March 19, 2025
FILM: ASIAN PERSUASION
DIRECTED BY: JHETT TOLENTINO
STARRING: DANTE BASCO, PAOLO MONTALBAN, KEVIN KREIDER
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Romantic comedies have been around forever, so what can any screenwriter or director do that hasn’t already been done? Generally, not much is needed because audiences that want to see the “boy meets girl” storyline are already in for a predictable ride. Asian Persuasion does take the genre in some different directions and results in a fairly satisfying experience for fans even though the set up suggests it might be anything but a romantic story.
Dante Basco stars as Mickey who, at the beginning of the film, faces alimony and child support payments to his ex-wife Avery that is more than the small coffee shop owner can handle. Mickey hatches a scheme with his best friend Caspian to set up a dating profile for Avery to get her married off so that he doesn’t have to make his payments. This, of course, sounds like a preposterous scheme that could never work until they find an attractive but awkward guy to go along with the plan. It’s a big ask but the guy is completely willing AND he quickly falls for Avery. She also falls for him. Improbable right?! Yes, but there is something endearing about some of these characters that keeps the narrative trajectory if not believable than fun to ride along with.
There are a few ridiculous and very silly scenes that attempt to take the comedy in a screwball direction that never really takes flight. One of these includes some silliness with a woman and her seemingly easy to fall off wooden leg. Old time-y physical comedy and somewhat amusing, but the situation feels a bit out of place as the film offers better allusions to earlier works. Examples include homages to Woody Allen’s museum scene in Manhattan and the classic romance found in Oscar-winner Casablanca. The soundtrack features a host of independent pop music and a whimsical score reminiscent of that which is used so effectively in Alexander Payne’s Election with Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon. Screenwriter Mike Ang also borrows and updates the Cyrano/Roxanne plot device by having Mickey feed lines to Avery’s suitor via earbuds to help win her over. There are also the usual romantic comedy montages appearing more than once.
The diversity of the cast and creative team behind the film is also worthy of note. Mickey is a Filipino American who casually embraces his roots in his coffee shop and Caspian is a Korean American who dates a woman from Eastern Europe. There’s not a lot of other specific cultural references throughout the film but it does suggest that romance (and divorce) in film comedies can be relevant to other communities besides those traditionally marketed to white populations.
While the acting is mostly very good there are a few scenes that could have used a few more takes to make them more convincing. Similarly, while the cinematography is quite good, there are a few darker scenes that needed more color correction as there is noticeable over-emphasis on reds and yellows that throw off the overall balance of the film’s look.
Narratively, there are a few flashbacks that arrive unannounced which are to provide a sense of Mickey and Avery’s early life together. The problem is that not enough time is spent on why the couple divorced so young. Later there is a plot twist or two that change the direction of the plot into something a bit more traditionally rom com-like but these come rapidly and don’t always feel earned.
Still, I think there is an audience for this type of light film which doesn’t get made often enough today. One can sit back and enjoy the romantic/comic proceedings and feel pretty good at the end.
Asian Persuasion opens March 21.
FILM: ASIAN PERSUASION
DIRECTED BY: JHETT TOLENTINO
STARRING: DANTE BASCO, PAOLO MONTALBAN, KEVIN KREIDER
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Romantic comedies have been around forever, so what can any screenwriter or director do that hasn’t already been done? Generally, not much is needed because audiences that want to see the “boy meets girl” storyline are already in for a predictable ride. Asian Persuasion does take the genre in some different directions and results in a fairly satisfying experience for fans even though the set up suggests it might be anything but a romantic story.
Dante Basco stars as Mickey who, at the beginning of the film, faces alimony and child support payments to his ex-wife Avery that is more than the small coffee shop owner can handle. Mickey hatches a scheme with his best friend Caspian to set up a dating profile for Avery to get her married off so that he doesn’t have to make his payments. This, of course, sounds like a preposterous scheme that could never work until they find an attractive but awkward guy to go along with the plan. It’s a big ask but the guy is completely willing AND he quickly falls for Avery. She also falls for him. Improbable right?! Yes, but there is something endearing about some of these characters that keeps the narrative trajectory if not believable than fun to ride along with.
There are a few ridiculous and very silly scenes that attempt to take the comedy in a screwball direction that never really takes flight. One of these includes some silliness with a woman and her seemingly easy to fall off wooden leg. Old time-y physical comedy and somewhat amusing, but the situation feels a bit out of place as the film offers better allusions to earlier works. Examples include homages to Woody Allen’s museum scene in Manhattan and the classic romance found in Oscar-winner Casablanca. The soundtrack features a host of independent pop music and a whimsical score reminiscent of that which is used so effectively in Alexander Payne’s Election with Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon. Screenwriter Mike Ang also borrows and updates the Cyrano/Roxanne plot device by having Mickey feed lines to Avery’s suitor via earbuds to help win her over. There are also the usual romantic comedy montages appearing more than once.
The diversity of the cast and creative team behind the film is also worthy of note. Mickey is a Filipino American who casually embraces his roots in his coffee shop and Caspian is a Korean American who dates a woman from Eastern Europe. There’s not a lot of other specific cultural references throughout the film but it does suggest that romance (and divorce) in film comedies can be relevant to other communities besides those traditionally marketed to white populations.
While the acting is mostly very good there are a few scenes that could have used a few more takes to make them more convincing. Similarly, while the cinematography is quite good, there are a few darker scenes that needed more color correction as there is noticeable over-emphasis on reds and yellows that throw off the overall balance of the film’s look.
Narratively, there are a few flashbacks that arrive unannounced which are to provide a sense of Mickey and Avery’s early life together. The problem is that not enough time is spent on why the couple divorced so young. Later there is a plot twist or two that change the direction of the plot into something a bit more traditionally rom com-like but these come rapidly and don’t always feel earned.
Still, I think there is an audience for this type of light film which doesn’t get made often enough today. One can sit back and enjoy the romantic/comic proceedings and feel pretty good at the end.
Asian Persuasion opens March 21.