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Better Luck Tomorrow
Paramount Pictures / MTV Films


7.5

based on 32 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 28 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

MPAA RATING: R for violence, drug use, language and sexuality

Starring Parry Shen, Jason J. Tobin, Sung Kang, Roger Fan, John Cho, Karin Anna Cheung, Jerry Mathers, Aaron Takahashi, and Beverly Sotelo

The story of a group of overachieving Asian-American high school honor students in a conservative Los Angeles suburb who lead a double life of mischief and petty crimes that alleviate the pressures of perfection. (Paramount)

GENRE(S):	Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Ernesto Foronda Justin Lin Fabian Marquez
DIRECTED BY:	Justin Lin
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: September 30, 2003 Video: September 30, 2003 Theatrical: April 11, 2003
RUNNING TIME:	98 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

Nominated, Grand Jury Prize, 2002 Sundance Film Festival

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Not just a thriller, not just a social commentary, not just a comedy or a romance, but all of those in a clearly seen, brilliantly made film.

100

San Francisco Chronicle C.W. Nevius

In some ways, this is "The Graduate" gone to "Lord of the Flies."

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Typically, movies aimed at teenage audiences have little concern for things like intelligent scripts, credible characters, and meaningful dialogue. Better Luck Tomorrow contains all three, making it a hugely rewarding experience.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Lin is a talent to watch. There's a sting to this film that gets to you.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

Lin energizes the grungy palette with stylistic zing, a hopped-up pace and understated humor. His cast carves out vivid characters and the open-ended aftermath takes stock of the moral scarring without moralizing.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

An exhilarating ride.

Los Angeles Times Manohla Dargis

It has the virtue of Lin's tangy wit but it also suffers from the vice of a director who, torn between personal vision and wide public reach, tends to smother his ideas under a veneer of cool.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Lin's nicely turned out picture is sometimes both predictable and a bit far-fetched narratively, but still provides a generally absorbing look at a slice of society normally taken for granted, both in life and onscreen.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Breathes new life into a familiar story: coming of age in high school.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

Mr. Lin makes the anxious grasping of these kids for some kind of emotional turf -- their own need to shatter the stereotypes that bind them -- the heart of Better Luck Tomorrow, a scenario that keeps the movie's blood racing.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Lin works with a rhythmic observational flair that outweighs the movie's flaws. It's a long way from Long Duk Dong.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

Has a vitality and novelty rare in any youth movie, let alone one that claps fresh eyes on a cliched vision of a model minority.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

What helps Lin's feature-directing debut is his insight into the dark side of living up to "model minority" stereotypes in a materialistic culture.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

The same premise could have been turned into a satirical comedy, but Better Luck Tomorrow opts for a more corrosive, challenging route, one whose troubling, morally ambiguous ending offers no easy resolution.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

"Rebel Without a Cause" with a debate club, Better Luck Tomorrow is a sharp, smart slice of suburban angst among the high school overachiever set.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Bracing and stylish thriller.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Well-crafted, Tarantino-esque story.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Although this movie shows Lin's promising moviemaking sensibilities, its point of view feels coldly amoral and dismissive.

Film Threat Merle Bertrand

A rare high school dramedy with some heft to it. Smartly photographed and edited, it manages to walk the difficult tightrope strung between the typically loopy coming of age film and a simmering disaster in the making.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

The performances are strong without calling attention to themselves--which is more than I can say for the occasionally hackneyed use of rock on the sound track.

Portland Oregonian Kim Morgan

A film that merges cocaine, Ivy League, college applications, the Asian American experience, dark comedy and high school drama while maintaining a personal tone and likable lead characters is just too impressive to knock.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

Like his characters, Lin may be an overachiever and the strain of trying to do too much shows. He merges genres the way Ben juggles extracurricular activities.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Good idea for a movie about rebellious Asian Americans doesn't fully pan out.

Salon.com Charles Taylor

Follows a consistently predictable arc. In some sequences, you can tell not just what's going to happen next, but what shot is coming next. And the movie's weird mixture of moralism and affectlessness cancel each other out.

LA Weekly John Powers

Though it doesn't fully transcend its small budget (the lighting is dingy), the story feels rooted in something more solid than prefab posturing.

Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky

It almost plays like a darkly comic "Peanuts" special.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

The crime isn't that the movie's message is amoral, but that it goes totally unexamined, as if the recess bell rang too early.

Village Voice Ed Park

Seeing BLT has been positioned as a political act. Alas: The film in question seems hardly worth the fuss.

Chicago Tribune Patrick Z. McGavin

The film lacks a single emotionally authentic moment.

TV Guide Ken Fox

The end result is a series of stylish vignettes, some entertaining and all variations on essentially the same theme.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

Perhaps the worst thing that could be said about Better Luck Tomorrow is that, on a slow night, it's easy to imagine these delinquents wanting to rent a film just like it.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

uUltimately Better Luck Tomorrow feels nearly as hollow and unknowable as its characters’ hearts.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.5 (out of 10) based on 28 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Das P gave it a10:
A great, accurate movie. the scary part is that I know that myself and my fellow Asians feel Ben's anger and frustration quite often, and sometimes all the time.

Pon R. gave it a10:
It took its chances and came out a winner. Anyone who criticizes its "phoney" depiction of criminals is watching movies for the wrong reason and needs to (1) have their citizenship revoked and (2) move to a deserted island and live in a cave so as not to impede human progress any further. This is big step up from the usual teen fair and I applaud it for challenging the status quo.

Pablo M. gave it a5:
It's a rotten version of goodfellas.

B. D. gave it a 10:
Beautiful, introspective, elegant. Wish there were more like it.

Low Companion gave it a 2:
This movie's worst offense against society is that it is so unbearably dull. For a movie about crime, this is both completely phony & cliche-ridden & what's worse, it plods along without even the simple kicks of a merchant-ivory picture. Anyone who believes this nonsense---or worse, were "shaken" by it--should A) have their Blockbuster card shredded with extreme prejudice and B) should venture outside Nebraska before they die. Definitely Manohla Dargis' worst hour (she's phenomenal normally) as a critic for recommending this dull tripe. The 2 is generous.

Paul TR gave it a 9:
The only reason I didn't give this film the full 10 is because I simply couldn't enjoy its ending. It left me uneasy. It shook me to the core, which is what makes it so brilliant. It takes a nightmarish trip into suburbia hell and doesn't let go, even after drawing blood. There's no waking up and no turning back. It's a scary feeling. Innocence lost and reality shattered. And how does it end? It doesn't, not really. That's somewhat left to the audience, but without leaving them feeling cheated. As a teen that hopes never to cross the line, I could relate to these characters more than I would've cared to. That's powerful cinema.

Donut J. gave it a 10:
Dis movie was crazy!! kept me excited from beginning till da end it's worth seeing and as a asian person myself it's good to see how crazy some of us can really get. AZN PRIDE!!!!

Better Luck Tomorrow Paramount Pictures / MTV Films

Better Luck Tomorrow
Paramount Pictures / MTV Films