Themes: Sibling Relationships, Mothers and Daughters, Immigrant Life
Main Cast: Tsai Chin, Kieu Chinh, Lisa Lu, France Nuyen, Rosalind Chao, Tamlyn Tomita
Release Year: 1993
Country: US
Run Time: 135 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Director Wayne Wang and screenwriter Ronald Bass effectively interweave sixteen mother-daughter tales in their silken film version of Amy Tan's best-selling novel about the clash between generations. The film takes place in present-day San Francisco, concentrating on a group of late-middle-aged Chinese women. Ever since arriving in the United States after World War II, the women have gathered weekly to play mah-jongg and to tell stories, regaling each other with tales of their children and grandchildren, giving each other a sense of hope and renewal in the midst of poverty and hardship. The Joy Luck Club is made up of four women -- Suyuan (Kieu Chinh), Lindo (Tsai Chin), Ying Ying (France Nuyen), and An Mei (Lisa Lu). But when Suyuan dies, the three surviving members invite Suyuan's daughter June (Ming-Na Wen) to take her place. Along with the daughters of the other members -- Waverly (Tamlyn Tomita), Lena (Lauren Tom), and Rose (Rosalind Chao) -- June is a Chinese-American with only a passing interest in her rich cultural heritage. But through vignettes that switch back and forth in time, the daughters begin to appreciate the struggles of their mothers to start their families in the optimistic promise of the United States. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Review
This is a successful (if, at times, strenuously overstated) adaptation of Amy Tan's celebrated novel chronicling the generations of a family of Chinese women. Wayne Wang's tasteful direction goes a long way in providing interesting focal points for the viewer, and despite eight interweaving storylines, the film is never confusing or disjointed. One of the rare American movies of the 1990s that has a virtually across-the-board Asian cast, the actors all turn in strong performances, sometimes admirably eschewing the histrionics provided by the script, which occasionally feels diagrammed to give the actresses "big scenes." Not every story is equally gripping, and the pace lags at intervals, but the sentimental nature of The Joy Luck Club is eventually earned, and Tan's unerringly precise source-material gives it a much-deserved grace. A crossover hit at the box office, the film oddly failed to receive any Academy Award nominations for the year it was released, despite wide predictions that it was a sure Oscar candidate. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
Lauren Tom - Lena; Ming-Na Wen - June; Michael Paul Chan - Harold; Andrew McCarthy - Ted; Christopher Rich - Rich; Russell Wong - Lin Xiao; Vivian Wu - An Mei's Mother; Jack Ford - Mr. Jordan; Diane Baker - Mrs. Jordan; Kim Chew - Mrs. Chew; Chao Li Chi - June's Father; Nicholas Guest - Hairdresser; Philip Moon - Ken; Elizabeth Sung - 2nd Wife; Heidi Levitt; Risa Bramon Garcia; Lisa Connolly - Singing Girl; Irene Ng - Lindo--Age 15; Lucille Soong - Popo; Victor Wong - Old Chong
Credit
Jim Poynter - Art Director, Michael Smuin - Choreography, Lydia Tanji - Costume Designer, Josh King - First Assistant Director, Marcei Brubaker - First Assistant Director, Wayne Wang - Director, Maysie Hoy - Editor, Oliver Stone - Executive Producer, Janet Yang - Executive Producer, Rachel Portman - Composer (Music Score), Valli O'Reilly - Makeup, Diane B. Smith - Production Designer, Amir Mokri - Cinematographer, Ralph Bass - Producer, Ronald Bass - Producer, Patrick Markey - Producer, A. Tan - Producer, Wayne Wang - Producer, Amy Tan - Producer, Jim Poynter - Set Designer, Ronald Bass - Screenwriter, Amy Tan - Screenwriter, Masakazu Yoshizawa - Musical Performer, Amy Tan - Book Author
Four older women, all Chinese immigrants living in San Francisco, meet regularly to play mah-jong, eat, and tell stories. Each of these women have adult Chinese-American daughters. The film reveals the hidden pasts of the older women and explores cultural conflict and the relationships between mothers and daughters. The film is structured as a series of vignettes told from the perspectives of the different women.
Reception
The Joy Luck Club has been widely praised by critics and was well-received by audiences. Critic Gene Siskel, who singled out the script and performances, praised the film for presenting images of Asian-Americans outside the narrow range of childhood violinists and spelling bee winners, opining that its main accomplishments were its depiction of how the brutal lives of women in China could continue to influence the lives of their American daughters, and its ability to allow audiences to relate to a large group of Chinese-Americans as individuals.[1]
Some critics, however, have criticized the film's perpetuation of stereotypes, particularly regarding Asian males, such as Asian American author Frank Chin.[2][3][citation needed][4][dead link] These views, however, stand in stark contrast with that of Chinese-American director Wayne Wang, who was impressed with Amy Tan's original novel and was open to bringing "The Joy Luck Club" to the big screen.[5]
