Randall Park Says His Feature Directorial Debut ‘Shortcomings’ Was Inspired by Noah Baumbach’s ‘Marriage Story’
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This article contains spoilers for “Shortcomings.”
Randall Park says he never thought of himself as a leader before he directed his debut feature film, “Shortcomings,” out Friday via Sony Pictures Classics.
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“I’ve been in numerous situations where I’ve been in a leadership position throughout my life, and I’ve always enjoyed it,” he says, “but I never saw myself as one. I always just saw myself as doing my own thing.”
Park, best known for his work as an actor on “Fresh Off the Boat,” “The Interview,” “WandaVision” and “Always Be My Maybe,” first picked up Adrian Tomine’s graphic novel “Shortcomings” 16 years ago. The story, which follows Berkeley-based cinephile Ben Tanaka as he navigates souring relationships with his girlfriend, Miko, and best friend, Alice, resonated with Park, because it seemed to address and reflect real-life conversations and issues head-on. Ben doesn’t shy away from expressing his strong opinions and gets into arguments with Miko and Alice over topics including, but not limited to, identity politics, representation in movies and his proclivity for porn featuring white women. Underneath his pretensions lies recognizable insecurity.
“Around the time when I read the book, it really made me think of some of my friends — the way in which he saw the world, the entitlement. But also he’s a really good friend. He’s this complicated mix of things,” Park says.
Park’s resulting film, which stars Justin Min, Ally Maki and Sherry Cola, draws from influences including Justin Lin’s “Better Luck Tomorrow” and Noah Baumbach’s “Frances Ha” and “Marriage Story.” Ahead of the film’s premiere, Park spoke with Variety about the process of filming and promoting his directorial debut, his main character’s complexities and what conversations he anticipates the movie will spark.
“Shortcomings” opens with Ronny Chieng and Stephanie Hsu acting in a spoof of a scene from “Crazy Rich Asians.” Ronny Chieng actually starred in “Crazy Rich Asians,” so he’s playing a character in a spoof of a film that he himself was in. Why was it important to have both of them in the movie?
Well, for one, they’re incredible. So to have the two of them open our movie was just like something that was really special to me. They’re beloved, and I didn’t want anybody to feel like that we were taking shots at “Crazy Rich Asians.” To have Ronny there, who was also in “Crazy Rich Asians,” it was nice, because he understood what we were what we were going for. Ben is very critical of [the movie], but I do agree with Miko’s character when she says that you can’t have a movie like “Shortcomings” without a “Crazy Rich Asians.” So to have those two actors in it, and and to have Sonoya [Mizuno] in our movie, who was also in “Crazy Rich Asians” — if anything, it’s just proof that there’s the lineage here that we’re part of and a throughline that connects us to movies like “Crazy Rich Asians.”
What sort of pressure do you feel right now to succeed financially? What does that success look like to you?
I’m anticipating a blockbuster here, you know — I’m kidding. This is Barbenheimer coming. [laughs]
I don’t know what to expect. This is a very specific kind of movie. We’re a small indie, and we’re coming out in a very tenuous period and also in the shadow of these huge blockbusters. My hope is that people who do go and watch it and enjoy it, that they spread the word, and that eventually we find our audience, if not immediately, at least over time. That’s the reason why I’m so relaxed right now, because I’m not feeling this huge pressure to break the bank.
What were some of the challenges of marketing the film?
The main challenge right now is we don’t have our full marketing machine, in large part because the actors aren’t promoting the movie, because we’re all in support of the strike. The actors and Adrian Tomine, our writer, everyone is on the picket lines. Because of that, it’s just me as the director going out there and spreading the word, so we are compromised in that regard — which is for good reason, and we don’t feel bad about about it, because now’s the time for the strike, it’s now or never, so we’re in full support. If anything, it’ll be word of mouth that gets this movie seen.
Your movie is coming out at a historic moment in Hollywood history. What are some ways that you hope the industry will change as a result of the strikes?
My hope is that we come to a fair agreement on all of these points. As far as just working actors being able to survive off of this job and to make a living, it’s definitely harder than it’s ever been . So my hope is that the things we’re fighting for, we get. The AI thing is very scary to me, the idea of taking someone’s image and using it in perpetuity without compensation or people agreeing to it. My hope is that all of this gets resolved. If we have to sacrifice a little bit of our promotion to get it resolved, it’s worth it.
Ben is such an interesting, polarizing character. To what extent would you say he’s a fuckboy?
I’m not too hip on what exactly a fuckboy is, but my guess is that there are probably some elements of that in him. More than anything, he reminds me of some of the Asian American men I knew when I was in college and just out of college.
What sort of criticisms of him or of the film do you anticipate or have you heard already?
I definitely have heard that he’s a tough character to sit with, and that’s totally something I anticipated. I’ve heard the gamut of responses on Ben, and some people saying, “I really liked him, because he’s just so honest and raw,” and other people are saying, “I didn’t like him, but I do understand.” Then I hear other people saying, “I hate him, I can’t stand him.” All of those were expected. These are interesting characters, and they’re at a crossroads, and they’re going through a lot. They’re flawed people trying their best and so people are gonna take them in different ways. And I like that.
You’ve mentioned before that the sequence in which Ben is running through New York City at the end was inspired by a sequence from Noah Baumbach’s “Frances Ha,” in which Greta Gerwig’s character runs through the city. If this is your “Frances Ha,” then what would be your “Barbie,” or your “Marriage Story,” in terms of your directing career?
The big fight scene in the apartment [in “Shortcomings”] — a huge inspiration for that scene was the big argument scene in “Marriage Story.” There was a lot of inspiration from Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig and her work, but as far as “Barbie,” I don’t know. I don’t know if I would ever tackle a movie that big. For now I feel very comfortable in the very intimate spaces of people just walking and talking and hanging out in diners. To me, that’s my pocket.
In what ways does this 2023 film looks different than it might have if you had made it in the moment when you first read the book 16 years ago?
It definitely wouldn’t have had as many influences as it does, because when I first read the book — I was definitely a cinephile, but I think my appreciation and taste has expanded since then. Back then — not that I was like Ben in any way — I was definitely less mature. In the graphic novel, because of the nature of the medium, we don’t get to dive as deep into these characters. I don’t know if I would have had the courage or the wherewithal to even explore these characters as as deeply as we do in the movie. And I think that just comes with maturity and my own growth and my own therapy sessions.
What kind of conversations and discourse, if you will, would you want the film to spark when it comes out?
I’m not shooting for specific conversations to happen, but I do expect a lot of conversations to happen. A lot of the conversations that take place in the movie are very real conversations that people have in the community, you know, but they’re not necessarily conversations that we get to see reflected back at us. With that said, after every screening, it’s amazing how much chatter I hear in the audience. After the applause, there’s just really palpable conversation immediately happening. I think that’s because so many points of view and opinions and harsh opinions from Ben, in particular, are expressed in this movies, and it’s just conversations that we don’t get to see in film too often.
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