Shortcomings (2023)

Shortcomings review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

Shortcomings is sure to give the simplistic label of being American Fictions, but replacing African-Americans with Asian-Americans. It also engages with the stuffy intellectual who fancies a firm grip on culture, despite being more isolated than he realizes to better appeal to the rest of the world. But in addition to shifting the lens to a different racial experience, it perhaps has a bit more teeth in taking more satirical jabs at how we perceive ourselves and our culture.

Ben Tanaka (Justin H. Min) is established as a film school dropout who believes that he is the smartest guy in the room. He exudes as much during the opening scene, where he attends the opening screening of a film styled like Crazy Rich Asians. After faking praise from the creatives, he explains to his girlfriend Miko (Ally Maki) how the film was drivel. Miko is less harsh, viewing this rom-com as a good step forward for Asian-American representation, something Ben cannot see.

As the two of them grow distant, Ben struggles to maintain his failing movie theater and starts trying and failing different romantic pursuits. He is attracted to a new employee, but her obsession with outsider performance art lessons his interest. Another romantic partner soon arrives, but he discovers he’s treated more like some side action. With Miko off in New York, Ben finds himself lonely and aimless. It’s only his enduring friendship to the gay Alice (Sherry Cola) that keeps him going. She stands by him, even when he gets weirdly stalker-like after Miko doesn’t return his calls and pursues a job in modeling.

This is the perfect film for cinephiles with a sense of humor about the egotism that sometimes comes attached to the interest. I found myself smirking in embarrassment for not only recognizing the film Ben watches while ignoring his girlfriend’s sexual advances (it’s The 400 Blows) but also recognizing the Criterion Blu-rays he has on the couch by the spines alone. I also laugh at how Ben always pronounces Ozu's Good Morning by the Japanese phrase Ohayo. It’s also very much in his character to maintain a certain sense of cultural identity while also being specific with how he identifies films. Outside of that, there are some small jabs here and there at movie tastes, especially with the meta-joke about how Jacob Batalon plays a theater employee who finds himself favoring the new Spider-Man movies (which the actor appears in), only for his co-worker to chime in with “I prefer the Raimi films better.”

But I don’t want to make this film sound like it’s just a slew of cinephile citations, as though it's a modern revision of Clerks. A decent romantic drama and friendship comedy form in this film, making Ben a highly relatable character. He’s annoying and has a penchant for saying the wrong things at the wrong time. But he also comes to an epiphany about moving on and trying to do better, realizing when he’s lost and that he should cut his losses. There’s no grand romantic gesture that will give him the happy ending of Crazy Rich Asians. In its place is a believable resolve for anybody who found themselves at a bad spot in their lives where it feels like everything they touch turns rotten.

Shortcomings is a rather sobering picture for shining a light on the anxieties of representation while also being an earnest attempt at finding hope in the worst of times. As a melodrama with wry wit, it works surprisingly well at painting a robust portrait of insecurity on multiple levels. It's good stuff and will perhaps make the avid film fanatic a little more aware of how they appear, highlighting that maybe favoring Good Morning or Crazy Rich Asians isn’t worth severing ties.