Ping Pong Playa is a 2007 comedy sports film from director Jessica Yu. It stars Jimmy Tsai as immature Christopher "C-Dub" Wang, an NBA wannabe who is forced to teach his mother's ping pong class at the Chinese school after she gets in a car crash. It also stars Khary Payton as C-Dub's best friend JP Money and Smith Cho in one of her earliest big roles.
Ping Pong Playa provides examples of the following tropes:
- Asian Hooker Stereotype: Parodied. At the beginning of the championship match: "You know, people ask me: Cheryl, how does a girl from Iowa end up directing an event sponsored by the Chinese community center? And I just say to them, 'Me love ping pong long time!'" Of course, Gerald thinks this is hilarious.
- Manchild: Definitely C-Dub, who loves defeating young kids in basketball and playing video games all day. Even JP Money to a lesser extent.
- Parental Favoritism: C-Dub's older brother, Michael, is a skilled ping pong player following their parents' footsteps, and he has won regional tournaments. Their parents are proud of him and consider him more mature and responsible than the childish C-Dub, who wants to play for the NBA.
- Pretty Fly for a White Guy: Chinese-American C-Dub acts streetwise and "gangsta" but is from a California suburb. At one point, when his mother scolds him, she accuses him of talking like a black person.
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The group of kids at the ping pong class.
- Red-and-White Comedy Poster: The theatrical poster for this sports comedy film is predominantly red, with a title in bold red font, all on a white background.
- Successful Sibling Syndrome: C-Dub is outperformed by his brother, Michael, who has won several ping pong tournaments, while C-Dub lacks motivation and realistic goals.
