Shortcomings

"The only constant in life is (he won't) change."

2023 1h 32m EN

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 93

ComedyDramaRomance

Synopsis

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When his girlfriend leaves for New York City on a 3-month-long internship, a strongly opinionated Berkeley arthouse movie theater manager begins exploring life as a bachelor.

“The only constant in life is (he won't) change.”

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Cast

Justin H. Min
Ben Tagawa
Debby Ryan
Sasha
Sherry Cola
Alice Lee
Ally Maki
Miko Higashi
Sonoya Mizuno
Meredith
Stephanie Hsu
Mrs. Wong
Ronny Chieng
Mr. Wong
Jacob Batalon
Gene

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Randall Park
Writers: Adrian Tomine
Languages: English, Korean
Countries: Canada, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 3 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Korean.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Randall Park, shot by Santiago Gonzalez. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Gene Back. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Robert Nassau shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Justin H. Min and Debby Ryan and Sherry Cola carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

AWARDS

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The only constant in life is (he won't) change.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Randall Park directs. Santiago Gonzalez behind the camera. Gene Back scores. Robert Nassau cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Canada, United States of America. Dialogue in English, Korean.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 3 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Korean.
3International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.
4Directed by Randall Park, shot by Santiago Gonzalez. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Gene Back. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Robert Nassau shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Justin H. Min and Debby Ryan and Sherry Cola carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The only constant in life is (he won't) change.".
9IMDB entry: tt14483774 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 93 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
11Classified under 16 themes, including "new york city", "friendship", "narcissism", "cynicism".

The technical file

Cinematography: Santiago Gonzalez
Original score: Gene Back
Editing: Robert Nassau
Production design: Bill Boes
Costume design: Ava Yuriko Hama
Makeup / hair: Leo Won
VFX supervisor: Alex Noble
Sound: Ian Cymore
Runtime: 92 min · 1h 32m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $666,482
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Shortcomings (2023)

Also by

Randall Park

Fresh Off the Boat
2015 · ★ 7.2

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Brent Marchant2024-02-15
★ 8/10
When life doesn’t quite turn out as planned, it’s easy to become frustrated, cynical and embittered, falling into a trap of unrelenting wallowing and victimhood from which it’s difficult to escape. But what will staying in such a rut accomplish? That’s the harsh reality that an aspiring but unsuccessful Bay Area filmmaker (Justin H, Min) must face when his plans never materialize as hoped for, circumstances that taint his overall outlook and impact other areas of his life, such as his increasingly strained relationship with his live-in girlfriend (Ally Maki). To address these issues, he frequently seeks the advice of his best friend/confidante, a wisecracking, serial-dating lesbian (Sherry Cola) whose own life is more than a little dysfunctional. Their friendship is thus essentially tantamount to an ongoing exercise in misery loves company. But the unfulfilled auteur is suddenly and unexpectedly forced to get off the dime when his significant other announces that she’s moving to New York to accept an internship, leaving him alone in Berkeley. So what is he to do now? That’s what he’s about to find out. However, this unforeseen time by himself proves to be a dual-edged sword, an opportunity for newfound personal freedom but also a time in which he’s forced to get his life back on track, a dicey struggle in many respects – not to mention one filled with ample unanticipated fallout. This smartly written offering is full of eye-opening, unexpected plot twists, but they never feel forced, and they’re often quite revelatory about the protagonist’s true nature. In doing so, the picture successfully and intriguingly combines multiple genres, including romantic comedies tinged with elements typical of character studies, matinee dramas and hard-hitting social commentaries. Debut director Randall Park has also infused this release with an array of biting one-liners and a pervasively edgy quality when it comes to the true nature of relationships, an attribute not unlike that found in films like “(500) Days of Summer” (2009), “Bros” (2022), “Crazy Rich Asians” (2018), and even such Woody Allen projects as “Manhattan” (1979) and “Annie Hall” (1977). What’s more, “Shortcomings” is not afraid to show the unflattering sides of otherwise-likable characters, a theme frequently seen in the movies of filmmakers like Nicole Holofcener. Because of all this, there’s a certain brusqueness to the narrative and the characters that some viewers might find off-putting, but that’s also one of this production’s innate beauties in that it serves up an unbridled authenticity not often seen in pictures like this. Even though this release had a brief theatrical run late last summer, it’s largely gone unnoticed. Thankfully, however, it’s now available for streaming online and makes for a frank but refreshing watch compared to many other comparable offerings, one that gives us all a lot to think about.

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