Better Luck Tomorrow (2002)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Justin Lin

Writers:

Ernesto Foronda (written by) &
Justin Lin (written by) ...
(more)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Never underestimate an overachiever.

Plot:

A group of over-achieving Asian-American high school seniors enjoy a power trip when they dip into extra-curricular criminal activities.

Plot Keywords:

Asian American | Overachiever | High School | Basketball | Prostitution

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Parry Shen	...	Ben Manibag
Jason J. Tobin	...	Virgil Hu
Shirley Anderson	...	Hot Dog Planet Customer
Nanette Matoba	...	Housewife
Kenji Matoba	...	Toddler
Sung Kang	...	Han
Ashley Arai	...	Cheerleader
Danielle Conner	...	Cheerleader
Karen DiTota	...	Cheerleader
Smita Satiani	...	Cheerleader
Kristen Stinson	...	Cheerleader
Jeff DeJohn	...	Ryan
Robert Zepeda	...	Jock
Collin Kahey	...	Jock
Christopher J. Francis	...	Jock
Jimmy Lin	...	Jock
Ryan Cadiz	...	Jesus Navarro
Karin Anna Cheung	...	Stephanie Vandergosh
Roger Fan	...	Daric Loo
Jerry Mathers	...	Biology Teacher
Jessie S. Marion	...	Gina Nabham
A.J. Green	...	Mr. Farmer
Jaime Serene Kelly	...	Nurse (as Jaime S. Kelly)
Esther Mercado	...	Hospital Patient (as Esther 'Tita' Mercado)
Octavia Osby	...	Doctor
Beverly Sotelo	...	Cashier
Scott McShane	...	Cashier
Brandon Bain	...	Basketball Player
Jesse Bustos	...	Basketball Player
Troy Cartwright	...	Basketball Player
Brandon Dennis	...	Basketball Player
Ronald Dross	...	Basketball Player
Christopher R. Edmonds	...	Basketball Player
Jon Paul Lourenco	...	Basketball Player
Anthony Moore	...	Basketball Player
Jason Reyes	...	Basketball Player
Dominique Ricks	...	Basketball Player
Khalil Semaan	...	Basketball Player
Jonathan Uyloan	...	Basketball Player
Terry White	...	Basketball Player
Chad Young	...	Basketball Player
Kenwood Jung	...	Basketball Coach
Jeff Russell	...	Assistant Basketball Coach
John Cho	...	Steve Choe
Aaron Takahashi	...	Takashi
Darian Weiss	...	Kenny Vandergosh
Alden Villaverde	...	Ulden
Emmie Hsu	...	Miriam
Lily Hu	...	Tina
Donna Tina Charles	...	Waitress
Crystal Keith	...	Karen
Laura Esposito	...	Camille
Juliet Wong	...	Mary
Justin Murphy	...	Adam / New Year's Party Band
James Isaac Barry	...	Porn Jock
Wayne Ford	...	Student Buying Cheat Stamp
Kevin Alfoldy	...	Steve's Decathlon Team Member
Daniel R. Bonneau	...	Steve's Decathlon Team Member
Lisa Grant	...	Steve's Decathlon Team Member
David Laurence	...	Steve's Decathlon Team Member
Nate Petre	...	Steve's Decathlon Team Member
Ramona T. Ramirez	...	Steve's Decathlon Team Member
Stephanie Noel Little	...	Steve's Barbie
Tom Chalmers	...	Liquor Store Clerk
Bryan Baluyot	...	Gangster
Mark Baluyot	...	Gangster
Joseph Jaldon	...	Gangster
Marc Montecillo	...	Gangster
Joe Hernandez-Kolski	...	Scared Student
Jay Green	...	Assistant Vice Principal
Denise Barnard	...	Assistant Vice Principal
Bruno Oliver	...	History Teacher
Fabian Marquez	...	Security Guard
Walter Butler	...	Peter
Christopher Monjoy	...	Student Buying Drugs
Ina Burke	...	Tracy
Jennifer Wu	...	Ben's Admirer (as Jennifer Avelyn Wu)
Pauline Kanako Kamiyama	...	Party Girl
Lela Lee	...	Slapper
Evan Leong	...	Slapper's Boyfriend
Suzanne Keilly	...	Salesgirl
Shane Kualapai	...	Casino Security Guard
Ariadne Shaffer	...	Rachel
Sean Alexander	...	New Year's Party Band
Joey Barro	...	New Year's Party Band
Ben Donaldson	...	New Year's Party Band
Walker Edmondson	...	New Year's Party Band
Chris Good	...	New Year's Party Band
Diana Bonilla	...	New Year's Party Flirt
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ronnie Gene Blevins	...	Skinhead (uncredited)
Rick Cortes	...	Extra (uncredited)
Louie Giangrande	...	Photographed Student (uncredited)
Justin Lin	...	Jock (uncredited)

Directed by
Justin Lin

Writing credits
Ernesto Foronda		(written by) &
Justin Lin		(written by) &
Fabian Marquez		(written by)

Produced by
Julie Asato	....	producer
Michael Cole	....	executive producer
Troy Craig Poon	....	executive producer
Ernesto Foronda	....	producer
Steve Herr	....	associate producer
Joan Huang	....	co-producer
Sung Kang	....	associate producer
Justin Lin	....	producer
Michael Manshel	....	executive producer
Gustavo Spoliansky	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Michael Gonzales
Tobin Mori

Cinematography by
Patrice Lucien Cochet

Film Editing by
Justin Lin

Casting by
Donna Tina Charles

Production Design by
Yoo Jung Han

Art Direction by
Yoo Jung Han

Costume Design by
Sandi Lieu

Makeup Department
Robin Felix	....	hair stylist: Ms. Cheung
Jaime Serene Kelly	....	key makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Josh Diamond	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Joseph Fedo	....	lead man

Sound Department
Tim Bindel	....	adr supervisor
Tim Bindel	....	sound supervisor
Curtis Choy	....	sound
Paul Davidson	....	foley artist
Aleksandr Gruzdev	....	sound re-recording mixer
Cindy Jo Hinkleman	....	dialog editor
James P. Lay	....	sound re-recording mixer
James P. Lay	....	supervising sound editor
Michael McDonald	....	sound re-recording mixer
John Sanacore	....	sound recordist
Scott M. Silvey	....	sound
William Tabanou	....	sound effects editor
Kelly Vandever	....	sound re-recording mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Patrice Lucien Cochet	....	camera operator
Bryan Hayes	....	electrician
Bryan Hayes	....	grip
Guy Livneh	....	chief lighting technician
Paul Maletich	....	first assistant camera: second camera
BJ McDonnell	....	dolly grip
BJ McDonnell	....	key grip
Bill Otto	....	second assistant camera
Michael Tiratira	....	best boy grip
Remi Tournois	....	first assistant camera
Bryan Hayes	....	dolly grip (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Greg Le Duc	....	avid post-production system supervisor
Mato	....	color timer
Fred Raskin	....	additional editor
Steve Barnett	....	post-production consultant (uncredited)

Music Department
Sheri Ozeki	....	composer: additional music
Tamala Poljak	....	composer: additional music

Other crew
Keith E. Cooper	....	legal services
Winston Emano	....	publicist
David Magdael	....	publicist
Annalee Paulo	....	publicist
Damon Isiah Turner	....	assistant: Mr. Poon

Thanks
Kayo Hatta	....	special thanks
Dawn Suggs	....	thanks
Billy Woodberry	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Cherry Sky Films
• Day O Productions
• Hudson River Entertainment
• MTV Films
• Trailing Johnson Productions

Distributors

• MTV Films
• Paramount Pictures

Other Companies

• Aaron & Le Duc  AVID editing systems
• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• TC:DM & Associates  publicity

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, drug use, language and sexuality.

Runtime:

101 min | USA:98 min (2003 version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | New Zealand:R16 | Australia:MA | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Alhambra, California, USA

Company:

Cherry Sky Films

Trivia:

Although some people thought that the film was inspired by the 1992 murder of Stuart Tay, an Asian-American youth who was killed by four of his peers on New Year's Eve in Orange County, California, filmmaker Justin Lin has stated that "at the very beginning of the writing process, [he] made a conscious decision not to base it on that, or any other, real event."

Goofs:

Continuity: Orange and blue seem to be the school colors of the school where this was shot, as can be seen when Ben is making free throws. The sports and cheerleading uniforms, however, are yellow and green.

Quotes:

Stephanie Vandergosh: You know how you make decisions that lead to other decisions but you don't remember why you made those decisions in the first place.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)

Soundtrack:

Talk About Today

Anyone trying to understand today's affluent youth culture would do well to start here

First of all, this is a film about wealthy middle-class Asian teens. Too much smoking? Too much profanity? It seems a lot of IMDB users are out of touch with suburban teen culture.

One user even complained about the "the ubiquitous melancholy feeling you'll have throughout watching the movie (which) will stick with you hours after thanks to the resolutionless ending." That's like complaining about Nietzche because he's depressing.

That said, this is an EXTREMELY good movie. Anyone trying to understand today's affluent youth culture would do well to start here. It is true that the leads in this movie did not have to be Asians, but anyone who thinks this is a valid complaint should go visit a SoCal high school and check out the student population. Guess what you'll find? And while you're at it, could you please name a drama starring Asian people? Joy Luck Club? Okay, what else? Exactly.

I think it's also important to point out that MTV had no part in the creation of this movie. All they did was see the movie AFTER it had been made and agree to distribute it. Makes you wonder how valid most of these comments are when the writers don't even bother to read about the movie to understand it better.