Justin Lin, director of the summer blockbuster “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,” is following up his popcorn feature with an indie faux-documentary titled “Finishing the Game.”This wonderfully off-beat comedy is driven by an endearingly goofy premise.
The idea is that after Bruce Lee’s death he left 12 minutes of film for his dream project, “Game of Death.” “Finishing the Game” is about a film company aiming to complete the project by re-casting Bruce Lee, and holds open auditions that attract many a misfit suitor.
The plot follows the progress of a handful of auditioning individuals – some of which are present for comic relief, others who are obviously voices through which Lin and others take subtle and not-so-subtle jabs at Hollywood’s relationship with people of color.
The men who show up for the audition include Raja Moore (a pun that one can only pray was intentional), an Indian doctor who grew up wanting to be a ninja or an actor, a white man who identifies with his asian side and Breeze Loo, a man who made a career for himself making knock-off Bruce Lee films.
Performances in the film shine because of an amazing synergy. The film’s underlying theme of identity and identification lead to many scenes where an amazing subtext is created by racial tensions and uneasy moments of self-realization.
The issues however are not used to bludgeon the viewer over the head. It serves as more of an unconscious reminder of the progress (or lack thereof) that Hollywood’s made in terms of race relations – something to think about after seeing MC Hammer on screen describing himself as a “colored-people’s talent agent” describe himself as a painter ‘coloring Hollywood’s movies.’
The film also comes from a little closer to home than you’d think. PCC student Anson Ho worked on the film as an assistant producer on the project – a big deal, since, although this is an independent film, it has many big names with big talent attached to it.
Do yourself a service and go check it out, and support your local aspiring film makers in the process.
- EDITORIAL: Apologize about the real problem - April 23, 2014
- STATEMENT: District apologizes to Oscar winning alum - April 21, 2014
- EDITORIAL: The Forgotten Students - March 26, 2014
