Always Be My Maybe Review by Brooke Daugherty
June 7, 2019 5:16 pm |
Netflix Original Always Be My Maybe might be your typical Romantic Comedy, but that makes it even more ground breaking. The representation of this film is amazing: all major characters are people of color with nearly all with some Asian heritage; together all three screenwriters represent Chinese, Filipino, Vietnamese, and Korean heritages; and the director is Iranian. The best part – no one is a stereotype. All the characters are fleshed out to a point appropriate for screen time and everyone of them brings forth a stellar performance.
Directed by Nahnatchka Khan and written by stars Ali Wong and Randall Park with Michael Golamco the film starts off with a young Sasha Tran and her best friend/neighbor Marcus Kim in various childhood situations. The story jumps to their late teens when their friendship is broken once Marcus (Park) and Sasha (Wong) wind up having sex in Marcus’ car after his mother’s funeral.
Flash forward 16 years, we see Sasha as a successful celebrity chef engaged to successful businessman, Brandon Choi, played by Daniel Dae Kim. When Brandon puts off the marriage for a business trip, Sasha heads to her hometown of San Francisco to open a new restaurant concept. Marcus and his father wind up installing the air conditioning at Sasha’s temporary lodging where their friendship is reignited despite early tension. After the marriage is delayed again, Sasha breaks things off officially with Brandon and begins seeing, of all people, Keanu Reeves.
Sasha, Keanu, Marcus and Marcus’ free-spirited girlfriend, Jenny (Vivian Bang) go on a double date beginning at an elite restaurant and ending with Marcus punching Keanu in his hotel room after a “truth or dare” like game. Although Keanu plays himself, it is an over the top version with all the Zen actor tropes. Keanu gives one of his best performances, with great comedic timing and a knack for playing an exaggerated caricature of himself without hamming up the performance. Following the disastrous date, Sasha and Marcus begin dating.
While Sasha has been away, Marcus has continued living with his father Harry and playing with his high school band, Hello Peril, exclusively in his neighborhood. James Saito is endearing as the elder Kim, so much so, I would have liked more of him. Sasha and Marcus break up when she moves to New York for another restaurant opening and Marcus refuses to follow. After realizing not moving on from his mother’s death, Marcus moves out of Harry’s and works to get Hello Peril larger gigs. He begins to regret letting Sasha go and tries to contact her when he finds out she has been purchasing his band’s merchandise and driving up sales. Marcus heads to California to assure Sasha he will always be where she is. Her new restaurant opens as a tribute to Marcus’ mother, showcasing her recipes and she is the namesake.
Overall, this film is funny and heartwarming, albeit predictable. The storyline’s predictability is eclipsed by the character development and performances. If you went into this movie blind, the reveal of Keanu Reeves would be a great twist. We come a long way from a white man in yellow face in Breakfast at Tiffany’s to a Chinese/Vietnamese woman portraying a leading lady with a Korean man as her leading man. With the release of Crazy Rich Asians in 2018, these films are ushering in a new time with better representation of Asian Americans as people and not just nail technicians or math geniuses. As a Caucasian woman, I see women who “look like me” all the time, but I related a bit to Sasha. She was independent, creative, and saw herself get caught up in relationships that didn’t suit her. Plus, she wore awesome glasses (Leading ladies don’t usually wear glasses except to prove when they are hot). I would love to see more collaborations between Wong and Park. Along with Michael Golamco, the trio brought to life real people with layers most ethnicities can relate to.
PCL Rating: Tupperware
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: FRESH 🍅
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Tags: Ali Wong, Always Be My Maybe, Brooke Daugherty Pop Culture Leftovers, netflix, Randall Park
Categorised in: Movie Reviews
This post was written by Leftover Brian
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