Based upon the graphic novel Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine
Screenplay Written by Adrian Tomine
** (two stars)
RATED R
"The world is full of angry young men
Chip on the shoulder
An ideal in their head
The world is full of angry young men
Who think life owes them something
But you only get out what goes in..."
-"The World Is Full Of Angry Young Men"
music and lyrics by Colin Moulding
performed by XTC
What we have right now is one of this near miss films. One that has a tremendous amount going for its success but in some ways, never quite becomes what it could potentially be. In the case of this film, its own title could not be more apt.
Director/Actor Randall Park's "Shortcomings," his directorial debut feature, is a more than amiable film, as it contains a generous spirit, a sometimes wicked sense of humor and most certainly a point of view and cultural representation that was more than refreshing to view. And still, it all seemed to be a bit anti-septic, too clean, a little pat and not as emotionally urgent as it suggested. Don't get me wrong, "Shortcomings" is not a bad film in the least and my reaction to it is not even negative as all of the ingredients are right there in front of us. It just all felt to be a bit...underprepared, therefore making the film in its entirety unable to quite reach its peak.
Set in present day Berkely, Randall Park's "Shortcomings" stars Justin H. Min as Ben Tagawa, a misanthropic film school dropout and aspiring filmmaker who manages a failing arthouse movie theater and lives with his girlfriend, Miko (Ally Maki), w ho herself works for an Asian American film festival. With a lack of mobility, which in turns fuels his lack of inspiration, Ben goes about his days and nights sardonically attacking any and everything he feels deserving of his scorn--which even includes aspects of his own Asian American community--and often alongside his best friend, the equally sardonic Alice (Sherry Cola).
After yet another romantic fight, Miko announces that she has accepted a three month internship in New York City, which Ben accepts. Yet, as Ben remains dismissive of Miko's choices, desires and ambitions, she soon suggests that they they take a break from each other...which leaves Ben with an opportunity to make romantic inroads with first, Autumn (Tavi Gevinson), a performance artists Ben hires to work in the theater ticket booth and later, Sasha (Debby Ryan), a grad student.
Ultimately, Ben's life remains unfulfilled and stagnant as he struggles to find his own niche and pathway to a future he fears is evading right in front of his eyes.
Certainly we are more than familiar with the young adult coming of age film which often houses the subtext of the (usually male) unhospitable cynic who arrives at some sort of awakening to either, the error of his ways, or the realization that life cannot advance if he continues in this manner. Randall Park's "Shortcomings" is precisely that film and while it is well made, intentioned and filled with a good nature, it doesn't go as far as it conceivably could or take avenues that could help to differentiate it from other films in this subgenre.
What Park does achieve is to create a narrative that is largely unseen, the contemporary Asian American or even more specifically, the Americanized Asian experience in the 21st century, as we have witnessed in Writer/Director Lulu Wang's beautiful "The Farewell" (2019) and Director Lee Sung Jin's rapacious television series "Beef" (2023) as well as Co- Writer/Director Domee Shi's "Turning Red" (2022), her outstanding ode to the adolescent Chinese-Canadian experience.
"Shortcomings" takes on the stereotypes contained within a perception of Asian exceptionalism, as the film gently satirizes in its opening scenes which Park then, places us squarely into the stagnant life of Ben Tagawa. Inhospitable, clearly depressed, armed with a quickfire anger, consumed with a vague anti-Asian self hatred and a sexual preference for White women despite his relationship with Miko, and a verbal mean streak that lashes outwardly often and to the increased detriment of his dwindling social circle, Park's film always remains critical of his while always allowing us to understand his interior plight, for who among us has not felt lost at some stage in our lives and in doing so, we empathize with his existential crisis even as we, and his friends, retreat from him.
Despite the refreshing representation perspective on what is typically viewed through a White male gaze, "Shortcomings" also feels not too far removed from any of those cinematic stories. On one hand, Randall Park is suggesting that ethnicity does not escape ennui but just as a film on its own feet, we are not seeing anything that we haven't already experienced (and exceedingly better) than in say Director Stephen Frears' seminal "High Fidelity" (2000) for instance.
In fact, "Shortcomings" feels very much like a less profane version of Writer/Director Kevin Smith's early classics like "Clerks" (1994) or "Chasing Amy" (1997) and is very much in line with a series of films released during the 1990's (often featuring Eric Stoltz in some capacity), including Writer/ Director Noah Baumbach's "Kicking And Screaming" (1995) and "Mr. Jealousy" (1997), Director Rory Kelly's "Sleep With Me" (1994), and Director Michael Steinberg's "Bodies, Rest and Motion" (1993) yet unlike all of those films, "Shortcomings" feels a little bland, as if Park was not quite ready or willing to delve deeper into more emotionally uncomfortable waters therefore making his film exist as something more than superficial, which is a shame, as this type of story sits in my cinematic wheelhouse and would always love to gather a new angle.
As a more recent comparison, Randall Park's "Shortcomings" is really not terribly far removed thematically from Director Alexander Payne's excellent "The Holdovers" (2023) but as I think about both of those films, I wonder if a shift in its storytelling perspective could have made a significant difference as there was one crucial element that I could not take my eyes away from: the friendship between Ben and Alice. The concept of the deep waters of a platonic friendship is not typically something that I can instantly recall as being the heart of a film, especially as movies lean into the romantic. I have long expressed that for as many films that explore falling in love or the will they/won't they dynamic, I long to see more films about staying in love or in this case, exploring love that will not fall into a kiss but contains the same passionate and painful emotional territories.
With "Shortcomings," I actually felt that the love story of Ben and Miko was the least interesting piece of the film as the most interesting dynamic for me was between Ben and Alice, which we really do not get enough off as the film is focused upon Ben's tribulations. While Ben and Alice (as she is a lesbian), will not fall into a kiss or into bed, there is a history to their union that captivated me and made me feel that if Park shifted his lens, we could still have everything that already exists within the film but with a more poignant and potent emotional core as Ben and Alice's friendship is really the love story of the film that Ben's emotional stability hinges upon.
Just think, what if we knew more about how Ben and Alice met, and what Alice's life, hopes and foibles actually are on equal footing with Ben's? Then, we could explore the ebbs and flows, peaks and valleys of their relationship and what happens when one outgrows the other, when what was completely intertwined begins to unravel, when one begins to advance while the other remains in place, when trust is eroded, when was was hilarious for both becomes so just for one, when love remains but is changing for no other reason than just growing up. Absolutely all of that is bubbling under the surface of "Shortcomings" but is never confronted, making for muted opportunity in making something truly memorable and greater in its emotional resonance.
Randall Park's "Shortcomings" is a decent first feature, welcoming in its approach, briskly paced, light upon its feet and never overstays or overplays a moment. But, I just wanted more. Here's hoping that Randall Park's second feature film reaches that next bar.
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