Shanghai Kiss

posted by Alan
(click on pictures to see them full size)


Movie Review - Shanghai Kiss
I watched this movie before we left for China. My brother Robbie had it on his computer and I took it based on the name, but had no idea what it was about, who was in it or what to expect. That's probably a good thing, because had I seen the DVD cover, I probably wouldn't have given it a chance. Turns out, it "stars" Hayden Panetierre (cheerleader from Heroes), before she was The Cheerleader from Heroes and Ken Leung (the Asian guy from LOST -not Jin-.) Also stars the miscast (but always welcome) Kelly Hu, who is way too good looking for the role.

Without revealing too much, the plot centers around Leung, being forced to confront his identity as an Asian-American. being both connected to, but not really a part of American or Chinese culture, he finds himself in the middle of both, trying to figure out where he belongs. In LA, as an actor, he's "the Chinese guy" and in Shanghai, as a visitor, he's "the American." It also involves some bizarre love stories between the characters, especially Hayden Panetierre, over-acting as a 16 year-old who has this awkward relationship with Leung (30 something). Every single scene that she's involved with made me feel incredibly uncomfortable. In fact, the first 24 minutes of this movie is uncomfortable, but after that, becomes unexpectedly interesting. It's a straight to DVD movie with no rating and although it seems like a romantic teen-type movie (because of Panetierre), it's really not. They only featured her on the DVD cover after Heroes blew up. In fact, I'm still wondering why she's in the movie at all.



Overall, I'd say it's worth watching. It's not a great movie by any stretch, but what I like about it is that it doesn't follow any typical Hollywood pattern of storytelling. It's kind of weird actually. It's also actually filmed IN Shanghai, really capturing the vibrancy and beauty of the city in a pretty authentic way. They even have a bunch of Shanghainese thrown in there if you wanna hear how crazy that language is. I think the movie will especially resonate with anyone that has ever visited Shanghai and especially for those who have spent some time here. Ken Leung is also pretty decent at his role, which he had to be because he really had to carry the movie by himself. Again, don't expect to be blown away by some great achievement in filmmaking, but if you're up for something different and wanna check out Shanghai a bit more, or just feast on some Kelly Hu eye candy, give this movie a try.

Here is a plot summary from the press release:
Liam Liu ( Ken Leung, HBO's THE SOPRANOS) is a likeable, struggling L.A. actor who inadvertently finds himself as the object of affection for a pretty Beverly Hills teen (Hayden Panettiere, NBC's HEROES). When Liam inherits his grandmother’s home in Shanghai, his visit to China and introduction to Micky (Kelly Hu, THE SCORPION KING, XMEN 2)--a woman who captures his imagination like no other—force him to reconsider his Chinese roots. Caught between two worlds (and two women), Liam must now sort out the complicated desires of his heart, and find out who he really is.

Response to comments:
Corey - Linkin Park puts on a good show, but nope, no moshing over here. In a smaller venue and if it's encouraged, then maybe, but this was a big production in Shanghai Stadium with rows of plastic chairs set up. But they were definitely into it and were up on their feet the whole time, but no choas. And I'm thinking that's a good thing...