SHORTCOMINGS

Opening with a parody of what is clearly 'Crazy Rich Asians', 'Shortcomings' challenges the current trend of representation in media. Is having a diverse cast enough; does it matter how clichéd the film is? This is an extremely interesting conversation as I think we often forget film is a business and while representation can lead to profit, it still has to have mass appeal, and that sometimes means it has to depend on familiar tropes. That does not mean art will not be made, but it's the double-edged sword of if box office isn't strong then it could lead to no films being made. It's why right now the dependence on nostalgia is so huge, which can lead to something like 'Top Gun: Maverick' or 'Jurassic World: Dominion' annihilating the box office. An even clearer example is in the musical world with 'Hamilton' - while it had an incredibly diverse cast, Broadway is incredibly expensive and thus it had to appeal to the wealthy, revisiting the ideas of the American Dream, to be profitable. This extremely strong opening had me hooked on what first-time director Randall Park would bring the big screen.