Directed by
Georgia Lee
Cast:
Tzi Ma …. Ed Wong
Jacqueline Kim …. Samantha Wong
Elaine Kao …. Julie Wong
Freda Foh Shen …. May-Li Wong
Kathy Shao-Lin Lee …. Katie Wong
Mia Riverton …. Mia Scarlett
Jayce Bartok …. Mark
Rossif Sutherland …. Alex
Sebastian Stan …. Simon
Stephen Rowe …. Dr. Levy
Cindy Cheung …. Grace
Mao Zhao …. Master Shen
“God is Dead” – Friedrich Nietzsche
This is the quote on a homemade T-shirt that the character Katie Wong (Kathy Shao-Lin Lee) wears near the beginning of Red Doors, and it is nearly groan inducing. It seems to automatically set a clichéd tone for the character that said she was “rebellious,” and made me wonder if the rest of the characters would be as two-dimensional. Then something amazing happened that lifted my spirits and gave me hope that the next hour and a half wouldn’t be just a mind numbing experience after all. As Katie gets up to leave the table, she turns around momentarily to reveal a second quote on the shirt. It reads, “Nietzsche is Dead” — God.
This is actually a pretty decent metaphor for the film, which a look at a dysfunctional family in suburbia, that just happens to be Asian-American. Where the film ends up succeeding is that it feels as if it will just be another clichéd experience, but then is able to turn those clichés into a picture that ends up being quite clever than one might expect. While it’s not a complete homerun on any level, Red Doors ends up to be a rewarding 90 minutes that has a real human heart.
The film concerns a family named the Wongs: Ed (Tzi Ma, Jack Bauer’s Chinese nemesis on 24 for the past few seasons), Samantha (Jacqueline Kim), Julie (Elaine Kao), May-Li (Freda Foh Shen), and Katie. Each is going through an emotional crisis at the film’s outset. Ed has just turned 60 and is feeling useless after retirement; Sam is feeling the pressure of an engagement she may have rushed into; Julie is frustrated by the pressure of the dating world, and the fact that she has no prospects for marriage; Katie is always in trouble at school and the only person she seems to have a connection to, happens to be in the middle of a prank war with her. Finally, May-Li, the Wong matriarch, is trying to hold them all together and is deeply saddened by the changes that seem to be swirling around her.
Writer-Director Georgia Lee does a decent job of juggling all these storylines. What is really interesting is that the film is not overtly about an Asian-American family. Traditions are hinted at, but not preached. We get glimpses that perhaps the parents of the family were immigrants, but the film is mostly about how the children of the family are trying to incorporate the family’s customs into their own lifestyle. At its core, Red Doors manages to create sweet characters we can root for.
That’s not to say it doesn’t have its share of problems. The individual stories do feel a bit over familiar at times, and any peripheral characters in the film (Sam’s fiancé, Katie’s prank combatant) feel as they’re little more than caricatures. The film also suffers from what is obviously a very low budget, which gives off the impression of a “Lifetime Movie of the Week.” Amazingly, though, the movie is inexplicably able to overcome these flaws to present an upbeat and moving story.
Red Doors is probably not the best film of its kind, but it’s a good one. For her first feature film, Lee may not have come out with both gun barrels blazing, but acquits herself quite nicely by knowing exactly how to make these characters quirky without having them go into the realm of annoyance. With a touch of subtlety in its direction, the film manages to go from tired to inspired and doesn’t stop being entertaining from then on. Sometimes, that’s all you can ask for.
The Video
The DVD for Red Doors represents perhaps the worst print on a DVD I have ever seen from a major studio. In this day and age, bootleggers are putting out better quality, as the picture here is extremely weak, often turning pixilated for no reason, colors are muted and does no service to the film’s cinematography. Extremely disappointing work from Warner Brothers. The film is presented in Anamorphic Widescreen with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1.
The Audio
The Audio track is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, and is fine for this sort of fair, and much better than the video. The sound on the disc is actually quite good, and finds a good balance within the dialogue and score music.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Featurette, Short film, Commentary, and Trailer.
Behind Red Doors – This featurette goes about 8 minutes and features Lee and the entire cast talking about their experiences in making this picture. Lee also talks about how the movie came about and it makes me really admire the director for simply getting out there and making a movie no matter what the cost.
Audio commentary with Writer-Director Georgia Lee, Actress and Producer Mia Riverton, and Producer Jane Shen – This is a lively track, with the three women going nonstop talking about how this film came about. I loved hearing how Lee put a lot of her own life into making this picture, even including her own home movies from childhood as a plot device.
Educated – This is short film by Lee that talks about the pressures of Asian youth when it comes to parents and education. While its metaphors may be a little heavy, this is a well-made short and has some great points.
Trailer
