A similar movie to this was made in 1997 called "Fakin' Da Funk." It was a comedy about a Black family who adopted a Chinese boy. It was terrible. In comparison this movie is "Shawshank Redemption."
Harold and Delores Williams (Paul Winfield and Mary Alice) adopted two Vietnamese children: a brother and sister. Dwayne (Chi Muoi Lo) was the younger of the two children while his sister Mai (Lauren Tom) was the older one. As adults we can see that Dwayne pretty much settled in with his adopted family like they were blood relatives while Mai always had a longing for her real mother. Mai has a fondness for Harold while she never seemed to accept Delores. Dwayne, though, loves them both and even prefers some cultural aspects of his adopted parents.
The umbrella story is about this blended family. Within the overall story is Dwayne who's just proposed to his girlfriend Nina (Sanaa Lathan) and Mai who's just located her real mother Thanh (Kieu Chinh) and brought her to Los Angeles. The complicated family drama begins when Thanh gets to the states. Mai is ready to totally disown Delores while Dwayne can't come to grips with how he should feel about Thanh. Thanh doesn't make the whole ordeal any easier when she forcefully inserted herself into their lives and attempted to make up for lost time as well as their lost culture.
"Catfish in Black Bean Sauce" was splendid. It was an emotionally complex story on the level of "Losing Isaiah" yet not as dark. It was funny while touching on relationship conundrums that I wouldn't wish on anyone. On the one hand, you have an adopted family that has raised these two young ones to adulthood. On the other hand, you have the real mother who finally gets back to her children she lost due to a war. Such a predicament would be difficult in any case, but it is doubly complicated when the kids are of a different race and nationality than the adopted parents. But CiBBS is encouraging. It is a small road map for anyone in such a situation, or planning to be, of what kind of bumps are in the road and what kind of beautiful oasis you could still arrive at.
Harold and Delores Williams (Paul Winfield and Mary Alice) adopted two Vietnamese children: a brother and sister. Dwayne (Chi Muoi Lo) was the younger of the two children while his sister Mai (Lauren Tom) was the older one. As adults we can see that Dwayne pretty much settled in with his adopted family like they were blood relatives while Mai always had a longing for her real mother. Mai has a fondness for Harold while she never seemed to accept Delores. Dwayne, though, loves them both and even prefers some cultural aspects of his adopted parents.
The umbrella story is about this blended family. Within the overall story is Dwayne who's just proposed to his girlfriend Nina (Sanaa Lathan) and Mai who's just located her real mother Thanh (Kieu Chinh) and brought her to Los Angeles. The complicated family drama begins when Thanh gets to the states. Mai is ready to totally disown Delores while Dwayne can't come to grips with how he should feel about Thanh. Thanh doesn't make the whole ordeal any easier when she forcefully inserted herself into their lives and attempted to make up for lost time as well as their lost culture.
"Catfish in Black Bean Sauce" was splendid. It was an emotionally complex story on the level of "Losing Isaiah" yet not as dark. It was funny while touching on relationship conundrums that I wouldn't wish on anyone. On the one hand, you have an adopted family that has raised these two young ones to adulthood. On the other hand, you have the real mother who finally gets back to her children she lost due to a war. Such a predicament would be difficult in any case, but it is doubly complicated when the kids are of a different race and nationality than the adopted parents. But CiBBS is encouraging. It is a small road map for anyone in such a situation, or planning to be, of what kind of bumps are in the road and what kind of beautiful oasis you could still arrive at.