Better Luck Tomorrow (2002) - A Review

 

Incredible movie directed by Justin Lin.

Better Luck Tomorrow is an American drama/crime drama released in 2002. It stars Parry Shen, Karin Anna Cheung, Jason Tobin, Sung Kang, Roger Fan, and John Cho. The movie was written (along with Ernesto Foronda and Fabian Marquez) and directed by Justin Lin.

The movie follows Ben Manibag (played by Shen), an intelligent high school student who is working hard on making his high school transcripts look appealing to the Ivy League colleges he wants to apply to for college. He's on the basketball team, the debate team, he translates Spanish at a hospital, he works at a fast food place, and he indulges in petty crime. Being bored and having the perfect cover of being an over achieving student, he takes part in petty theft and vandalism with his friends Virgil (played by Tobin) and Han (played by Kang). 

Another over achieving student, Daric (played by Fan) spotlights Ben in a school newspaper story about being a bench warmer on the basketball team. Ben does not appreciate the attention, as he is fine with his position. Later on, Daric convinces Ben to make a cheat sheet for an upcoming test, paying him for his efforts. This becomes the group's money making scheme, until they start doing more risky crimes. Ben and his group become infamous at their school.

Ben also has a crush on Stephanie, who he begins getting close to. Unfortunately, Stephanie already has a boyfriend, Steve (played by Cho). Steve goes to private school, comes from a rich family, and is on a rival debate team. Ben and Steve have a complicated relationship. All of this comes to a head on New Year's Eve, and it is shocking, to say the least.

This is a great movie. The story it tells is fascinating, and it's never boring. Even though it is a drama, there are little bits of comedy here and there.The cinematography is nice, a bit understated, but there are some amazing shots in there. This movie has a good soundtrack, too. The film score is good, and the soundtrack rules. The song playing in the school dance scene is so good. This movie is truly underrated, I feel.

The characters are fully formed. They are believable. Ben, as the main character, is the 'every guy' you root for. You want him to be a good person, and you still root for him when he makes bad decisions. Virgil is basically the try-hard character who is a bit unhinged. Jason Tobin is a tour de force as Virgil. He kills it in his role. Han is the strong, silent type. He is the most mysterious character. He may do bad things, but he has a conscience. Daric is one of the most manipulative, self-centered jerks in cinema history. He knows just what to say to make characters do what he wants. I hate Daric. A lot. Stephanie has a bit of a complicated backstory, but she is great. Her motivations are believable, and even though she is a straight arrow, even she gets influenced by Ben's rebellious side. Steve is an arrogant, troubled rich kid. He is cool, but he has problems. John Cho plays him perfectly. Arrogant, awkward, and aloof. The performances in this movie are top notch!

If you've never seen Better Luck Tomorrow, see it! NOW! I highly recommend it! I watch this movie every New Year's Eve. It is one of my all-time favorite movies. Though it has a dark ending, it is somehow optimistic as well. You never know how life is going to go, you just have to hope for the best.

DVD I watched for the review.

Back cover of DVD.

The DVD disc that I watched. I really need this movie on Blu-Ray!

Reviewed by David Williams