Always Be My Maybe

 "Can I interest you in a Whopper?  You can get it to go if you want to eat it in your car and cry" Burger King employee to Marcus.

If you have read my review of Marvel Fourth Batch you will be aware that I found Randall Park hilarious in Ant Man and the Wasp.  His comedic instincts and interplay with Paul Rudd elevate that film above the first Ant Man for me.  I have never seen his show Fresh of the Boat but enjoyed have heard that it is entertaining.  After seeing a clip of the Netflix film “Always Be My Maybe” my wife and I decided to give it a look and were very entertained. 

The recent despicable increase in attacks on Asian Americans in the country (spurred on in no small part by racist comments by the former president who was looking for a scapegoat for the Covid-19 virus) made me want to spotlight on this film, which like Crazy Rich Asians has a nearly entirely Asian American cast and was also written by its stars, the aforementioned Randall Park and also Ali Wong, who I was completely unfamiliar with.

Full spoilers below:

The reason I responded to this film is it takes a lot of the tropes of romantic comedies (pop songs, slow get together, split apart, comedically awful alternate partners, and public declarations of love usually by the previously immature man who was afraid to commit to the woman) and tells them through these two Asian American characters which in turn allows the audience to get a feel for the lives and diversity of this enormous part of the American population.  One issue I know occurs is that white Americans sometimes confuse people from different parts of Asia, which can be like confusing someone from Romania for someone from Wyoming.  A moment in the film that addresses this without criticizing it is when the Korean American Marcus and the Vietnamese American Sasha go for Cantonese food and Marcus explains that he has learned Cantonese to get better service (an experience I have witnessed by going to such restaurants with a Cantonese friend).  Setting the film in San Francisco, where many Asian Americans have grown up and still reside in allows these details to play out naturally.

Additionally, the film has sharp dialogue written in part by the actors themselves who know how to play to their strengths but are not concerned with vanity.  Ali Wong’s character Sasha, has become a successful restauranteur but, due in part to having had to fend for herself while her parents were working throughout her youth and then being publicly humiliated her fiancé, has an energetic but distant air about her.  Marcus is very witty but stuck at the point in his life when his mother died while he was a teenager, driving the same car, still living with his dad with his bedroom, feeling obliged to keep him company but also using it as an excuse to not move on or take any chances.  Park speaks softly and punctuates his words, but he will let a funny line sell itself.  He also can tell a story with his different reaction shots, often looking bemused or embarrassed.

Some of the character touches are where the film also distinguishes itself.  Marcus, who works with his father, has a side gig as the head of a rap group in which he looks a little funny but sings appealing songs, which stems from Park’s background in music from when he was younger.  Sasha, who developed her interest in food from learning to cook with Marcus’ mom has developed a high-end menu inspired by Asian dishes but lacking some of their soul. 

Charlene Yi, who was so funny in small appearances as Jodi in Knocked Up and This is 40, is amusing if not used quite enough as a member of Marcus’ band.

The alternate mates scenes are some of the film’s funniest.  Daniel Dae Kim as Sasha’s fiancé is not in the film much but the idea that he would want to date before getting married (and the post his new relationship on social media) is inventive.  Marcus’ hippy girlfriend Jenny, played by Vivian Bang with dreadlocks and odd dishes, is delightfully colorful though I wonder how they are supposed to have gotten together.

The talking point of the film of course is Keanu Reeves playing himself as another rival for Sasha as a kind of New Age hipster narcissist.  This plays utterly against Reeves public persona as he is if anything known for his generosity.  Reeves’ sharp black suits, the upscale restaurant where Sasha and Reeves double date with Marcus and Jenny, and then Reeves’ fancy hotel room play perfectly to make Marcus look out of place in his old wine-colored tuxedo.  I have always been a little indifferent in Reeves as an actor but when he is cast right it can work (he is perfect in Speed and holds the screen fine with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton in Something’s Gotta Give).  I have not seen the John Wick films yet but have heard good things about them.  Reeves’ is pretty funny here and even though the film gives Reeves a big entrance, Marcus is utterly unimpressed with meeting him and instead just sees Reeves as the competition for Sasha.  The hotel scene could have ended a little sooner and the song it inspired is not as funny to me as others seem to find it, but it gives the film a memorable close.

 A good couple will both accept each other as they are and will inspire each other to bring their best selves and Sasha and Marcus do that in this film.  When they get together it feels earned and when they have the obligatory break up they both are somewhat at fault because Marcus will not move on from his mother’s death and the menus of Sasha’s restaurants are too flashy and go against the memory of his mother’s cooking, indicating that she is a little too immersed in this superficial world.  Sasha has become this way because of a lack of stability in her home and she has learned to fight for herself.

Interestingly before the film puts them back together we see Marcus getting some needed tough love from his dad and then moving out and growing his band but it holds Sasha’s steps forward as big reveals (she is quietly supporting the band by buying merchandise, she forgives her parents after shunning them throughout the film and the most important detail which is described below).

The most touching scene is not the declaration of love which, like the film is quick and funny, but when Sasha takes Marcus to her new restaurant with a menu inspired by his mother’s recipes, showing that she is keeping her spirit alive.  Park gives Marcus an emotional reaction but the best moment is when Sasha and Marcus hug instead of kiss.  A kiss can be romantic and/or sexual but a hug is comforting and more appropriate to the moment (and probably more comfortable for the actors who are longtime friends).  Sasha also forgives her parents who she has been shunning throughout the film recognizing that they are trying to connect with her.  By letting go of her anger Sasha becomes a happier person.  We are left with the sense that the growth of Marcus’ band will be successful as well.   

For a film like this to work the couple needs to be enjoyable to watch together.  Wong and Park are delightful mainly due to their ease with each other.  While Sasha and Marcus put up airs with other people, they can be themselves around each other and it serves as a good reminder that for a couple to work they must also be friends.

Another factor is this film looks at the Asian Americans experience.  Sasha and Marcus both have grown up in the United States, contribute to society and yet remember their backgrounds.  The only detail I would have added would be more scenes of them not speaking English when with members of the older generations.  Marcus is a little closer to it because of his warm family experiences whereas Sasha eventually comes to embrace it.

Always Be My Maybe is directed by Nahnatchka Khan, who also created Fresh of the Boat.  Khan keeps the pace quick, the palette bright and the proceedings fun.  I highly recommend it as an entertaining romance, a cultural experience, and a fun way to spend 102 minutes. ****