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The Joy Luck Club

  • 1993
  • R
  • 2h 19m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
19K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,982
1,109
The Joy Luck Club (1993)
The Oscar-winning actress shares a special list of films that inspire hope in an effort to help support those without a place to call home amidst our global health crisis.
Play clip4:30
Watch Cate Blanchett's Films of Hope
4 Videos
37 Photos
Coming-of-AgePsychological DramaDrama

Four Chinese women along with their mothers delve into their past and try to find answers. Slowly, this search helps them to understand the complex relationship they share with each other.Four Chinese women along with their mothers delve into their past and try to find answers. Slowly, this search helps them to understand the complex relationship they share with each other.Four Chinese women along with their mothers delve into their past and try to find answers. Slowly, this search helps them to understand the complex relationship they share with each other.

  • Director
    • Wayne Wang
  • Writers
    • Amy Tan
    • Ron Bass
  • Stars
    • Tamlyn Tomita
    • Rosalind Chao
    • Kieu Chinh
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.7/10
    19K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    3,982
    1,109
    • Director
      • Wayne Wang
    • Writers
      • Amy Tan
      • Ron Bass
    • Stars
      • Tamlyn Tomita
      • Rosalind Chao
      • Kieu Chinh
    • 131User reviews
    • 35Critic reviews
    • 84Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
      • 4 wins & 5 nominations total

    Videos4

    Cate Blanchett's Films of Hope
    Clip 4:30
    Cate Blanchett's Films of Hope
    The Joy Luck Club
    Clip 1:45
    The Joy Luck Club
    The Joy Luck Club
    Clip 1:45
    The Joy Luck Club
    The Joy Luck Club
    Clip 1:29
    The Joy Luck Club
    'Dangerous Lies' Star Jamie Chung Wants to Play This Tarantino Character
    Video 3:02
    'Dangerous Lies' Star Jamie Chung Wants to Play This Tarantino Character

    Photos37

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    + 31
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    Top cast62

    Edit
    Tamlyn Tomita
    Tamlyn Tomita
    • Waverly - The Daughter
    Rosalind Chao
    Rosalind Chao
    • Rose - The Daughter
    Kieu Chinh
    Kieu Chinh
    • Suyuan - The Mother
    Tsai Chin
    Tsai Chin
    • Lindo - The Mother
    France Nuyen
    France Nuyen
    • Ying-Ying - The Mother
    Lisa Lu
    Lisa Lu
    • An-Mei - The Mother
    Ming-Na Wen
    Ming-Na Wen
    • June - The Daughter
    Lauren Tom
    Lauren Tom
    • Lena - The Daughter
    Chao Li Chi
    Chao Li Chi
    • June's Father
    Melanie Chang
    • June - Age 9
    Victor Wong
    Victor Wong
    • Old Chong
    Lisa Connolly
    • Singing Girl
    Vu Mai
    Vu Mai
    • Waverly - Age 6-9
    Ying Wu
    • Lindo - Age 4
    Meijuan Xi
    Meijuan Xi
    • Lindo's Mother
    • (as Mei Juan Xi)
    Guo-Rong Chin
    • Huang Tai Tai
    Hsu Ying Li
    • Matchmaker
    Irene Ng
    Irene Ng
    • Lindo - Age 15
    • Director
      • Wayne Wang
    • Writers
      • Amy Tan
      • Ron Bass
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews131

    7.719K
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    Featured reviews

    8Smells_Like_Cheese

    One of the best films of 1993!

    I think I feared seeing "The Joy Luck Club" because it just screamed chick flick all over the cover, but my mother kept insisting it was an excellent film that anyone could really enjoy. So, I let my guards down and I was pleasantly surprised by this uplifting and rewarding drama about mother's and daughter's. Just wanting what is best and growing up wisely. I know this sounds silly, but this film made me not only appreciate being an American even more, but it also made me fell better as a woman. The four "Auntie's" had such wisdom and I felt that their stories were so heart wrenching but true and realistic.

    One of my friends is from China and she told me how women are treated there and it just broke my heart, watching this movie helped me realize more how much I should appreciate what I have. I even called my mother after the film and told her I loved her because she always tried her best to look out for me. The four stories of how the mother's made their journey to America and raised their daughters was very touching and the ending felt like it could only be a new beginning. I would highly recommend this movie for anyone, it's perfectly directed and acted.

    8/10
    9cherold

    affecting

    It's surprising they managed to make a movie out of The Joy Luck Club, which was, after all, a series of anecdotes by 8 different people. But somehow they did it, seamless weaving in and out of the characters' reminiscences.

    Joy Luck Club could reasonably be described as a chick flick - it is, after all, a film about a bunch of women and their feelings - but that would be a disservice. "Chick flick" has become a somewhat derogatory term, partially because it was a term created by guys who find women and their feelings annoying, but to a great extent because most movies in this class are shoddy pieces of tripe like "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood." If movies of women and their feelings were all this intelligent, insightful and affecting I doubt anyone would have even coined the term "chick flick." This is a movie of honest emotion that leaves you with a sense of fulfillment, a rebuke to all those manufactured, syrupy women's movies that Hollywood churns out. Highly, highly, HIGHLY recommended.
    briankistler

    Double-Edged Sword

    There are quite a few themes in this movie. One that springs to mind for me, right away, is that of a generation gap AND a cultural gap. This is a story about Chinese-American girls, growing up in America, raised by women who came of age in Mainland China, decades earlier. One interesting thought: most of these Chinese mothers came to America, wishing to fight like a tiger for their daughters...........wishing that they could give their daughters a much better life (and a MUCH LESS PAINFUL life) than they had. Unfortunately most of their daughters interpreted their tenacious desire to fight for them (and push them to excellence) as a lack of love: hence the "double-edged sword" of "giving their all" for their daughters.

    I am all too keenly aware that this is what most people would call a "chick flick". Nevertheless, as a man, I loved it. I enjoyed how the stories of the mother's and daughter's childhoods (and their younger years in general) were interwoven throughout the movie like a Chinese tapestry or quilt. Moving in and out of the American and Chinese cultures made this even more interesting to watch. Every tale, that each Chinese mother narrated, was like a work of art: a work of art complete with flutes, violins and various types of Chinese instruments in the background. Their tales were also frequently accompanied by breathtaking views of snowcapped mountains and the wide, open Chinese countryside (so very similar to what we have seen on sheets of rice paper or on porcelain plates).

    There was also a lot of powerful energy in this film. Not all of it was the negative energy of deep conflicts and emotional strife between mother and daughter. Much of it was quite positive and invigorating: the energy that filled the room of these daughters and mothers when they got together to CELEBRATE LIFE at an "extended family" party...........The very moving and touching energy, that surged forth, when mother and daughter often came together, after years and decades of conflict..........and realized that they were on each other's team..........The tears of joy that often sprang forth, when a given daughter realized, for the first time, that her mother was not disappointed in her..........and that her own happiness was PARAMOUNT, in her mother's heart.

    In a small way, it did bother me that every single one of the Chinese mothers came from a dysfunctional family (and/or background). I do realize, however, that the overall story would not have been anywhere near as "riveting", had each daughter not had a mother who had to fight and claw her way to survival (and to sanity!). I will say that, of all the mothers, Tsai Chin's Lindo Jon character was perhaps the most unforgivable role model for maternity. Most of my friends, who have seen this movie, agree that she was almost HATEFUL in her attitude toward her daughter! However, this part of the movie did help make the overall plot very interesting (and deeply charged with emotion!).

    A few closing comments: as a former student of Chinese History I really enjoyed seeing some of the common Chinese familial traits played out in this movie: respect for elders, honoring one's ancestors and being an obedient child. Finally, I must compliment the casting director of The Joy Luck Club: you selected some of the prettiest little girls to play the mothers and daughters in their earliest years.
    jhadefoxx

    A masterpiece

    Words fail to capture the essence of this film. I read the book before I saw the movie and as anyone can tell you, the book for a movie is usually a lot better, but in this case and I think they are both on the same level. I watched this movie again for the umpteenth time today and every time I watch it I see the magic again. It makes me think of my own relationship with my mother and my relationship with my daughter. This is the story that made me feel in love with Asian film.
    8winsome1

    A Hanky Fest

    If you're an Asian-American woman with parental conflicts around culture then prepare to cry at this wonderfully fabulous film. So many cultural issues come up that you never know when you'll be hit with a wave of recognition. There are many laughs here as well. You just don't know when they'll arrive. This is a definite must for anyone struggling to understand how to incorporate their ethnic heritage in the massive American melting pot.

    IMDb's Picks For Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

    IMDb's Picks For Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

    IMDb celebrates the cinematic contributions of Asians and Pacific Islanders with a list of some iconic films, new classics, and hidden gems to add to your Watchlist.
    See the list
    Production art
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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      In a 2018 NPR interview, executive producer Janet Yang recalled that director Wayne Wang (who she said usually had "the most lovely personality") lost his temper in a marketing meeting because the studio had presented him with the choices for posters to advertise the movie, and all of the options avoided showing the face of an Asian person. Either the designs were very abstract (for example, a decorative woodcut) or they were photos of the actresses' backs.
    • Goofs
      In the second chess game that Waverley plays as a child with the boy the chess board and the positions of the pieces are clearly shown on the screen. The boy moves his queen. Waverley makes a move and the boy responds with a move in which he captures a pawn and he says "check". The only possible move that the boy could have made at this point which would have resulted in an utterance of any kind would have been "checkmate" - Black queen supported by black bishop takes white pawn, Mate. After this Waverley makes another move which would have been impossible under the rules of the game because the game would have been over on black's last move.
    • Quotes

      Suyuan: That bad crab, only you tried to take it. Everybody else want best quality. You, your thinking different. Waverly took best-quality crab. You took worst, because you have best-quality heart. You have style no one can teach. Must be born this way. I see you.

    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: True Romance/The Ballad of Little Jo/Kalifornia/The Joy Luck Club/The Real McCoy (1993)
    • Soundtracks
      I Enjoy Being A Girl
      Music by Richard Rodgers

      Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II

      Courtesy of Williamson Music

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    FAQ20

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • October 29, 1993 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Mandarin
      • Cantonese
    • Also known as
      • El Club de la Buena Estrella
    • Filming locations
      • 610 Rhode Island Street, San Francisco, California, USA(Harold and Lena's home interior)
    • Production company
      • Hollywood Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $11,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $32,901,136
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $159,009
      • Sep 12, 1993
    • Gross worldwide
      • $32,901,136
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 19 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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