A 2023 film adaptation of Adrian Tomine's graphic novel of the same name, directed by Randall Park from a screenplay by Tomine.
Japanese-American cinephile and movie theater manager Ben Tagawa (Justin H. Min)'s relationship with his girlfriend Miko (Ally Maki) is on the rocks. When Miko moves to New York City for an internship, Ben contemplates his desire, future, and identity.
The film co-stars Sherry Cola, Debby Ryan, Tavi Gevinson, Sonoya Mizuno, Jacob Batalon, and Timothy Simons.
Tropes for the film:
- Big Applesauce: Miko and Alice both idolize New York City, to the annoyance of Ben. In the second half of the film, "Big Applesauce" is seemingly done in earnest, with plenty of shots of New York skylines.
- Casting Gag
- Along with Fake Nationality: Korean-American Justin H. Min plays Japanese-American Ben Tagawa, while Chinese-American Sherry Cola plays Korean-American Alice. Ben claims he is often confused for Korean, which Alice laughs off. Lampshaded and handwaved in-universe with Racial Face Blindness and Interchangeable Asian Cultures.
- Ronny Chieng, who appeared in Crazy Rich Asians, cameos in a Crazy Rich Asians-like film-within-the-film.
- Jacob Batalon as a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man films, which he's a lead in.
- Celebrity Paradox: Jacob Batalon's character loves the Marvel Cinematic Universe and specifically says "nothing beats the new Spider-Man; Batalon rose to prominence as Ned Leeds in the MCU Spider-Man films, beginning with Spider-Man: Homecoming.
- Chekhov's Gun: Ben's pillowcase gets a lot of focus in the first act. Ben later finds photographs taken by Leon of Miko with the pillowcase, revealing that they were having an affair before Miko went to New York.
- Chekhov's Gunman: A subtle example: Ben sees an Asian-American man staring at him and Sasha in the flea market. At first believing the man to be judging him for dating a white woman, then to be jealous of him for dating a white woman, it's later revealed the man was a friend of Miko who was simply focused on the fact that his friend's boyfriend was seemingly cheating on her.
- Comically Missing the Point: Bennote sarcastically says, "Sayonara" to Leonnote . Leon does not realize he's been insulted and commends Ben's Japanese speaking ability.
- Creator Cameo:
- The film's director Randall Park briefly appears as Ji-Hun, a waiter at a restaurant visited by Ben and Alice.
- The film's screenwriter (and writer of the original comic) Adrian Tomine plays the movie theater employee whom Ben scolds for using his phone.
- Distinction Without a Difference: Miko asserts that Leon is not white but "Jewish and indigenous American". Ben is not persuaded.
- "Friends" Rent Control:
- At first seemingly played uncritically: Ben and Miko live in an absurdly large apartment in the Bay Areanote despite Miko being an intern and Ben working a low-paying job as a manager at an independent movie theater. Later lampshaded and averted when it's revealed Miko's wealthy father gave them the apartment.
- Meredith lives in a similarly large apartment in New York Citynote on a university instructor's salary.
- Hypocrite: Ben considers white men who date Asian women to be fetishists, despite the fact that he himself is accused of being a fetishist for liking white women. The hypocrisy is not lost on Alice and Meredith.
- Mighty Whitey and Mellow Yellow: Discussed thoroughly, like in the comic. The Japanese-American Ben is disgusted by white men who date Asian women, calling them "rice kings" who desire submissive Asians. Both Meredith (who has a white father and an Asian mother) and Miko (who has moved on to Leon, who is at most white-passing) are very offended by this — Meredith kindly reminds Ben that he has a thing for white women, while Miko is aghast that Ben thinks that's the only reason Leon would be interested in her, and permanently ends things with him.
- Political Overcorrectness: Played for laughs: Alice corrects Ben for using terms like "internment camps" rather than "incarceration camps" while herself making derogatory statements about bisexuals and Japanese people.
- Running Gag: Ben and Alice using the phrase "Kick her in the pussy." Meredith, who is not in on the joke, finds the phrasing offensive.
- Setting Update: The film moves the aughts setting of the comic to the 2020s, with references to pop culture contemporary to its 2023 release like BTS and Disney+.
- Take That!:
- To Crazy Rich Asians: Ben and Miko watch a cheesy romcom about a billionaire Asian couple at an Asian-American film festival. Ben is offended to see other attendees praise an unoriginal, flawed film simply because it has an Asian cast. Eventually, when he sees an older Asian woman weeping while watching the film, Ben seems to recognize that even a film like that can still be valuable.
- To the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Lamont criticizes Gene's taste in film since Gene enjoys the MCU. Doubles as Casting Gag and Biting-the-Hand Humor since Jacob Batalon (Gene) is best known for his role in the MCU.
- Whole-Plot Reference: Shortcomings borrows a lot from 1990s indie movies with slacker protagonists, especially High Fidelity. High Fidelity gets an onscreen shoutout in the form of a pun-based cannabis shop name.
