He wrote and directed the film “King's Highway." His smile is infectious and his optimistic and loving spirit is something to be treasured.  He and Tsai carry on as if they’ve known each other their entire lives. There are times when a small film comes my way and I feel that it’s my obligation to pass along the good word to anyone who’ll listen to me. Scott Malchus is an employee of Cartoon Network and Turner Broadcasting. I applaud this move. Interviews with leading film and TV creators about their process and craft. Another standout is Payton, a fine actor who nails each of his scenes perfectly. Ping Pong Playa is directed with a sure hand by Academy Award-winning director Jessica Yu (who won for the best documentary short, Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O’Brien). But Tsai is a genuine star in the making. Sadly, with Ping Pong Playa, there just aren't enough goofy characters to fill the film's holes. Whenever JP Money is on camera, everything lights up. Blaming genetics for his failure to make it as an NBA star (in truth, he sucks at roundball) Christopher lives at home with his parents. Fate intercedes and Christopher inadvertently causes a car accident that injures both Michael and their mom. This Article is related to: Reviews and tagged. Scott Malchus is a writer, filmmaker and die hard Cleveland Indians fan. As played by Jimmy Tsai (who also co-wrote the script), twentysomething hip-hop wannabe "C-Dub" is a limp caricature of nerdish posturing and manchild selfishness. The plot will, of course, be all but dispensable: C-dub’s slacking inadvertently threatens his family’s ping pong supply business and reputation for expertise in the sport, and so he must step up his ping pong game, coaching a band of young table tennis misfits and winning the National “Golden Cock” Table Tennis Tournament (and, in the process, “the girl”) in order to save the day. Ping Pong Playa is the bomb, yo. After watching with a smile plastered on my face for its duration, two thoughts crossed my mind after watching Ping Pong Playa: 1) Why wasn’t this film a hit? Ping Pong Playa is a 2007 sports comedy film directed by Jessica Yu and written by Yu and Jimmy Tsai. 2) Everyone should rent or buy this movie. Christopher also lives in the shadow of his older brother, Michael, a doctor and ping pong champion. The writers hit every moment perfectly with this heartwarming, yet not sugary script. The camera work is fluid and not showy, utilizing locations throughout the Los Angeles area. Hopefully, by everyone doing number 2, we can make number 1 become a reality. Like all other films of its type, “Ping Pong Playa” falls back on sometimes obvious and occasionally pointless jokes (like C-dub’s repeated and tasteless mockery of an obese kid of about twelve), but it’s mostly a little shrewder about stereotypes than your typical slacker comedy, deriving its edge from Yu and Tsai’s mining of the cultural specificity of Asian-America for laughs. Disney+ Reorganizes its Marvel Screen, Calls Non-MCU Films "Marvel Legacy Movies", Fear the Walking Dead Season 6 Premiere Review, The Haunting of Bly Manor: Ending Explained, The Boys Season 2 Ending Explained: All the Clues to THAT Reveal, Things Ghost of Tsushima Doesn't Tell You. Bright and hilarious, Ping Pong Playa is a so-silly-it's-smart comedy starring Jimmy Tsai, whose uproarious cinematic id, C-dub, is a character I would be happy to watch for many sequels to come. Copyright © 2020 Penske Business Media, LLC. Ping Pong Playa is good-natured to be sure, despite the swear words humorously "bleeped" with basketball bounces and ping-pong paddling (the rating is a family-friendy-ish PG-13). Every character in the movie is well rounded and fully conceived. Parents need to know that Ping Pong Summer is an indie coming-of-age comedy set in the summer of 1985 in Ocean City, Maryland.A Sundance Film Festival flick, the movie is fine for most teens. Wau has a subtle touch, in particular during his scenes with Tsai which are true to the spirit of any movie father/son relationship. However, the hardcore curse words are covered up by the sound of a basketball slamming against the pavement. Sign up for our Email Newsletters here. Finally, the soundtrack is full of some sweet rap songs that address the Chinese American experience. The story centers on a Chinese ping pong family living in California with a buffoonish and irreverent son. Email: [email protected]. curse like we normal folk are prone to do). With this paper-thin pretext, the film rests entirely on the shoulders of an abrasive, clueless, yet oddly charming protagonist. In the film, Jimmy Tsai is Christopher “C-dub” Wang, a Chinese-American gangsta-rapper wannabe with outrageous, and unlikely, dreams of becoming a pro basketball star. These dreams all involve his best friend, JP Money, played with pizzazz by Khary Payton. Ping Pong Playa is a silly low-budget comedy that's a somewhat clever look at the Chinese-American identity. In doing this, he discovers something about himself and gradually grows out of being a manchild and finally becomes a man. Mr. and Mrs. Wang run a lucrative ping pong store in Los Angeles and also teach ping pong to local kids. The film’s pace moves along briskly, yet allows for emotional moments to breath. All rights reserved. It’s as if the father understands that his son is searching for his place in the world; he is trying to be patient. Although he created C-dub, there was some question whether Tsai, who previously had no film acting experience, could carry the film. C-dub’s father loudly sings Chinese opera while wokking up Spam for breakfast and his mother endures other Chinese mothers bragging about their own children over fit-balls at the gym. Get The Latest IndieWire Alerts And Newsletters Delivered Directly To Your Inbox.

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