Row Your Boat (1999)
10/10
Excellent - strong performances; touching & moving
27 May 2004
A great little sleeper movie, with outstanding work from the ensemble cast - especially Bai Ling (expected) and Jon Bon Jovi (less expected, but nicely impressive).

A very New York movie, kind of a "Mean Streets" love story. Bon Jovi plays an ex-con trying to get his act together; Bai Ling plays the unhappily married immigrant he falls for. William Forsythe is good as Bon Jovi's criminal brother. Jill Hennessy is funny & sexy (great wig!) as the girlfriend.

Some violence, and an unexpected ending I didn't see coming; also, some very droll, drily funny scenes with Bon Jovi's character as a census taker dealing with wacky New Yorkers - look for the corpse scene!

The strongest part of the movie is the love story between Bon Jovi's 'Jamey' and Bai Ling's 'Chun Hua' - which starts as a romantic comedy. Very funny dialogue in the teaching-her-English scenes.

All in all, a satisfying, gritty movie with strong relationships and a dire, unexpected plot twist. Worth a look!
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