances of being "bright and perfect students" gives them the freedom to do almost anything they wish without being examined under a microscope, and with your typical "model student" stereotypes to keep their darker sides hidden. Of course, everything that has a beginning has an end. It's just a question of when the downward spiral begins and how deep they fall into the rabbit hole with no option of turning back.

For a low-budget movie, it does not look nor feel like one. In fact, it feels and looks like a film made by professionals. The directing and editing styles are slightly reminiscent of "Requiem for a Dream," but still add an original and fresh element to the film. The story presented to us is thought-provoking, disturbing, scary and authentic. Very much like Ben and his friends, the movie is disguised as something normal with a darker side that is not clear right from the word "go," but ever so increases little by little as the film progresses. You do not know what will come next, and you have no idea how things are going to turn out in the end. A great thing about the movie is that it takes the risk of not being ordinary and brings honesty to the story and the characters. You could easily see things that are portrayed in this movie happen next door to you. The events that take place do not occur in ghettos or poor neighborhoods; nor do they involve gang-bangers and hoodlums. Everything takes place in suburbia and involves your "everyday kids," which makes it all the more effective and horrifyingly insightful. The cast does a terrific job and the writing is true to itself.

The DVD doesn't have much to offer, which is a shame. The movie looks and sounds great. Again, it is very hard to tell that this was a low-budget project, as it has the markings of true professionals. The bright and upbeat cinematography is excellent at concealing hidden truths and darkness. Lacking in special features, the only extra on the DVD is commentary.

"Better Luck Tomorrow" is really a film that stands out. While I don't think it's a masterpiece, I certainly think it's better than a lot of the drivel that's out today. If you're looking for a unique and different picture that is both scary and thought-provoking, then this might be the ticket for you. It's a great film with real strengths that ventures away from the ordinary and clichéd.

In his first film Justin Lin has not only done away with cinematic stereotypes but he has also made one of the most astonishing first features since Resivior Dogs. (I would say Clerks but this is more of a Quientin-esque film- and lets face it while Clerks is a personal film Dogs does and says more).

Better Luck Tomorrow is about a group of overachieving Asian youth in a suburban LA community and how their intelligance(or in some cases lack there of) gets them a free ticket to do whatever they want. I won't give spoilers, except to say they embark on a series of escapades that are dangerous.

this will end up being one of the best films of the year!!

If the reviews posted here aren't enough to get you out of your chair to see this film, than I cannot guess what is. Justin Lin is a filmmaker to look out for in the future. He has accomplished what so many Hollywood vets attempt to do, which is tell an accomplished, entertaining and successful story with style. Everything about the filmmaking here (script, photography, the finely calibrated performances, Lin's camera style) is brilliant. In my opinion, this is the most astonishing and brilliant American debut film since Spike Jonze's Being John Malkovich. There is too much plot and story to cover here, so I will just say this: I cannot wait to see what Mr. Lin will do next. He now has a brand new fan.

Justin Lin's clever packaging and plot makes this low budget film take off. The movie forces you to take a step back and examine the characters. With this retrospection, one sees what America has become.

This movie breaks all the stereotypes and myths about honor-student, Ivy-bound, Asian-American males. Unlike historical Western works which strive to castrate Asian men, here Asian-American males have much testosterone and machismo. This movie was not only a fresh concept; it had a great plot and was incredibly pleasing to this audience member (despite its lack of a conclusion). You can tell the production had a tight budget, but it didn't look cheap in the slightest (perhaps this is due to MTV's backing). All the shots are close-up even though I doubt it would have been difficult to film the larger surroundings. The actors are all fresh faces, yet their skills are tight. This movie will definitely make all teenagers wish they attended high school in Southern California. Additionally, it will rekindle both female and male identification with bad-boy protagonists. Anti-Asian racism is challenged in one scene in an awesome, but violent, way. I loved the panethnic vibe in this film where Pilipinos hang with Chinese who hang with Japanese, and importantly, no Asian-American character is moping about wanting to be white or black. Unfortunately, there is a character named Virgil that I do think falls into many problematic Asian male tropes. The ingenue of this film is pretty and obviously has a bright career ahead of her. In all the cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption here, no one touches marijuana (this will make parents happy). If blacks can embrace Eminem, then non-Asians of both genders can embrace this film which places Asian-American males at the center. I think this film is going to be remembered in film history and for years to come.

It's a hot Southern California afternoon. Two high school students, smart, from affluent families, are sitting in lawn chairs in the back yard of a home. They are Ben Manibag (Parry Shen) and his best friend, Virgil Hu (Jason Tobin). A cell phone rings. Ben checks and it's not his. Virgil looks at his phone; it's not his. The phone keeps ringing and the two look at each with increasing panic. They run to a section of the backyard and press their ears to the dirt. Then they begin frantically digging with their hands. The ringing cell phone is on the body of someone they and two other friends had recently killed and buried.

"It started with a pack of baseball cards," says Ben in flashback. "Then it snowballed. I guess it just felt good to do things I couldn't put on my college application. Besides, it was suburbia. We didn't have anything better to do. Our straight A's were our alibis, our passports to freedom. Going to a study group would get us out of the house until 4 in the morning. As long as our grades were there, we were trusted. We had it all. Well, almost." From trading in cheat sheets the four moved into whatever scams paid well and provided thrills, then into drug dealing. And they worked hard to get all A's, to list carefully considered volunteer community activities on their college applications, to have perfect scores on their SATs. They drifted further into the moral vacuum that led to the murder of another student, just as affluent and bored as they are.

I don't want to leave the impression that this is one more movie about teen-age angst. In many ways the first half of the movie is funny and sympathetic as it sets the scene with this vision of affluent suburbia, a huge, bland high school, and students who, as long as they have top grades and don't cause problems, are pretty much invisible to their teachers and parents. Parry Shen who plays Ben is the heart of the movie. He's an enormously engaging actor, not particularly handsome but with an open and thoughtful look about him. Ben is smart, knows what his future will hold (acceptance in one of the top Ivy League colleges and a major in biology), and has a crush on a cheerleader played by Karin Anna Cheung that he's too shy to do much about. As the movie progresses, however, we start to see decisions being made that get out of hand. Ben might be having second thoughts but it's unclear if the other three are. The end of the movie brings us to the present. Virgil has shot himself and lies in a coma in a hospital. The remaining three don't know if he'll live, if he'll talk about what happened, or what will happen to them. We don't either. "For the first time in my life," Ben says, "I don't know what my future will hold. I don't even know what the other guys are going to do. All I know is that there's no turning back."

This is a well-made movie. It's thoughtful and disturbing, with some very good performances. The DVD picture is just fine, with a commentary by the director and the two writers.