The cover of Better Luck Tomorrow does an excellent job of giving the gist of the film. It shows the six major players in the film and tags them with their roles. We begin with Ben (Parry Shen),
The Overachieving star of the film. Next up is Virgil, Ben's best friend whom the cover describes as
The Clown. Virgil's cousin Han whom is described as
The Muscle.. Each of these three begin their downfall from the Asian perception of normal when they meet the school's newspaper editor Steve Choe, who introduces them to the petty crime of cheat sheets and the cover describes as
The Mastermind.
Things soon escalate from simple cheating and scams to more serious crimes such as drug trafficking. Along the way each of these guys are able to somehow maintain high grades and complete schoolwork on time. They even for an Academic Decathalon that eventually wins the National Championshp.
For all of their successes though, they cannot compare to the gifts that Daric Loo has been born into. Going to the private school, dating the hot girl who happens to be Ben's lab partner (Stephanie Vandergosh whom the cover describes as The Beauty), and driving expensive cars while living in a mansion. Daric, as the cover describes as The Boyfriend. Daric's a pretty boy with everything who propels Ben and Stephanie together since he doesn't "dig" social functions. Daric also leads the gang into deeper and deeper crime with the end result being that one of the six will lose their life at the end of the film.
Director Justin Lin won many accords at the Sundance Film Festival with this movie. Unlike The Debut which showed the Asian American community in one light, Better Luck Tomorrow shows a much darker side. I am not asian and nor can I even begin to comprehend how much pressure there must be in their social structure. However films like these are needed and much appreciated.
The Disc:
For a film that pretty much began as an indie flick, Better Luck Tomorrow's 1:85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen presentation is pristine with Paramount's standard quality. Much of the film has a distinct look to it that makes it very memorable. The transfer here is really well done for a disc of this magnitude.
Sounds in the film are pretty substandard on the other hand. Several instances of the dialog seemed muffled with the clarity not quite what we are used to for the DVD format. While I am being quite picky here, things really should be better than this. However this is not home theater expedition film anyways so I guess we can forgive those few moments in the film.
Not surprising, though, is that the only extras are a trailer and Feature Length Audio Commentary With Director Justin Linn and Co-Writers Ernesto Foronado and Fabian Marquez. Once again it is quite interesting to hear from the minds of those who write stories like these. I mean this story could be a damn biography afterall with its realistic settings and possible outcomes. Definitely listen to this track once you have viewed the movie. It will give you a different point of view of what questions Linn leaves unanswered.
bottom line:
It's easy to see why MTV latched onto this film. It is a ride that many people wouldn't even see in real life due to the fact that dark secrets usually go on without anyone noticing. This is especially true when you're supposed to be "perfect". It just shows that anyone can succumb to the dark side.
5 out of 5
By - Brian Gray
