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51 out of 65 people found the following comment useful :-
Can't Resist Shanghai Kiss, 26 March 2007
10/10
Author: shoane from United States

There is something irresistible about Shanghai Kiss. The story is humorous, romantic, and thought-provoking at many different levels. A young Asian-American in search of his identity, played by Ken Leung, befriends a precocious teenager, played by Hayden Panettiere. Ken gave a brilliant performance as the witty, sensitive, and endearing young man. He was so natural that at no point did I doubt that he was that character. Hayden simply lights up the screen. Her eyes sparkle, and when she smiles, it just melts the audience's heart. As the story continues, Ken inherits a house in Shanghai, and meets a woman played by the lovely Kelly Hu. There are other relationships interwoven into the story, such as Ken's troubled relationship with his father, and his friendship with his straight-shooter nerdy buddy played superbly by Joel David Moore. I can barely do justice in describing how interesting the storyline is and how clever and humorous the dialogs are. But one thing I can say is that you would not be able to resist thinking about this film for days afterwards.

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39 out of 43 people found the following comment useful :-
Powerful film!, 31 August 2007
10/10
Author: froeper from United States

This movie wasn't what I was expecting at all when I sat down to watch it. It looks like they're marketing this as a light romantic comedy, which it is in a way: it's very very funny and romantic. But behind the comedy, there's layers of sadness that reminded me of Woody Allen at his best. Ken Leung's Liam might be the most complex character since Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. Here's a guy who can't really emotionally connect to anything - his family, his Chinese heritage, women, maybe the world. All he really has is his friendship with a free-spirited girl named Adelaide (Hayden P) who tries hard to get him to emotionally open up. Except she's only 16 and he can't be with her anyway. His father (Lo Pan), who he blames for his mother's death, calls him one day and tells him that his grandmother left him a house in Shanghai. So he decides to go their to sell it and make some bank.

That's the basic set up, which is conventional enough, but what is intriguing is every decision Liam makes throughout the rest of the movie. He's impulsive, impetuous, and relies solely on Al Pacino/Scarface type gut instincts. Even though he intellectualizes throughout the film, it's as if he doesn't trust himself nor his conclusions.

For example, there's a scene towards the beginning where he's drinking with a buddy of his. His buddy points out a cute girl at the bar, and Liam completely blasts her, calling her fake. Then at last call, when he's lost his buzz and the emptiness and loneliness of life has crept in, he starts to talk to this girl, whom he takes home. Later, she's lying next to him, making small talk and a tear runs down his face. It seemed shocking to me at first, but after a moment I knew exactly why he has crying. The scene was handled very delicately and very few actors could've pulled it off. This is such an interesting character that you can watch him eat a meal for an hour and not get bored.

Hayden is cute and charming. Her character is a dichotomy of maturity and playfulness, often at the same time. There's a scene at the end with her that's almost heartbreaking. J D Moore is hilarious as a writer who's fascinated by the opposite sex. I guess the weak link here is Kelly Hu, who's perfectly satisfactory, but her performance lacks depth. Also, her Chinese accent seemed to go in and out at times.

The best part of the film is the dialogue, which I guess is the thing that made me compare this to Woody Allen.

The movie is not without flaws. As mentioned: Kelly Hu's performance, the subplot with Byron Mann's character at the end (I won't spoil it) seemed contrived, some stilted dialogue by the river (or where ever they were), the scene where they first meet is slightly unbelievable (Beverly Hills teenager taking the bus?) although their relationship was developed well.

I'd say this is love or hate type movie. You will love it if you liked: Lost in Translation, Garden State, old Woody flicks, Little Miss Sunshine and other quirky indie comedies like that. Few things in the plot may not be believable for some, but I doubt anyone would say this isn't entertaining.

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25 out of 29 people found the following comment useful :-
fun movie with some depth, 10 October 2007
9/10
Author: head_hunter from Germany

hi, looking at the poster makes you think it might be just another teen/high school/college movie about love, friends etc. but this movie did surprise me a lot in terms of plot and made me laugh without using the f word but instead by using clever dialogs and many small scenes.

It is a movie about a troubled Asian American men (Ken) in his late twenties - a wannabe actor, without job, financially still depended on his dad, whom he cant get along with. at the same time, he gets to know a young 16 year old gorgeous (Hayden) high school girl, whom he really likes, but having the age difference in his head, his moral tells him not to take advantage of that situation. His life suddenly changes when inherited a house in shanghai and he decides moving there to find his own identity and to accept the fact he is not only amercan, but also Chinese.

like any other romance movies, the movie also starts off a little bit cheesy in the beginning, where the two main antagonists meet each other in the bus. But behind that, the movie differs a lot from the usual concept of a romance movie. The main plot is basically about a man's journey finding meaning in life, at the same time involved in a love relationship which is socially not acceptable due to the age difference. Besides the thoroughly thought dialogs, the unique plot, what I personally like most is the way Asian American man is portrayed here. He is not some math nerd, some kung fu guy, he is just some normal guy who is fun and troubled at the same time. Like you and me. This movie is definitely suitable of watching with your girlfriend/date, but it can also be enjoyed by watching alone.

i am going to order it as soon as it is available in Germany, and if you find any grammatical mistakes, you can keep it for yourself!

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27 out of 34 people found the following comment useful :-
Superb !! ~, 3 September 2007
Author: ichocolat from i1chocolat.blogspot.com

How can I begin to describe just how great this movie is? I mean, the movie is simply awesome! So I decided to make the list. Here it goes :

[1] The cast is absolutely amazing. Hayden Panettiere (who stars in the TV show Heroes as Claire Bennet) is absolutely stunning! Her eyes sparkle when she smiles and it surely will melt the audiences' hearts. Ken also does a great job in his acting. His smile is addictive and he is charming, not in the George Clooney kinda way, but more like in Justin Long. Oh ya, Kelly Hu also deliver top-notch acting. Credit to them all!

[2]The storyline is unique and refreshing: I gotta say that I have long to watch a movie that move away from clichés, predictable and forgettable storyline. The story touches my heart deeply it made me somewhat very close to the characters and I can almost feel their feelings, as if I am in their shoes. It is interwoven with many cute, witty moments, and also many sad and heartfelt moments.

[3] The scenery is breathtaking! Usually when I watch Hollywood movies with Shanghai scenes, I watched a filthy, smelly markets selling pork and rats, and people riding bicycles to go to their destinations. I mean, Shanghai is shown as a place that is forgotten by the fast-pace of the globalized world we live in today. However, in this movie, Shanghai is shown as a place with beautiful buildings and places of interests. It is such a refreshing sight.

[4] It is more than just a movie. It is about dilemma faced by many expatriates. They lead their lives away from their home country, and to come back into their hometown will definitely bring back many memories, both good and back. It will also makes one think about one's culture and roots. This movie did exactly this.

So a full score of 10 out of 10 for this movie. Gotta be top of the list to all movie-goers! :)

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29 out of 41 people found the following comment useful :-
Will lead the Asian American revolution., 3 September 2007
10/10
Author: drjsway from United States

I've been following this movie since before it even started shooting and managed to see it earlier this year at the San Francisco Film Festival. Now I see it's finally getting released. When I first read about it, I thought, an Asian guy dating a white girl in a Hollywood movie?! As an Asian guy myself I hoped it was good because I was sick of people like William Hung representing us. Harold and Kumar had a romantic subplot but it wasn't really the focus of the movie and Harold is a bumbling nerdy stereotype. The problem with AA movies is that none have been really good. Better Luck Tomorrow and Saving Face was probably the best (Motel's good), but where are the sex, lies, videotapes, Reservoir Dogs, Little Miss Sunshines, The Squid and The Whales? For an AA movie to break through into the mainstream, there needs to be a film that can be considered as great as any of those. Even better, it needs to be as good as the best movies out there: godfather, Annie Hall, The Apartment. So you can tell I had high expectations.

This movie surpassed my expectations. This is the film that is "good enough" to put AA cinema into the mainstream and I hope it leads the Asian American revolution and also, raises the standards of other Asian American movies. Good is not enough Asian American filmmakers, your movies need to be great. This movie was funny, sad, romantic, beautiful, and deals will so many issues like a young man struggling with feelings for a teenage girl, alcoholism and how it creates a wall to your family, the loss of a parent at a young age, communicational gaps between 2nd generation American and his 1st generation father, what it means to be American vs Chinese, racial stereotypes in Hollywood, leading a practical, stable life vs a fulfilling life (becoming a lawyer or an artist), maturity vs immaturity, following your heart vs complying to what's socially acceptable, - and it faces all these issues in a funny way. This movie is so funny and that's what makes it so enjoyable. It's not a message movie nor is it preachy. It doesn't try to make a statement, it just tries to entertain but the message, the statement comes through subtly. I hope other Asian American filmmakers take notice. The bar has been raised.

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22 out of 28 people found the following comment useful :-
Wow an Asian male lead who's more a lover than a fighter..., 4 September 2007
8/10
Author: lhhung_himself from United States

First of all, this is quite a touching story about a young man learning about himself and what drives him. One could easily see someone like Zach Braff playing the lead role and the movie does have a bit of the feel of Garden State with perhaps even sharper dialog. It would be a good movie without the added dimension of having the a realistic Asian-American male lead, Liam, brilliantly portrayed by Ken Leung. Liam has problems, but not the stereotypical Asian problem of shyness - he's has no problems picking up women of all races (though he prefers blondes) but can't seem to relate to any of them except a precocious teenager (wonderfully played by Hayden Panettiere of Heroes fame) who is off-limits.

He's forced to look deep into his roots when his grandmother whom he's never met leaves her house in Shanghai. The identity conflict that arise from being born in one country but raised in another is what I call the 1.5 generation problem. The first and second generation of immigrants identify with their country of birth, either the old country or the new one, but those of us that are in between are uniquely cognizant of both cultural pulls. It's not so bad in Canada where this is nearly the norm nowadays, but the monoculture in the US and the pressure to choose tribes puts a lot of stress on someone like Liam or I imagine, the writer, David Ren, who are both Asian and American and neither. This struggle is brought out sensitively, naturally and is touching without being overly sentimental or preachy.

I hope this film what Double Happiness and Sandra Oh did for female Asian-Americans (actually Canadian - she's from my home town) and acclimate Hollywood to a multi-faceted realistic male Asian lead. In any case, regardless of the political implications, this is just a good, enjoyable romantic comedy about a young man finding himself and well worth watching.

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26 out of 36 people found the following comment useful :-
Garden State but better, 5 September 2007
10/10
Author: hw711 from United States

WOW, you gotta see this movie. It has a non-stereotypical Chinese male lead, which is totally rare in Hollywood films. It's a drama that has some comedic moments. It's about this 28 year old Chinese American (this part same as me) living in LA struggling with his acting career and how an opportunity to leave his normal confine changed his outlook on life and his relationship with his father and others. There is the childhood mother accident and the resulting blaming game. There is the overly positive (polar opposite of main character) girl. I know, the overall storyline is almost exactly like Garden State but the detail experiences are completely different. I actually like it a lot more than Garden State. There are less drug use and weird stuff, instead, it has more real life problems and emotions. I don't mind the former, I like Garden State too but the latter just makes you feel so much closer to the characters.

I love the scenes in Shanghai. I really want to go there now. LOL. I wonder if Hayden got the opportunity to visit while shooting the movie. BTW, all the actors were amazing (even the potential house buyer couple). The main actors displayed all range of emotions very convincingly.

I have to admit, I saw an illegal copy of the movie. But I liked it so much that not only am I going to purchase a legit DVD for myself, I'm going to buy a few to give them to my friends. It's unfortunate there is not enough promotion for it so I'm going to help spread the words myself.

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20 out of 25 people found the following comment useful :-
Definition of a great film, 3 November 2007
10/10
Author: siddharthkan from India

There is so much that has been said already about this film in the previous comments. I just want to add my bit about what I liked in the film. Recently lot of films coming out of Hollywood are daring to explore the question of identity. After 9/11, US government and its institutions are now looking beyond Latin America and Europe. There is both a positive and negative engagement with the other cultures and civilizations. Negative comes out in its dealing with Iraq, Afganistan, Korea and Iran.

Positive form of engagement is seen in the genuine interest in their language, culture and migrants from these countries. There is now a renewed vigour among the American students to learn Arabic, Urdu, Bangla, Hindi, Chinese and other Asian and African languages. Now there is more grant for University Departments dealing with these areas in US. Overall, people are reading more, listening more and watching more to understand more about these people. These nationalities are not just "out there" but they are also "in here" living amongst them as a silent, though a vibrant and prosperous minority of the US society.

Two films dealing with the similar theme of cultural identity and rootlessness came out in theaters this year namely, The Namesake and Shanghai Kiss. Both of them describe a protagonist who is lost and feels isolated and rootless in the cold and desolate American cities. Both have a protagonist that undertakes a journey home to rediscover his roots but comes back feeling more rootless. Both explore the basic question that every migrant faces: Where is the Home? And both the films in some way or the other try to answer that question by invoking a universal emotion called LOVE.

I being an Indian should identify more with The Namesake but thats not the case. I found Shanghai Kiss a lot better. The Namesake was backed by the bestselling book by Jhumpa Lahiri for its story but the story limits the flow of the movie in more ways than one. The pace is slow, very slow and it drags. Arty Stuff, Haan! But Shanghai Kiss dazzles us with its witty dialog, fast pace and great performances by all the actors. Even when it explores the question of identity it never resorts to over-sentimentalism.

I recommend Shanghai Kiss to everyone who is looking for a great Comedy. Although I am not a big fan of comedy (Drama is my thing) But once in a long while there comes a comedy that makes U sit up and take notice. Last time it happened when Elizabethtown was out and now it has happened with Shanghai Kiss. And you can clearly see why? Both films explore the same themes, both involve a journey for the protagonist to trace one's roots, both have great dialog and both are also cute love stories.

Go and watch Shanghai Kiss, if you loved When Harry Met Sally you are going to digg this one too.

P.S. I heard the producers trying hard to get The Namesake nominated for Oscars. Producers of Shanghai Kiss Wake Up!

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13 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
Lovely movie and great theme!, 16 October 2007
10/10
Author: josephson

My parents are 10 years apart. It's a sweet story really and i believe though race/cultural plot was a big one, the age difference was another overlooked theme - love transcends all.

The acting was very captivating. Ken's performance warms on you as the movie goes on and he really wows you the more you see him. Hayden of course was adorable and sweet as always with her role. Her character's hope, faithfulness, and never-give-up attitude is infectious and desirable and inspirational!

Also, Ken's quest for his roots takes him back to a place that ultimately helps him to see his present place much more clearly and better than before! It's a great film about discovery and journey, sacrifice, and ultimately love.

It's too bad this film didn't really hit it on the big screen but the performances are superb and you have to love Hayden's voice - she's a great singer. Hope to see a sequel. This film will catch on big as it hits DVD.

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15 out of 21 people found the following comment useful :-
For once, a non-fighting/nerdy/criminal role for an Asian male., 20 October 2007
10/10
Author: hitman514-1 from Canada

Before Spike Lee came around, Black male actors weren't getting the best roles - a) They were usually the first to die in any movie, b) they normally played the roles of drug dealers, gangsters, criminals, slaves, convicts, and pimps). c) Their roles were restricted to action/crime, musical, or sports-related movies.

Spike Lee changed all of that and it's because of Spike that we got to see black actors, such as Denzel, Terrence Howard, and Jamie Foxx (to name a few)get powerful Oscar-worthy roles.

To date, Asian actors are still suffering in Hollywood.

The only roles Asian actors can get in Hollywood are: a) the evil Asian-villain who gets beaten by the white hero...and the white hero saves the beautiful Asian girl from the clutches of "Dr.Fu-Manchu" b) a gangster, Viet-Cong soldier, Shaolin-Monk, Martial Arts teacher, Chinese-takeout cook/delivery-man, computer-geek, pingpong player, etc... c) anything to do with Martial Arts

It's about time that we have an Asian Spike-Lee! David Ren has stepped up to the batter's box and hit a grand slam with this one and I hope that he comes back for more!

This flick has it all...relevant themes, great movie, great cast, and great director!

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