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Ping Pong Playa
IFC Films

Ping Pong Playa reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 55 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.4 out of 10
based on 13 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 7 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for language, including some sexual remarks and drug references

Starring Jimmy Tsai, Roger Fan, Shelley Malil, and Smith Cho

Christopher "C-dub" Wang is a suburban guy who sports an urban swagger, waxes political on all things Asian American, and clings to pipe dreams of a career as a pro basketball player. C-dub lives at home, works a dead-end job, and squirms in the shadow of his older brother, Michael, a doctor and ping pong champion. With a family-run store devoted to all things ping pong, the Wangs' entire world revolves around the sport. But when the Wang family livelihood is threatened by a rival ping pong player's attempts to lure the kids away, C-dub begins to take things more seriously. With the National Golden Cock Tournament coming up and an injured Michael unable to defend his title, C-dub must become the player he pretends to be and defend his family's ping pong dynasty. (IFC Films)


GENRE(S): Comedy  
WRITTEN BY: Jimmy Tsai
Jessica Yu
 
DIRECTED BY: Jessica Yu  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: January 6, 2009 
Theatrical: September 5, 2008 
RUNNING TIME: 96 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

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...

75
San Francisco Chronicle G. Allen Johnson
A mostly amusing, appealing family comedy about going from pretender to contender, in life as well as pingpong.
Read Full Review
75
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Bill White
Yu has a good time making fun of white people, in particular a pair of rival ping-pong teachers who seem inspired by the gay villains in the Bond film "Diamonds Are Forever."
Read Full Review
70
The New York Times Nathan Lee
A bright, nimble diversion, a quick-witted picture that's fast on its feet.
Read Full Review
70
The Hollywood Reporter Justin Lowe
Tsai, who co-wrote the script with Yu, pulls out all the stops with his C-dub role, brimming with witty send-ups of Chinese-American cultural values and Asian stereotypes.
Read Full Review
70
Variety Peter Debruge
A good, clean, fun comedy that uses a table tennis championship to crack inside jokes about Los Angeles' Chinese-American community.
Read Full Review
63
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
Has a certain silly, kid-friendly charm.
Read Full Review
58
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
Even the championship showdown feels polite.
Read Full Review
58
Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer
He's a mishmash of cultural opposites, and his motormouth swagger is fitfully amusing. So is his backhand.
Read Full Review
50
Village Voice Ella Taylor
Frantically paced, littered with cute kids, and overstuffed with split screens and a rap score, Ping Pong Playa angles a little too hard for tween attention, but there's no resisting the movie's antic affability or its irreverence.
Read Full Review
50
The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray
Something is missing here.
Read Full Review
50
Los Angeles Times Sheri Linden
Breathes fresh life into the tired, bloated sports-comedy formula -- while remaining utterly formulaic.
Read Full Review
50
Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall
This thin premise can't sustain a feature, and the racial and gay jokes are jarring, but the child actors are cute, especially Andrew.
Read Full Review
40
New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
A decidedly lightweight amusement.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 8.4 (out of 10) based on 7 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

ed h gave it a10:
A funny and entertaining film. Jimmy Tsai is a talented writer and actor, but his portrayal of Christopher Wang suffers from his "I think I'm black" mentality. That said Wang has some pretty hilarious riffs on whiteboys. Definitely worth the time to watch.

Bill B gave it a3:
I really, really wanted to like this movie but it just became an Asian sports movie. I felt like it should have ended every 30 seconds and been a commercial.

luzid p gave it an8:
I saw this at a film fest many months ago and really enjoyed it. It parodies the sport genre movies, doesn't take itself too seriously. Usually movies featuring men who act like over grown ten-year-olds really annoy me, but the Christopher Wang character made me laugh.

Dan H. gave it a10:
Absolutely hilarious! Jimmy Tsai plays his role as Christopher Wang (aka C-Dub) perfectly.

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