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Made in Chinatown
USA 2021
produced by Gine Lui, Shing Ka, Mark V Wiley, Kellie Bach, Mark Steven Grove, James Lew, Tony Darrow for Tambuli Films, Nine East Productions
directed by Robert Samuels, James Lew
starring Jay Kwon, Shuya Chang, Timothy Chivalette, Emmanuel Brown, Theresa Moriarty, Tony Darrow, Vincent Pastore, Lo Meng, Raymond J. Barry, Bob Martin, Robert Samuels, Geoff Lee, Shing Ka, Nico Chang Lynch, James Lew, Celia Au, Joseph D'Onofrio, William DeMeo, Paul Borghese, Chris Caldovino, Tony Ray Rossi, Maggie Wagner, Chiu Chi Ling, Artie Pasquale, Karen Tsen Lee, Stefano Da Fre, Greg Lee, Nekoda Phillips, John Sialiano, Zack Beyer, Fenton Li, Asia Sparks, Gina Destra, Mark V Wiley, Patrick W. Griffin, Michelle Procida, Gine Lui, Eric Kovaleski, Cole Elliott, Nico Feula, Wesley Green, John Tarangelo, Tisha Tinsman, Hrasif, Koji Nishiyama, Erica Alexandria Wisor, Alex Wiley, Danny Collingo, Jeff Pirrami, Jason DeCesare, Richard Giacco, Eumie Choi, Tak Wah Eng, Patricia Chu, Robert L. Jefferson, Scot Teller, Lucky Harmon, Kristoffe Brodeur, Michael William Kondyra, Mark Poletti, David Palmieri, Vincent Riviezzo, Francesco Scorsone, Anchor Clutch, Bobby Favoretto, Hector Soria, PaiSen Wang, Akihiro Haga, Jerry DiLeo, John Deblasio, Johnny Potenza, Paul Sun, Steven Y. Chan, Peter Ngai, Kiera O'Connor, Paul Koh, Orlando Costa
written by Mark V Wiley, music by Lou Lanza, Paula Reinhardt, Marc Waithe, Enrico Arcaro, Brendan McGeehan, David Fesliyan, David Renda, Marty Krzywonos, Stephen Tirpak, stunt coordination by James Lew
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Vinny (Jay Kwon) is a young New Yorker of Chinese descent - how doesn't
give a hoot about his heritage though, having never known another home
than New York City - and he adores Italian-American culture, and
especially everything he has learned about the mob in genre movies. Also,
he's madly in love with that Italian-American girl, Tina (Theresa
Moriarty), but figures she won't be interested in an Asian havenot like
himself, so he decides to join the mob - which at first seems impossible,
as he gets thrown out of the organisations of both Al Capella (Tony
Darrow) and Amadore Condimento (Vincent Pastore), simply because he's not
"Italian" enough. But then Vinny's luck seems to turn - but does
it?
You see, Capella, Condimento and triad chief Hung Phat (Lo Meng) all
fight for supremacy on the local food market, and they're kept in check by
corrupt cop O'Greedy (Raymond J. Barry), who's paid by all involved in the
game - but now he figures it's time to spice things up a bit for some
extra cash, so he convices Condimento to try and sell his olive oil to
Chinatown businesses - pretty much a declaration of war to Hung Phat.
Thing is, none of the Chinatown vendors would by product from a mobster -
but they might buy from a fellow Asian. And this brinds Vinny onto the
scene, who, ignorant to the danger of his mission, thinks he's a made man
now - even if he doesn't have the first clue when it comes to selling
olive oil. What's worse, he and his two best friends (Timothy Chivalette,
Emmanuel Brown) soon pop up on the radar of two gouvernment agents (Bob
Martin, Robert Samuels) trying to un-entangle the crimial web the local
food trade has become, and in the chaos that ensues, Vinny and company
soon have no idea anymore which side they are actually on ...
Now there's no way I can call Made in Chinatown the most
sophisticated of comedies, as it at times paints in very broad strokes -
but this doesn't hurt the film one bit, as the genres it mainly draws
inspiration from, mob flicks and Hong Kong action, circa 1980s, are known
for many things but not necessarily their subtlety. And while not exactly
subtle, the film still manages to work quite a few surprises into its
intentionally formulaic plot, and even some laughs where one wouldn't
expect them. And an able cast who play it straight despite being in on the
joke, an energetic direction and some well-handled action setpieces all
help make this one very entertaining movie for sure.
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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Robots and rats,
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