Most of writer-director Justin Lin's shapeless movie is as bland as the neighborhood.
Better Luck Tomorrow (2003)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
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
Get This Movie
Reviews for Better Luck Tomorrow
Although directed in a pop-smart style that eschews dark, deterministic melodramatics for an unsettlingly sunny tone ... the film also frustrates for having come so close to being something truly challenging.
About how incredibly stupid the smartest of kids can be, which is inherently watchable.
While its characters are specifically Asian American ... the film really speaks to all young people, about dangerous games and their disturbingly untidy consequences.
A film that merges cocaine, Ivy League, college applications, the Asian American experience, dark comedy and high school drama while maintaining a personal tone and likable lead characters is just too impressive to knock.
Beyond its mangled morals ... Better Luck is a riveting and stylized ride from a director with great promise.
The director sacrifices finesse to run around in the baggy duds of a lurid gangsta flick looking for street cred.
An impressively authentic portrait of teenagers who, given too much money and freedom by absent parents, have confused maturity with a veneer of sophistication and blase amorality.
Starts out like an Asian-American version of The Breakfast Club, but quickly turns more towards Boyz N The Hood...shows what can happen when rich kids at private school and smart kids at public school get bored.
Although this movie shows Lin's promising moviemaking sensibilities, its point of view feels coldly amoral and dismissive.
Like his characters, Lin may be an overachiever and the strain of trying to do too much shows.
...Lin infuses even the most cliched aspects of the screenplay with a sense of style that's never overbearing...
The film really rumbles in the undercurrent of race and identity that Lin sketches in the margins of their lives...
Disturbing and enlightening, Better Luck Tomorrow is one of the few contemporary films guaranteed to make you think. And it won't let go.
A coming-of-age film that takes the cliché of wanting to be cool and gives it a very particularized spin.
Latest News for Better Luck Tomorrow
March 24, 2007:
Idris Elba Flashes Back With "Prom Night" Remake
In announcing his involvement in the "Prom Night" remake, Idris Elba also revealed the new hook for this version. Instead of one slash-fest, this "Prom... More...
September 29, 2005:
Third "Fast & Furious" Flick Gets a Title ... and a Few More Cast Members
Just a few days ago we learned that Bow Wow and Lucas Black would be starring in "Fast and the Furious 3," and now comes word from Variety that the sequel's official... More...
September 27, 2005:
Bow Wow & Lucas Black to Headline "Fast and the Furious 3"
Hanh Nguyen of Zap2it.com brings some new casting notices for the third entry in the "Fast and the Furious" franchise, which is scheduled to begin shooting in Japan... More...
June 09, 2005:
"Better Luck" Director to Helm Third "Furious" Flick
Justin Lin, director of the acclaimed indie "Better Luck Tomorrow," has been signed by Universal to direct the third entry of their "Fast and the Furious"... More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 77% 77% | The Hangover |
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 24% 24% | G-Force |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 90% 90% | District 9 |
| 86% 86% | 500 Days of Summer |
| 63% 63% | Extract |
| 06% 06% | All About Steve |
| 78% 78% | It Might Get Loud |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Around The Network
- Better Luck Tomorrow at Rotten Tomatoes
- Better Luck Tomorrow at IGN
- Better Luck Tomorrow at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

Last week, MSN gave us their top 09 films. Now see what their favorites of the decade are!

Here's a list of the 50 best movies of 2009, according to the good people over at Moviefone.

Hollywood.com takes a stab at determining who in movies will be on Santa's naughty list in 2009.

TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.

Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!



Top Critic



