Alice Wu’s directorial debut, Saving Face, is one of those movies that remind the viewer of a favorite junk food: the satisfaction that immediately follows the consumption is all too quickly followed by a nagging guilt at not having partaken of something more worthwhile.

On the surface, Saving Face is a standard ethnic romantic comedy that follows the trail so successfully paved by My Big Fat Greek Wedding: central character’s love life is complicated by the traditions of an extended family that won’t let go of either its old world values or of the central character’s right to make her own decisions. The twists here are that the setting is the Chinese-American community of New York City, that the central character is, at least for the moment, lesbian, and the fact that she is juggling the added complication of her 48 year-old, widowed and mysteriously pregnant mother.

To the film’s credit, it does not sink into the slapstick that might have resulted if the Barbershop crew had gotten its hands on this material. However, from the introduction of the main characters, through the “here’s an insider’s view of the Chinese community” scenes, to the all too predictable ending, the whole thing is just too darned pat. The result is that the lesbian twist seems to have been an artifice added solely for the purpose of garnering attention; for in fact, Michelle Krusiec’s character, Wil, could have been any daughter (or any son, for that matter) trying to find her/his own way in a world her/his parents and extended family do not really understand.

More to the point, Director and Screen Writer Wu not only panders to stereotype expectations, but she slavishly employs them as though there might be no other possible way to tell this story. Thus, Krusiec’s grandfather (naturally) practices Tai Chi in the park, her best friend is (naturally) a gay black man who cries at soap operas and sits on the apartment steps in a complexion mask, and both she and her drop-dead gorgeous lover, Vivian, are (naturally) incredibly successful over-achievers. Adding to the feeling that the lesbian theme was an artificial add-on is the fact that Wil’s sexuality is never really firmly established. If anything, she comes across as largely asexual for most of the film, thereby rendering Lynn Chen’s Vivian as nothing so much as a sexual predator, who virtually stalks Wil, and shamelessly (if clumsily) seduces her in order to get her into bed. Throughout the film (and until the all too predictable ending, which is telegraphed by an airport scene which is stolen straight out of The Boys in the Band) Wil seems a reluctant partner at best. By contrast, Vivian is demanding, selfish and emotionally unappealing.

The saving grace is the film’s “other” central plot line, that of Wil’s long-widowed, inexplicably pregnant mother. All but stealing the film, Joan Chen’s portrayal of “Ma” is nothing short of brilliant for most of the movie, and the film would have been vastly more impressive and interesting if it had focused solely on her, and if the needless distraction of her daughter’s lesbian struggles had been left out entirely. Only the sugary, improbable, Hollywood-happy ending forces Ms. Chen to shed the dignity and sympathy she builds for her character throughout the first 98% of the movie, and it is that ending which ultimately ruins this film, in spite of solid performances throughout.

The best drama, and, admittedly, the best comedy, usually stems from the inherent conflict of incompatible elements unavoidably thrown together. Moreover, ever since Romeo and Juliet, the unswerving devotion of star-crossed lovers has universally evoked audience sympathy, identification, and caring. But the standard romantic comedy formula, which Ms. Wu slavishly follows, demands that everyone live happily ever after, even if it means that most characters must betray their long standing and deeply held beliefs, values, and feelings. The problem is that real people don’t act that way. Thus, Vivian’s willingness to reunite with Wil, Wil’s family’s acceptance of her sexuality and wedding (?) to her lesbian lover, her grandfather’s jovial if resigned acceptance of both this and his unmarried daughter’s pregnancy by a man over 20 years her junior, and the entire community’s happy celebration of the entire situation is just too much. Much like eating a large bag of Cheese Doodles as an afternoon snack, this film sort of felt good on the way down. But there was no mistaking the queasiness that followed before the final credits had finished rolling.

The movie was great, that’s why I wanted my own copy without commercials, etc.

The copy was horrible. It was like the whole movie was in the dark, at night.