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In a New York Minute
USA 2019
produced by Wayne Lin, Hao Zhang (executive), Lei Geng (executive)
directed by Ximan Li
starring Amy Chang, Yi Liu, Celia Au, Ludi Lin, Jae Shin, Roger Yeh, Cheng Pei-Pei, Erik Lochtefeld, Mark Delabarre, Yan Xi, Fenton Li, Nic Tom, Luna Tieu, Candice Lam, Fang Du, James Pravasilis, Trevor Liu, Marissa Carpio, Victoria Chang (= Victoria Misu), Caitlin Hammond, Quinn Coughlin, Wayne Lin, Jay Feng Cobb, Patrick Andrew Jones, Stephen Lin, Christopher Daftsios, Sherry Qiu, Eric Colton, William James Turner, Laura Arten, Aaron Kitchin, Anna Szapiro, Yimeng Feng, Sophia Han, Romana Lai
written by Ximan Li, music by Joy Ngiaw
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Three Chinese American women from very different walks of life who
don't even know one another are oddly connected by one and the same
(positive) pregnancy test: There's food critic Amy (Amy Chang) who has
developed an aversion to food since her last break-up - and to get over
this, and also to get her mother (martial arts legend Cheng Pei-Pei) off
her back, she wills into dating her very insistant co-worker Peter (Jae
Shin). It works out very fine for a little while, until he ambush-proposes
to her. Later she finds above-mentioned pregnancy test among his things
that certainly isn't hers ... Actress Angel (Yi Liu) is married to
Howard (Erik Lochtefeld), who is treating her very well, but still their
relationship is a loveless one. Thus she has long embarked on an affair
with David (Ludi Lin), and while she's actually more than serious about
this than her marriage he just refuses to committ. Then she finds out
she's pregnant, but his reaction to seeing her pregnancy test leaves a lot
to be desired ... Nina's (Celia Au) in love with Ian (Roger Yeh), and
even though he knows she's working her nights as an escort, he loves her
back unconditionally, and wants to open a restaurant with her. However,
she finds herself caught between her father's (Fenton Li) medical bills,
her bickering stepmother (Yan Xi), and her arrogant stepbrother (Nic Tom)
constantly trying to bribe her out of her hard-earned money. Then she
finds a positive pregnancy test, and thinks it might be the solution to
all her problems - not taking into account this might a entirely new set
of consequences ... A nicely done drama that's quite as
powerful because it doesn't try to be - it doesn't try to hammer home any
message, it doesn't force a happy ending onto the audience of set out to
depress everyone, it doesn't even force a common theme (other than the
pregnancy test) onto its three stories. Instead it just tells its three
segments with a certain slice-of-life attitude, never just going for
melodramatics but growing its big moments out of the narrative, and
staying grounded enough throughout to keep things relatable - so much so
that even the main connection of the three stories, the pregnancy test,
that could have felt forced, feels real enough as a very cleverly used
story twist. And add to that a very solid cast, and you've got yourself a
pretty strong drama that's totally worth a watch.
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