Intermittently funny at best, but mostly full of dead air.
Finishing the Game (2007)
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Reviews Counted:34
Fresh:12
Rotten:22
Average Rating:4.8/10
Consensus: Though Justin Lin's premise is precocious enough, the sight gags and comic timing are tired in this mockumentary about Asian typecasting in the 1970s.
Theatrical Release:Oct 5, 2007 Limited
Synopsis:
The unexpected death of Bruce Lee, a world-wide phenomenon and established movie star, came at the zenith of his popularity. Having already shot scenes for his upcoming movie GAME OF DEATH, studio...
The unexpected death of Bruce Lee, a world-wide phenomenon and established movie star, came at the zenith of his popularity. Having already shot scenes for his upcoming movie GAME OF DEATH, studio heads decided to complete the film by launching a search for his replacement attracting hopefuls from all around the world. FINISHING THE GAME is an uproarious, poignant, unpredictable and action-packed re-imagining of that casting process for Lee's replacement and examines the leaps and bounds Asians have taken in media representation - or have they?
--© IFC Films
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Starring: Roger Fan, Sung Kang, Meredith Scott Lynn, McCaleb Burnett
Starring: Roger Fan, Sung Kang, Meredith Scott Lynn, McCaleb Burnett, Monique Gabriela Curnen, Mousa Kraish, Dustin Nguyen
Director: Justin Lin
Director: Justin Lin
Screenwriter: Josh Diamond, Justin Lin
Producer: Julie Asato, Salvador Gatdula, Justin Lin
Composer: Brian Tyler
Studio: IFC Films
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Reviews for Finishing the Game
Finishing the Game serves up a kick-ass comedy about a dead martial arts star, starving actors and the Hollywood system.
There's about five minutes of funny in Finishing the Game, which leaves 83 minutes of "Oh, that same joke again, huh?"
Besmirching Bruce Lee's name like this should be a punishable offense.
What little potential there is ends up squandered within nanoseconds; as both a parody and a polemic, the film is finished before it’s barely begun.
A lot of the gags fall thuddingly flat, but a fair number of them also land squarely on target.
A very funny, equal-opportunity broadside that targets Asian stereotyping, and not just by non-Asians.
You can easily tell how great a time everyone is having, and it's infectious.
A pleasant surprise with a high concept premise that allows for funnier situations and characters than some of Christopher Guest's last few offerings.
The breezy tone and obvious fun being had by the cast make Finishing the Game a slight, low-key cool cinematic essay on identity politics.
You get the sense that Justin Lin has never even seen Game of Death... I've got to imagine there were some actual lines and scenes from Game of Death that would have been funny in this context.
Call it a comic documentary, a true-life comedy, or a Hollywood satire, but however you karate chop this one, it's a kicky, clever, highly amusing romp.
A faux documentary grounded in ethnicity and mired in absurdity, Finishing the Game is a terrific idea still waiting to be fashioned into a real movie.
The premise was so golden and in front of our noses for so long, it’s amazing that is has taken this long for someone to do it. I’m still upset that it wasn’t me.
The search for the next Bruce Lee goes comically awry, but not comically enough, in Finishing the Game, a rice-paper-thin spoof that tries to poke fun at the endangered Hollywood species that is the Asian male actor.
Good-naturedly confront issues of racism and the stereotyping of Asian-American actors to question whether the bad old days are really so far in the past.
Latest News for Finishing the Game
October 06, 2007:
Trailer & Poster review ![]()
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October 04, 2007:
Critical Consensus: Heartbreak Needs Discipline, Jane Worth Perusing, Seeker Reeks
This week at the movies, we've got honeymooners (The Heartbreak Kid, starring Ben Stiller and Michelle Monhagan), teenage heroes (The Seeker, starring Alexander Ludwig),... More...
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