Ping Pong Playa

Slacker Christopher "C-dub" Wang (Jimmy Tsai) has a hoop dream but is a few inches short and stuck in a suburban Asian family that devotes to ping pong: his mom teaches ping pong in a community center, his dad runs a ping pong supply store, and his doctor brother (Roger Fan) is a ping pong champion.

After a serious mishaps causing by C-dub, he ends up teaching a ping pong class of misfit kids, then he goes on to use the class to make more cash by gambling on ping pong games. However, a challenge from a non-Asian rival for the National Golden Cock Tournament title makes C-dub finally to take the game seriously, although he still dreams to be a pro-basketball player.

I am usually skeptical when I see a film is labeled as comedy, because many of them hardly funny. However, this film makes me laugh out so loud that I thought I was screaming, and I were only giggling when I was watching "Juno." I hope writer/director Jessica Yu will make more comedies like this. Jimmy Tsai's acting debut proves that his great talent not only lives behind the camera, but also shines in front of it.

Many comic moments come from daily lives, which make me wonder if they might be lifted out from filmmaker's real life. For example, C-dub turns on the TV with his toes so he can play video game the first thing after waking up in the morning. This must have come from real life observation, rather than pure imagination. Although the ping pong tournament plot is a little formulaic, the film works due to its sarcastic satire and its overall quality, and mostly because it's extremely funny.

The Asian hip-hop sound track also makes the film more cheerful and refreshing. I don't normally eat cereal, but the sound track "I Love Cereal" wants me to have a bowl of cereal, especially after watching how much C-dub enjoys it. However, I will stay away from Ping Pong though so I don't have to wear those tight shorts C-dub was wearing in the film.

Finally, I agree C-dub's dad: the Chinese invented Ping Pong besides the "Four Great Inventions of ancient China." Disagree? Go watch this movie.

After a successful tour among prestigious film festivals, including the 26th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), "Ping Pong Playa" opens in theaters on Friday, September 5.

For Bay Area movie goers:

• On Saturday, September 6th, writer/director Jessica Yu and writer/actor Jimmy Tsai will be at San Francisco's AMC Metreon 16 for Q&A's after the 4:15pm and the 7:00pm screenings. And they will introduce the 10:00pm screening.

  Following the last screening, Jessica Yu and Jimmy Tsai will co-host a free after party at Straits Cafe (845 Market Street, #4) with Hyphen Magazine. It is an over-21 event and admittance is by a movie ticket stub.

• On Sunday, September 7th, Jessica Yu and Jimmy Tsai will be in San Jose's Camera 12 Cinema for Q&A's at the 4:00pm and the 6:40pm screenings.

  After the 6:40pm screening, audience are invited to join Jessica Yu and Jimmy Tsai at South First Billiard (420 S 1st St—a few blocks from the theater) for some fun times and ping-pong playing. Admittance is by a movie ticket stub.