"Better Luck Tomorrow:" An intense and gripping black comedy.

Some people will do anything for money. Some people will do anything for fame. Some people will do anything for fun. Other will just do anything.

The four lead characters of "Better Luck Tomorrow," an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival now in limited release by MTV films, fall into these four archetypes. The film, Justin Lin's directorial debut, is a black comedy, a new look on an old story, a succuessful and likeable protagonist's fall from grace. It follows four buddies, Asian-American high school students in SoCal who get caught up in a tumultuous rush of drugs, crime, and violence. What starts out as an innocent yet morally-depraved way of making money turns into felony. The climax makes your squirm and bite your lip because by the end of the movie, you're so emotionally involved with the character that it's painful to watch his downfall. The movie ends openly, leaving much room for interpretation. After watching the film turn around so many stereotypes and moral standards, what ending you choose for Ben Manibag, an extremely loveable Parry Chen in his most high-profile role to date, ends up being a judgement on your own character. If you choose the bad ending, then you yourself are morally depraved. But if you choose the somewhat happy ending, then there's hope for you. You're not condemned to burning in hell.

Even though the characters are the ones who made the bad choices that led to their decline, you empathize with them. Justin Lin, chosen as one of Variety's Top Ten Directors to Watch, does of good job of setting up the motive for their crimes. The opening sequence paints a portrait of the quietus and quaintness of suburbia and the stifling boredom it can induce. He expertly conveys the overachievers' conundrum: the need for the rebellion, but the fear of the consequences. They're bored, trapped, need to break loose, but unlike hardened criminals, they have too much to lose. Grades, reputations, college acceptances--too much is at stake for them, but they risk it anyways, for money, fame, fun. "When you're happy," Roger Fan as Daric Loo says, "You want what's left."

Article Author: Vivian St.George

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