A Worthy Newbie and A Golden Oldie - Part 1: Lucky Grandma (2019)

There were two movies I wanted to review today. They have little in common except recommendability (if that’s even a word). And my rampant procrastination was beginning to turn the project into an unduly lengthy endeavor.  So I'll keep the title, but focus instead on just the "newbie" right now. This is a little contemporary comedy-adventure intended primarily as light entertainment, set mostly in New York City’s Chinatown, which features a fabulous, yet little known 86-year-old Chinese-American actress in the lead and a predominantly Asian cast.  It is entitled Lucky Grandma for reasons that will soon become apparent. I want to give this movie its due before it gets overlooked in the raft of pictures going direct to video streaming these days. 

The "golden oldie" referred to in the title to this post is a classic drama  released in 1977 but set in 1938 Rome, called A Special Day, starring the incomparable Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni in what is surely one of the best of their thirteen (!) pictures together. It's a soberly stunning film with a depth of meaning that still resonates strongly today.  My review of that one should be posted in a few days. Stay tuned.

The 80-year-old title character in Lucky Grandma is played by the great stage and screen actress Tsai Chin, who first came to prominence way back in 1959, when she played the title role in The World of Suzie Wong in its initial production in London’s West End. On film, she garnered some notice as Ling, a Bond girl who tried to assassinate Sean Connery’s James Bond in You Only Live Twice (1967). She’s perhaps best known for her role as Auntie Lindo in The Joy Luck Club (1993). In Lucky Grandma, she plays an unforgettable protagonist – a chain-smoking, implacable old woman, a master of the “stink-eye” and the antithesis of the archetypal sweet little old grandmother. She anchors this dark comedy like, well, like an anchor.

Recently widowed Grandma Wong inherited essentially nothing from her husband after forty years working long hours side by side with him, nor has she much of her own to live on. Her adult children are urging her to come live with them and the grandkids in their upscale, suburban world. But she's an independent spirit who wants to remain in her beloved apartment in Chinatown, even though she can't afford it without support from said kids. A visit to the fortune teller reveals that Grandma will soon experience a particularly auspicious day (October 28th) on which she will have great good fortune. As a consequence, Grandma gathers all her money and on the prophesied day, takes the old-folks' bus to a casino. As foretold, she indeed has an incredible run of luck. Even when it appears her serendipitous gambling streak has run out, on the ride home Grandma has more good fortune land 9n her lap.. Or is it?

She soon finds herself in the middle of a conflict between two rival Chinatown gangs. By now, we have learned that Grandma is pretty tough and ornery. But, these qualities may not be enough under the circumstances. The primary bad guys are “Pock-Mark” (Woody Fu) and comically menacing “Little Handsome” (Michael Tow), and they want her money. Then there's the powerful, mysterious Sister Fong (Yang Xi) who seems to know everything and is feared by all. These antagonists are played with a certain cartoonish quality. but there is some real menace here and (spoiler-alert) some blood is eventually spilt. Growing increasingly fearful, Grandma realizes that she needs protection and, in an amusingly brazen negotiation, hires a bodyguard - a cute, somewhat unreliable character named “Big Pong” (Hsaio-Yuan Ha), whose imposing size fits his name. He is also adorably sweet.

As is this lovely, amusing, increasingly exciting and entertaining movie.

Beyond its innate attraction as a well told story, Lucky Grandma has the added appeal of being yet another in a string of quality films with an all (or mostly) Asian cast, following Crazy Rich Asians (2018)  and The Farewell (2019), and I hope it experiences similar success (although this seems unlikely in the current environment). Still, as much as such films are long overdue, it seems to me that it is well past the time for the movie industry (meaning studios and producers) to take the next step - ultimately more important - of casting Asian actors as protagonists in "ordinary" movies, interchangeably with Caucasian actors - so someone like Henry Golding or Stephen Yeun or Awkwafina or Constance Wu can be the action hero or romantic lead in a not-asian-centric mainstream production. We're beginning to see this on a few TV series. What about the big screen?

In the meantime, check out Lucky Grandma. I think you’ll enjoy it.

1 hour 27 minutes

Grade: B+/A-

Distribution of Lucky Grandma is via what is being called a virtual theater network. To see it, one simply goes to their website HERE, click on the “Get Tickets” button, and scroll down the list of virtual theaters to find one in your area or otherwise to your liking. Your cost to screen the movie at home will be $12 (a portion of which will go directly to the theater you have selected) – which is good for a 5-day pass. You can screen the movie on your computer or through streaming devices like Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire. Instructions for how to do this are to be found on the purchase tickets page.