Official Synopsis:
Liam Liu is a 28-year-old aspiring Asian-American actor whose so-called career is going nowhere and whose only meaningful relationship is with a high school girl. When he inherits his grandmother's house in China, he goes to Shanghai in an attempt to sell it. Instead, he discovers his parents' home city and all the marvels it hold, including a woman whom he believes is his soul mate. He suddenly finds himself at a crossroad - does he choose this new exotic world full of wonders or does he go back to America and make an honest attempt to put his life in order?
Our Take:
I think something is wrong with me. Maybe you can consult me on whether or not I need to go to the doctor but I actually enjoyed Shanghai Kiss, a cheap, teen romantic comedy starring Ken Leung and Hayden Panettiere. I mean, just look at the DVD art. It screams awful and the title is more than a little bit dumb, but despite all these factors working against it, I enjoyed this movie.
As for why I liked this movie, I will assign the credit to Ken Leung as 98% of Hayden’s scenes featured awful writing. I felt bad for her that she had to say some of the lines she did. As for Leung, though, he is a face that a good amount of people will recognize (Saw, Inside Man, The Squid and the Whale). Hell, I had been a fan of his without ever realizing or bothering to find out what his name is. Now, though, he has the starring role and he has cemented that name into my head. Ken manages to take every clichéd moment he’s in and at least goof up the scene enough to make it worth watching for the eight-millionth time.
The special features on this disc are:
* Behind The Kiss: The Making Of Shanghai Kiss (7 minutes).
* To Shanghai and Back: Interviews with Cast and Crew (9 minutes).
* Commentary featuring Writer/Co-Director David Ren, Co-Director Kern Konwiser, and Producer Kip Konwiser.
* Deleted Scenes (14 minutes) – 5 scenes not included in the film.
Shanghai Kiss is set in both Shanghai and Beverly Hills but it only really works during the time spent in Shanghai. There are some nicer and heavier dramatic moments during this time as well as the majority of the comedy. The best parts of the Beverly Hills setting come from the fact that Joel David Moore (Dodgeball, Art School Confidential, Grandma’s Boy) plays Ken Leung’s best friend. Not the greatest film ever, but enjoyable enough.
Overall Picture:
Movie: B
DVD: B-
- Landen Chase Pelish
Staff Writer
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