American Movie: Always Be My Maybe (2019)
Genre: romantic comedy
Starring: Randall Park, Ali Wong
Aired: May 2019 on Netflix
Watched: June 2019 on Netflix
Always Be My Maybe stars Randall Park and Ali Wong. I didn’t know Ali Wong, but I knew Park from Fresh Off The Boat (which I’ve only watched like 3 episodes of, and then was waiting for more episodes and never finished watching. I know, it was a long time ago.) Based on his character in Fresh Off The Boat, I didn’t really know what to expect of him in a romantic comedy… which is tricky because this SEEMS like it plays into the image of the emasculated non-desirable/unromantic Asian male. But that’s totally not the case for me, duh. It’s more like the characters stay with the actor, like how Daniel Radcliffe is forever Harry Potter regardless of whether he’s in Hogwarts or on Shutter Island or wherever; I watched this clip (Jimmy Kimmel interview with Naomi Scott) and JK was talking about how NS is forever “doomed to being Jasmine”; Rebel Wilson’s characters are always the same humorous person (in Pitch Perfect and Isn’t It Romantic, and probably in The Hustle which I’ve only seen trailers of) which I don’t mind, but some may find it unoriginal. So anyhow, that’s what I was feeling about Park.
WATCHED IT BECAUSE...
I originally thought that this was a drama, but then my friend told me otherwise. (Hey, I hadn’t been on Netflix in a few months!) Since I had just finished Her Private Life (), and I had work to do and didn’t want to start accidentally binge watching more dramas (but it happened anyway…), I thought watching a movie at this time would be great. It’d been a few days since my friend mentioned the movie, and I found myself randomly singing Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” and then realized why. So on 6/11 I finally watched it while eating lunch (despite having two papers due that day…)
The Review
This movie was so fun! It’s super cool that Park & Wong also wrote it, so they made it totally them. It’s a really fun movie for Asian-Americans because it plays off lots of realistic experiences that Asian(-)Americans may have had growing up (that kind of stereotype that is only funny if you do it because you’re in-group, but offensive if you do it and you’re not part of the community).
It starts in the 1990’s with the main characters, Sasha and Marcus, as kids. Ali Wong plays Sasha Tran, who is neglected by her parents since they work all the time, while Randall Park’s Marcus is from a super cute and loving Korean family. They’re neighbors and best friends so Sasha always joins Marcus’s family for dinner. The style is very 1990’s (like those buzzfeed or whatever videos/lists of “You know you grew up in the ‘90s if…) so it’s a fun throwback (even moreso than Captain Marvel) that a lot of people can enjoy. It’s great as a hook, but then continues through the music throughout the movie, which was not my style (obviously).
Fast forward to their high school years, on the day of a tragedy, something in their relationship changes all of a sudden and then dies(?) on the same day. This is the end of the back story before we fast forward to modern day LA/SF. Sasha Tran is a celebrity chef, opening fancy Asian fusion restaurants, dating Daniel Dae Kim as Brandon Choi. Next stop is SF, where she is reunited with Marcus, who works with his father’s air conditioning company and is still making music with his high school band. Throughout the movie, their relationship is a push-and-pull. Sasha has her weird pause with Brandon and Marcus has his super-zen girlfriend Jenny (played by Vivian Bang). Keanu Reeves also plays Sasha’s love interest for a few scenes.
The scenes with Keanu and Jenny are a little bit over-the-top in a comical, satirical way, but it’s meant to be funny, and it works for the tone of the movie. My favorite scene is probably the double date with Keanu. The humor is silly and fun. Some anti-hegemonic humor (as mentioned previously) that work with Asians. Also, a lot of sexual humor, which I discovered after watching some Netflix clips of Ali Wong, is Ali Wong’s specialty.
Both of the main characters have their issues that neither of them hesitate to call out in each other. In that sense, they always clash--but, because they are able to call out these things about each other, they are good for each other. It just takes a while for them to both realize it.
I also really like the social justice-y language that they include (i.e., “LGBTQIA-ally” and “I’m raising the baby non-gendered” and “not in your “heteronormative sense” and “able-bodied”).
SPOILERS
(highlight below to read)
“- Talking about their issues: Marcus seems to be stuck in the past, hasn’t grown up and out of his life and his mom passed away. He thinks he always has to take care of his dad (which is not true, because later his dad is dating again). It’s his excuse to not grow up or move out of his comfort zone. Also, he is super reluctant to leave San Francisco and explore the world. Meanwhile, one of Sasha’s things is that she is forever angry at her parents for not being there for her. She thinks she basically raised herself and therefore is super head-strong and independent—which isn’t necessarily bad, but the way she’s stuck on this is one of Marcus’s main reasons for criticizing her.
- I cried at the end because they were happy and she opened a restaurant that was supposedly more authentic instead of fancy luxury fusion-y stuff. And then there was a pic of his ma and it was heartwarming and happy.”
</end spoilers>
OST/MUSIC
Not my style. mid-late ‘90s American style. Marcus’s raps are fun and silly though.
OTHER THOUGHTS
I totally didn’t know that that was Keanu Reeves until Jenny says his name at the restaurant. That’s Huay and American pop culture :P.
OVERALL
Did I cry? YES. I actually did. (See spoilers.)
Should you watch it? Yes!! Not just my Asian-American peeps, this is a fun romcom for anyone! (Although it’s more American-style humor than Asian-style.)
-huay