The Joy Luck Club

The Joy Luck Club
by Wayne Wang

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• Produced by Academy Award(R)-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone (Best Picture -- PLATOON) and based on the powerful #1 best-selling book, THE JOY LUCK CLUB tells the uplifting story of four remarkable friends whose extraordinary lives are filled with joy and heartbreak. Their lifelong friendship reveals a mosaic of the startling events and conditions that have shaped their lives -- and how these exper

DVD Reviews of The Joy Luck Club

DVD Review: Not Very Impressed with EITHER the Book or the Movie
Summary: 2 Stars

The "Joy Luck Club" was just an average film due to its soap opera-like quality and random flashbacks. This made me confused by sending the plot into all different tangents and directions. When a book changes time frames, the reader can go back and re-read sections if need be. In a movie setting, however, the viewer cannot turn back and rewind the lost moments and the time frames quickly occur. The movie features only fine looking Chinese daughters who are part of this "Joy Luck Club." I felt that this was an unrealistic portrayal, as in the real world; there are many types of people. The "Joy Luck Club" is not explained to the audience and assumes that all have read the book prior to this movie. This movie was directed by Wayne Wang and the screen play was written by Amy Tan, who also wrote the book.

This movie begins in San Francisco where a party is being held for Jing-Mei "June Woo". She has been given money to go to China to see her two lost sisters. Jing-Mei June Woo is played by Ming-Na. The movie followed closely to the book in some respects by not others. For instance, during the red candle scene in the movie, there was no mention of the importance of the candle. The chapters in the book were scrambled when they appeared in the movie.

The acting was inconsistent. At the end of the film when she meets her sisters for the first time they do not seem to be reacting to each other. One of the women who is supposed to be the sister, also played the mother of June in a flashback. Andrew McCarthy who played Ted Jordan did a good acting performance and sold the scenes he was in, such as the scene where he told his mother off. Some of the mothers, such as Ying Ying and Lena Saint Clair who were played by France Nuyen and Lauren Tom respectively, made me want to laugh because of some of their unrealistic portrayals of overly broken Chinese accented English.

The plot was sporadic at times and seemed to take away from the original story line to the point that was irritating. The whole movie was a series of flashbacks that each person lived through. There was originally a party at the beginning of the movie, but then the scenes would quickly shift backwards in time to each person's life. I liked the transition that the director made when June's father talked about her mother's past because he explained what the mother had experienced. The flashback of best quality, however, didn't quite fit into the movie where it had been placed. It seemed to throw the viewer into the scene without hesitation. This movie was also quite choppy with too many events occurring in rapid sequence which began to lose steam while becoming dull and redundant. Three out of the four mothers seem to have lived the same story comprised of a bad marriage followed by a divorce and remarriage with many trials and tribulations along the way.

The themes were spelled out much more in the movie than in the book. The feather that was given to June was explained to her by her father without subtlety. The mother who sacrificed her life for her daughter was also played out and the reasons for it were amply described by the daughter. There was one theme that was explained in the end of "Best Quality". The scene was not portrayed or shown in the beginning of the flash back scene.

This book, turned movie, would be better for an older audience, such as 40 and up. It is more of a "woman's movie" with a sappy ending that most men probably wouldn't like, me included. I give this movie a C, but would probably receive a B from a more mature viewer who may be more interested in true life situations as opposed to comedy or action movies that a younger viewer might enjoy.

I would give this 2 1/2 stars but I could only select either 2 or 3 which is why I selected 2. Hope this helps!

Description of The Joy Luck Club