Shanghai Calling

source: Shanghai Calling

There are some laugh out loud jokes and meaningful insights about Asian American expat in China. The romance isn't terribly convincing. The legal manufacturing tussle is funny then fairly interesting but the resolution seems hasty. The cast is pretty good. Daniel Henney mumbles a bit but he is suited to the role even though he isn't full Asian. Okay watch if you don't expect a lot.

Fun, unpretentious and cute to watch, I already want a cell phone like that ... And Daniel Henney is beautiful .... s2 ... Very nice to watch...

I like this movie. I don't love it, I don't hate, I don't regret watching it, but I don't really remember it until I watch it the next time. That's the best I can tell you, and I think that's unfortunate because with the stars in the movie, the location, the cinematography, and the score, it should have been so much more. But it's slightly above average and that's frustrating. First off, the story is the movie's biggest fault. There's just so little stakes-- nobody is living or dying. It's just very inconvenient for all those involved. It draaaagggs the movie down so much because every time we are taken away from a character moment or a comedic scene to focus on the plot, the movie gets boring. Secondly, the movie foremost wants to be a travelogue that will get you to movie to Shanghai. Since it doesn't accomplish the first thing very well, it doesn't accomplish the second thing very well either. If they had just tried to tell a compelling story instead of forcefully hinting at the charm of Shanghai, maybe it would have been more effective. So, why did I like it then? Everything else is pretty stellar. The comedy writing is great. There's a lot of lines ("DOES ANYBODY HERE UNDERSTAND THIS GUY?") that are funny and a lot of character interactions ("Pretty Chinese girl!") that land very well. Like I said, the cinematography is nice. Shanghai is beautiful and the landscape photography really makes it pop. THE ACTORS. Daniel Henney is so charming and likable even when he is doing bad, unethical things. Eliza and Zhu Zhu are great as the "love interests" and bring a lot out of the secondary characters. Bill Paxton is a step down from his best films, but he has some general charm too. Whenever we're given a moment to sit with the characters, the movie lands. It's just a shame that the story is so subpar. I heard through the grapevine that the movie was at one time considered as TV show, and I think that would have been a way better option since having a compelling narrative would not be as important. Instead, it kinda just serves as a nice DVD that sits on my shelf for whenever some friends come over, and we don't wanna go out.

An amazing movie beautifully directed and even more effectively presented by all the actors. The story is in itself groundbreaking and plus the way of representing the story added more to the movie. A great for one time watch. A worth watching one for sure. You will not be disappointed.

Let me introduce myself quickly. I grew up in Beijing, graduated from the best University. I "relocated" to Texas in my late 20s, not far from San Antonio. As an immigrant who have struggled every single day, I can say I love every line of the movie.They were so true, laughable and touching. When I was in Beijing during my adolescence, I used to know some "expats" , called "Lao Wai". They were often grumbling about Chinese laws and business, making fun of Chinese ladies for "cheap", making comments on Chinese who tried to be friend with them, saying they were "English learner, not real friends". After watching this movie, I eventually understand what those "Lao Wai" were talking about. It was distrust. Those expats can't trust the law, the ladies, and friends. And it is same here. I want to get along with American people, but different culture just raised the cost of trusting people no matter how hard you try. Fang Fang was a flirty young beauty. So true. I 'd say that she was the epitome of China in the last century----poor, beautiful,trying so hard in every possible way to get connected to the world's front edge. Eventually we learned that flirting was her way to exchange for help, not "taking me to New York"as Sam said. To be honest, Chinese young ladies nowadays are much more anti-marriage. Awesome Wang is both street-smart and supportive for public justice, which rarely exist in the same person. Awesome Wang is a real eccentric, though truly awesome. The man who preached to Sam about the pit was another excellent case of cultural shock. There are many men wearing robes in China. The love to preach to any strangers randomly. They are not monks and they do not take donations. Donating publicly is actually a very negative thing because the recipient would be considered as money-minded and hypocrisy. I know it is different in America. Everyday I feel seized at the neck when I see donation requests in supermarket till and daycare email. To Be Continued.

I think that there is only one similar film "outsourced" which was made a few years ago. So this story is very unique. It also has some semi- famous actors in it, but the story is not exciting. It is almost predictable. And there are a few obvious problems in it. When it was shot in the streets of shanghai, it was so apparent that lots of people were watching while it was filmed. It instantly makes the audiences realizing that they are watching a fake film. Second, the restaurant scene was so awkward, not funny at all. Because when he stood up, you can see that the rest of the tables were almost empty. Some of the jokes are just plain simple cliché and not funny. There are plenty of expatriates living in Shanghai or other cities in China, I think that maybe one of them can write a real story. And the male protagonist doesn't even have any Chinese blood in him.

SHANGHAI CALLING may not light any fires of excitement in filmdom but it is a successful dual country effort to quash some misconceptions about China and the US and the news we hear daily. And if it were for that alone it would be worth an evening's outing, but graced by a really top notch cast of fresh actors not well known - yet - it becomes a tender little romp set in the spectacular beauty of Shanghai! The story is a predictable one:a young handsome Chinese American Lawyer (a very fine young actor hunk Daniel Henney) who was born in America and speaks no Chinese at all is sent by his major law firm in New York to gain access into the big business happening in Shanghai - home of the manufacturers who make everything used in this country it seems! Once in China he encounters Chinese customs of which he is ignorant, a language he does not understand, an ex-pat mayor of Americatown (Bill Paxton), a beautiful single mom (Eliza Coupe, another one to watch) who has moved to China to give her daughter a new life and is in charge of finding homes for new businessmen, a gorgeous assistant (Zhu Zhu)who falls for him, and a crazy ex-pat (Alan Ruck)who teaches English as a sideline to womanizing. When our young lawyer seems to fail at everything he intends to do he engages a fix-it guy humorously called Awesome Wang (Geng Le) and gradually our lawyer finds a new outlook on his cultural heritage, rights some wrongs, and falls in love. Daniel Hsia directs and keeps the momentum going throughout film - even when relying on the ubiquitous chase scenes (here on bicycles). It is a fine introduction to coexistence between the new China and the somewhat backwards USA! Grady Harp

I've seen so many typical Asian movie, comedy, romance, thriller name it. When I choose to watch Shanghai Calling, honestly that's simply because I crave to see Daniel Henney act. He's a raising star in South Korea, born as Daniel Philip Henney, a mixed British Korean with American citizen, is indeed born with great natural acting, full of charms and charismatic character. He happened can manage every of his movie characters into a resistible one, even when he has to play a bad guy, check out Seducing Mr. Perfect and The Spy. I wasn't expect anything on the first minute I watched this Shanghai Calling movie. But it is intrigue to see Daniel Henney portray as a Chinese rather than Korean. He did remind me with a great HongKong actor Russel Wong. I am so amaze on how the story plot is running. The portray of a foreigner came into "what he thinks" a 3rd world country. The old Chinese man with flying chicken imagination shown in the beginning, when Sam been told that he assigned to China is really a cool and funny way to speak his imagination. I believe this is something that must see by all the westerner or European who plans to come to Asian countries. Sam thinks his life in NY was so great that he ignore to see the good things that he can have in Shanghai. No kidding~ This movie fulls of funny scenes, including Sam arrogant act when he scold the taxi driver who actually wanting to help him. The female roles is just okay. Maybe for men, they'd like to see it. I'm too bias with Daniel Henney so maybe I expected more from the actress in this movie. Great thing is this movie is really smart in making and not carried away by the racist issue whatsoever. The ending also unpredictable, just when I think it's about to end, when Sam (Daniel Henney) thinks that he managed to solve his case, the other issue came out. I love how it plays viewer mind, totally unexpected and great ending. Yes, I do see that they could give Bill Paxton more role in the story, in fact, the Awesome Wang really did it all. Again unexpected story plot. So I still give 10 for this. Overall, I really enjoy watching it, and wish it will not end there, maybe another interesting story about Sam living in Shanghai.

I watched this on the plane returning to California from Shanghai and it was spot on right about the "expats" (who never think of themselves as carpetbaggers or immigrants). I was in Shanghai to teach an MBA course on business ethics and this film sent exactly the right message on that very topic. Instead of going to a new country to skim the cream in whatever unscrupulous way one can get away with, why not try being a model for others on how to succeed by doing the right thing. I thought Shanghai's Bund itself was the star of the show, and rightly so, and the leads are both rising stars to watch. The editing could have had less abrupt resolutions, though. A bit too pat for Sam to meet a philosophical Chinese guy in a (brazen advert) Costa Coffee who leads him to enlightenment in a coffee bean. However, the comedic moments are genuinely hilarious!