CS Weekly Archive > Weekend Read > 7/01/05

The Chinese-American Lesbian Feel-Good Comedy of the Summer

By TOM STEMPEL

In this warm, human, and excellently written love story, a young Chinese-American surgeon has to balance her job, her developing relationship with a dancer, and her widowed, 48-year-old mother…who is pregnant…and who will not tell anybody who the father is.

Saving Face

Alice Wu

Wilhemina (Michelle Krusiec), Wil for short, is a young Chinese-American surgeon in New York. She is so good that when one of her associates says she will be chief surgeon by the age of 50, her boss simply says, "40." Wil is dragged off by her mother, Ma (Joan Chen), to weekly Chinese-American dances in hopes of finding Wil a husband. (Wil has told her mother she is probably gay, but Ma just does not want to accept it.) At one of the dances, Wil meets Vivian (Lynn Chen), a young ballet dancer and a flirt. Eventually they begin an affair, only for Wil to later discover Vivian is the daughter of her boss. Then Ma turns up pregnant and refuses to say who the father is. Ma's parents (Jin Wang, Guang Lan Kohn) are appalled and throw their daughter out of Brooklyn. So Ma comes to stay with Wil, and Wil has to balance the three sides to her life: job, relationship, and mother.

While most moviegoers have been paying attention to Anakin, Bruce Wayne, Tom & Katie, and Brad & Angelina, Sony Pictures Classics has snuck into theaters what may be the best-written picture so far this year. I realize this year that is not saying much, but still…Yes, it is a light comedy, but it is based not on sitcom or rom-com clichés. Its humor comes from real observation by Alice Wu of the Chinese-American community. The weekly dance, for example, is culturally specific, and yet universal. It is used at several points in the film, including the ending, to mark the movement of the story and the relationships.

The characters are wonderfully drawn, especially Wil and Ma. Wil is a very modern woman, and like most modern women, adept at juggling. She is self-assured in her work but a bit awkward in her romantic relationships. Even though she is older than Vivian, she is the hesitant one. Partly, it is because her life is so crowded, especially once her mother descends on her, but it is also that she knows, in a way Vivian does not yet because of both her youth and her character, how much trouble their lesbian relationship can cause.

Ma is not like any other Chinese-American woman we have seen on the screen. She is not particularly quiet, nor exotic. She is simply a person trying to make her way in a tricky situation. She watches Chinese soap operas during the day, and sometimes goes out on dates her daughter helps set up. (In one of the story's sharpest scenes, the other women in Wil's hospital scan patient charts to find a man for Ma; the punch line to the scene is brilliantly delivered.) Here is an example of the cultural specificity of Wu's script: when Ma goes into a video store to try to find Chinese videos, the store only has The Last Emperor, The Joy Luck Club, and Asian pornos. (There is an inside joke here as well: Ma is played by Joan Chen, the star of The Last Emperor.) The temptation for most writers would be to let Ma hijack the film, but Wu does not. I can imagine that there are a lot of great Ma scenes in Wu's delete box and on the editing room floor; maybe some will show up on the DVD.

Some viewers may think that the ending is a little too sentimental, but this is a romantic comedy, after all, and Wu has set up the ways in which all the strands pay off. And the father of Ma's baby. Wu pulls a beautiful sleight of hand in the writing and directing. You will think you know who it is from near the beginning, but you will be wrong. And after the movie is over, think back to how Wu has set up the father in very clever ways.

Great characters for actors to play, a look into worlds you may not -- unless you are Chinese-American, lesbian, or both -- have been exposed to, more than a few laughs, and not a single recycled movie or TV show nor a comic book superhero in sight (thank God).

Saving Face
Sony Pictures Classics
Rated R; 91 min.

Buy tickets now

Buy the poster

Tom Stempel is the author of four books about screenwriting, including FrameWork: A History of Screenwriting in the American Film. He teaches film history and screenwriting at Los Angeles City College.
.
.
.

From the Trenches
Working screenwriters discuss in their own words a particular aspect of screenwriting, from the mechanics of writing to the personal and professional impact that writing has had on their lives. > VIEW ARCHIVE

The Art of Craft
Screenwriting experts discuss how to approach various aspects of writing and the writing life. A mini-seminar each week from the people who write the books and teach the classes. > VIEW ARCHIVE

The Big Picture

Features that cover all aspects of screenwriting, from our "Seven Best" lists to analysis of old favorites and new classics. > VIEW ARCHIVE

Expert Witness
A panel of experts assembled to provide the facts about the screenwriting business. Readers will be able have their questions answered by an agent, producer, entertainment attorney, and WGA representative—and without paying that 10% commission. > VIEW ARCHIVE

Son of a Pitch
A weekly tutorial on how to write a script. Each week deals with a different element of creating a script, with the ultimate goal to provide a step-by-step instruction manual for new writers. The guide for this is a writer just diving into screenwriting himself, who asks the pros questions any new screenwriter would have about this brave new world. > VIEW ARCHIVE

Weekend Read
Film, book, web site and technology reviews from a writer’s perspective. How can these items help a writer on his or her journey, or make that journey more enjoyable? > VIEW ARCHIVE

DVD Review of the Day
DVD reviews from a writer’s point of view. What aspects of this script and features of this DVD illuminate the writing, development, and storytelling process? > VIEW ARCHIVE