ironhorse_iv Review of American Fusion

American Fusion (2005)

A great fusion of Asian & Hispanic culture, comedy, and romance.

[6/10 · 1 July 2013]

American Fusion is one of my favorite's romantic comedies. Director Frank Lin help create a little comedy film about the difficulties of having an interracial relationship when the tradition family is so against it. The film is highlight by a great cast of racial boundaries actors and actress that gives the film, its unique cultural insight, while also being clearly a true-American film. Sadly, the movie had a limited opening, so not a lot of people saw it. I think it's an awesome movie, but it's under-appreciated. This film should have more time and money for crossover success, and deserves wide distribution in my opinion. Yvonne (Sylvia Chang) is a middle age Chinese American divorcée who seems that she couldn't find Mr. Right, until she meets Jose (Esai Morales), a Hispanic dentist, when she met working on an article piece for a newspaper. She takes care of her mother and son, and practically does everything to appease the family. She rarely does much for herself, or for her own happiness. While, she want to further the relationship with him, her overbearing mother (Lan Yun) is horrified at the prospect of her daughter dating a Mexican-American. With Mother about to undergo major back surgery, her stranglehold over the family is stronger than ever. Can Yvonne choose between her own happiness and that of her mother? Sylvia Chang can act. From playing an innocent girl to a street walker, from a rude police officer to a respected teacher, from an alcoholic to a great mother. She can do it all, and with American Fusion, she can add being funny to her resume. Lan Yun is clearly most hilarious person in this movie, and she dominate the role and the film. She has almost all the best scenes in the movie. This hilarious movie has a great supporting cast, from a lesser extent her slacker son, Joshua (Randall Park) to Pat Morita as her boss Lao Dong. Collin Chou was good in it as Yvonne's brother Tony who is trying to make a child with his wife. He not only has great timing when it comes to martial arts but he has great comic timing as well with odd scenes of them trying to make a baby for his mother before she dies. Hira Ambrosino stars as overbearing sister of Yvonne, Juliet who like Yvonne, and Tony is trying to live up to her mother's wishes for her. She is clearly against anything that her son, Steve (Jamie Cheung) does. The film even has a cameo from famous male model Fabio and James Hong as an odd case medication doctor. All the characters are believable, and the story is about what happens when two cultures collide and try to relate. The mix of Chinese culture with American reality makes for some very amusing and poignant moments. It's very well written and very well acted. The dialogue interaction between Yvonne and her family really makes for great fun. I found myself rooting for Yvonne and Jose just because of their daring to defy the stereotyping of Chinese and Mexican cultures, and choosing to follow their hearts, not ethnic traditions. Yes, there is a lot of racist or stereotypes jokes in here, but most of it is pretty mild, and just show the ignorant of older people upon something new. It might offend some people, but if you hate it just because of that, learn to laugh a little bit here. There might be some Chinese jokes that might go over the head to some people, but like I said you don't have to be Chinese or Hispanic to find it funny. There are some black and white humor as well. It can be a bit crude humor as the characters really try to angry the other person, but like I say, get used to it. There is a heartwarming message to the film. Some people might not watch the movie due to little to no main stars in it, and the budget being limited, but overall, it's not noticeable. I watch a lot of blockbusters films and then watched this movie, and I loved it!! I would totally recommend it. This moves is so funny, and laughed so hard, while watching. It's a must see! It was more than what I expected.