Sean Mota
08-23-2004, 10:02 AM
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Summary: You expect a culture clash when a Chinese-American Silicon Valley computer hotshot quits his job and takes his thoroughly American family home to Beijing to see his sister. In the hands of director-star Peter Wang, it's more like a series of love taps as each family receives a gentle lesson in how the other half lives. The sights and sounds of Beijing's sleepy suburbs and bustling modern urban center was an eye-opening glimpse behind the Great Wall for 1986 audiences watching the "first American comedy shot in China," and the easy pace, the genial portrait of family life, and the subtle, almost fleeting references to the cultural revolution, give it a flavor steeped in both cultures. Perhaps Wang's evenhanded humor and innocence was only possible before the Tiananmen Square massacre, but it remains an enjoyable journey. --Sean Axmaker
Summary: You expect a culture clash when a Chinese-American Silicon Valley computer hotshot quits his job and takes his thoroughly American family home to Beijing to see his sister. In the hands of director-star Peter Wang, it's more like a series of love taps as each family receives a gentle lesson in how the other half lives. The sights and sounds of Beijing's sleepy suburbs and bustling modern urban center was an eye-opening glimpse behind the Great Wall for 1986 audiences watching the "first American comedy shot in China," and the easy pace, the genial portrait of family life, and the subtle, almost fleeting references to the cultural revolution, give it a flavor steeped in both cultures. Perhaps Wang's evenhanded humor and innocence was only possible before the Tiananmen Square massacre, but it remains an enjoyable journey. --Sean Axmaker