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Better Luck Tomorrow (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 95
Fresh: 76
Rotten:19
Average Rating: 7/10
Consensus: A promising work by Lin, the energetic Better Luck Tomorrow is disturbing and thought-provoking.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] Rated R for violence, drug use, language and sexuality
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Apr 11, 2003 Limited
Box Office: $3,687,324
Synopsis: Everyone knows a person like Ben - the perfect Asian American high school teen - extremely intelligent, a perfectionist, overachiever whose tunnel vision leads to nothing less than graduating at... Everyone knows a person like Ben - the perfect Asian American high school teen - extremely intelligent, a perfectionist, overachiever whose tunnel vision leads to nothing less than graduating at the top of the class and acceptance to the best Ivy League university. Ben lives in an upper middle class, conservative suburb of Orange County, California. As Ben struggles to achieve social success in high school, we discover his darker side. Along with two friends, Virgil, a brilliant yet awkward, overeager and socially inept misfit, and Virgil's cousin Han, a lost soul with more brawn than brains, Ben leads a double life of mischief and petty crimes that alleviate the pressures of perfection. At the start of his high school freshman year, Ben befriends Daric, the senior valedictorian ? another archetypical overachiever and perfectionist. But Daric is somewhat odd. While being the most intelligent student in the class, he also seems to be the most volatile and dangerous. Behind his trusting and benevolent façade lies a lurking secret, a timebomb ready to explode. With Daric at the helm, this group of misfit teens bands together into a suburban gang. As their adopted identity grows, Ben and the gang tumble into a downward spiral of excitement, excess, fun and growing danger. Ben's life careens out of control, into an intoxicating mix of sex, drugs and crime, leading to a surprisingly chaotic and violent end that will leave audiences engrossed, speechless and ultimately disturbed. -- © Trailing Johnson Productions [More]
Starring: Parry Shen, Jason J. Tobin, Sung Kang, Roger Fan
Starring: Parry Shen, Jason J. Tobin, Sung Kang, Roger Fan, John Cho, Jerry Mathers, Karin Anna Cheung
Director: Justin Lin
Director: Justin Lin
Screenwriter: Ernesto M. Foronda, Justin Lin, Fabian Marquez
Producer: Julie Asato, Ernesto M. Foronda, Justin Lin
Composer: Michael J. Gonzales
Studio: MTV Films
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Reviews for Better Luck Tomorrow
Spends more time avoiding Asian-American stereotypes than it does making sense of its characters and plot.
Has an optimistic outlook that uses pessimistic results in a manner fitting for a film of such solid morality.
You could have replaced everyone in this movie with the cast of some lily-white show like Dawson's Creek and nobody would notice the difference.
Justin Lin’s biggest accomplishment is providing a stereotype-shattering insiders’ view of the angst and rage of a group of Asian teenagers ...
At times Lin's story slides into crime cliches, but whatever he lacks in plotting he makes up for in style and brute emotional force.
. . .its bolder themes and naked ambition heighten the sense of disappointment towards the film’s end when it fails to deliver on its initial promise.
The picture's relative uniqueness is what intrigues and compels, marking Better Luck Tomorrow as important, if not ultimately entirely successful.
Reviewers seem surprised that a young Asian-American filmmaker has been reading Bret Easton Ellis and watching Quentin Tarantino, when in reality the opposite would be startling...
Those looking for the gangster movie seen in the TV spots will be seriously disappointed.
a fairly provocative look at teenage life, featuring the kinds of multidimensional characters that aren't typically included in movies aimed at the high school crowd.
...a worthy movie, but it shouldn’t be the best one Justin Lin ever makes.
For Asian-Americans, the perception of their culture takes a new turn in “Better Luck Tomorrow”, Director Justin Lin’s wonderful bold new film that is well acted by an amazing ensemble.
Unique, highly entertaining, completely uncompromising and terrifically acted.
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June 09, 2005:
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