Writer-director Georgia Lee is sadly not above such antic touches of whimsy in this family film, which rarely approaches anything akin to reality.
Red Doors (2005)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:22
Fresh:13
Rotten:9
Average Rating:6/10
Theatrical Release:Sep 8, 2006 Limited
Synopsis: Red Doors tells the story of the Wongs, a bizarrely dysfunctional Chinese-American family living in the New York suburbs. Ed Wong (Tzi Ma) has just retired and plots to escape his mundane life.... Red Doors tells the story of the Wongs, a bizarrely dysfunctional Chinese-American family living in the New York suburbs. Ed Wong (Tzi Ma) has just retired and plots to escape his mundane life. However, the tumultuous, madcap lives of his three rebellious daughters change his plans. Samantha (Jacqueline Kim), the eldest daughter, is a tough New York businesswoman engaged to a prominent young man (Jayce Bartok). Festering beneath her controlled surface, however, is a deep-rooted resentment for being pushed onto the straight and narrow path. As she nears her thirtieth birthday, Samantha begins to reevaluate her career and love life. When she runs into an old high school flame (Rossif Sutherland) during a visit to her hometown, Samantha is thrust into a soul-searching journey that compels her to reexamine how she has lived her life until now. Julie (Elaine Kao), the shy middle sister, is a fourth-year medical student whose only social outlet is her weekly ballroom dance class. Julie has always been the quiet center of the Wong family storm. However, Julie’s world is turned upside down when she meets Mia Scarlett (Mia Riverton), a movie star researching her next role at the hospital, who sets Julie's heart aflame. While Julie grapples with the difficulties of dating a celebrity, she also tries to keep her own family from falling apart. Katie (Kathy Shao-Lin Lee), the youngest sister, is a disaffected high school senior who engages in an elaborate prank war with Simon (Sebastian Stan), her longtime neighbor and nemesis. While the pranks start out innocuously, the incidents rapidly escalate to dangerous proportions until the two finally discover their own peculiar brand of emotional connection. Before Ed disappears, he decides to re-visit his history through old VHS footage of the Wong family (the director's own home video footage). The stark contrast between the happier past and the colder reality of the present compel Ed to leave home. Yet, while the Wongs may no longer be able to verbally express their feelings, Ed and the daughters learn to communicate again through the stories and images from the past. -- © Official Site [More]
Starring: Tzi Ma, Jacqueline Kim, Jayce Bartok, Freda Foh Shen
Starring: Tzi Ma, Jacqueline Kim, Jayce Bartok, Freda Foh Shen, Elaine Kao, Kathy Shao-Lin Lee, Mia Riverton, Sebastian Stan
Director: Georgia Lee
Director: Georgia Lee
Screenwriter: Georgia Lee
Composer: Robert Miller
Studio: Polychrome Pictures
Get This Movie
Reviews for Red Doors
Not surprisingly, the three Wong sisters and their father could exist in separate movies -- their (short) stories are interesting but not convincingly knit together. Think of Red Doors as a promise, and hope that [director] Georgia Lee keeps it.
This family drama is balanced between equal measures of dark humor and pathos so that Red Doors floats gently between sentimentality and cynicism. It’s a lovely little film, and well done.
You don't have to be Asian-American to appreciate the Wongs with all their flaws and missteps; this could be your family, or the family of anyone you know, and in that way the film crosses that invisible genre line in the sand.
Like many first-time writer-directors, she packs five films' worth of drama, crises and revelations into one, and often lapses into sitcom triteness.
... the script falls victim to the stereotypes and cliches so often found in movies about Asian-American families.
Red Doors feels like a first-time film; quirks are overplayed while themes remain underdeveloped.
Named for the traditional Chinese color of good luck, the gentle indie drama Red Doors is really more in the rosy pink range of the color palette than a more primary emotional hue.
This agreeable, lightweight movie, written and directed by Georgia Lee, turns the malaises of a suburban family into bittersweet farce that teeters between cheeky humor and surface pathos.
Two storylines make Red Doors an enjoyable film but there are so many things holding it back (the mother/wife's story is given no real time to connect with the audience) that stop it from being a respectable movie.
A few of the plot threads are woven more neatly than others, but the film makes for a promising debut.
Although deserving a place in the annals of dignified cinema, Georgia Lee's breakthough feature film is a snoozer.
Doesn't bode well for the Tribeca Film Festival that this was considered the best dramatic feature.
Red Doors is so well-meaning, with such obvious affection for its characters, that it pleases nonetheless.
The director attempts a disquisition on the beast of ethnic assimilation, except her point is obvious only in the way she lazily cobbles her story together from the worst indie-movie clichés made fashionable in the wake of American Beauty.
Despite pic's earnestness and obvious good intentions, narrative elements, carefully set forth though they may be, fall back on overfamiliar, underdeveloped tropes.
Latest News for Red Doors
September 07, 2006:
Box Office Guru Preview: Covenant Brings Evil to Theaters
After welcoming in four new wide releases per week for seven straight weekends, the North American box office slows it down a bit on Friday with only one saturation release and... More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 86% 86% | A Christmas Tale |
| 60% 60% | Paper Heart |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Around The Network
- Red Doors at Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh Links
Featured

MSN Movies offers a little background on the success of Disney Animation.

TIME takes a look back at the history of vampires on film.

Techland examines the visual splendor of Peter Jackson's upcoming film.

AOL put together a list of 10 recent news items that would be perfect as TV Movies.

Hollywood.com's C. Robert Cargill explores how remakes and reboots have warped our thinking.
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!



Top Critic


