The Joy Luck Club

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.

The Joy Luck Club is a movie based on the bestselling novel by Amy Tan of the same name. It is one of the best movies I have ever seen in my life. It combines the stories of mothers and daughters to tell one sincere story of friendship. It is one of the finest pieces of acting collaberations among an ensemble cast. It also combines foriegn film with American film in a way giving it a new style. This movie is almost ten years old. For me it never gets old and the stories are also fresh. I like the set up of the movie or the sequence rather, better than the book. It seemed to make more sense. It also has the movie and book on the same level of unique style and everlasting stories to go along with it. Many of the performances were powerful. Even those who only spoke the Chinese language in the film should have gotten awards for performances that made me laugh and cry. I would recommend this film to anyone who wants to see an honestly good film without the Hollywood hype. Rent it, you won't regret it.

I have read the book and seen the movie. I have also read reactions to both. Some really liked it and found it to be very real, while others hate it and object to the "stereotype." It seems to depend on whether you could relate to the stories, characters, or themes.

I myself could relate very well to the stories, but that could be because I too have experienced the intergenerational and intercultural conflict as an American-born Chinese daughter with a very traditional Chinese mother. Many other American-born Chinese women who were born in the 1960s could relate to the stories very well also. For us, we would start crying as soon as the first sentence is made.

I didn't experience everything that June, Rose, Lena, or Waverly went through, but on a grander scale, they are dealing with issues that I have struggled with as well.

I understand that there are other women who could relate to it as well, and these are not Chinese women--or even Asian women. Perhaps Amy Tan has touched on universal themes that women of other nationalities could relate to.

On the other hand, I have found that some people who are ten years younger than me didn't like the book/movie too much and found the characters "stereotypical" or "unrealistic."

Some Caucasian males didn't like this book/movie either, and again it comes back to them not being able to relate to it.

I understand another user's comment about the negative portrayal of Asian men, but this person has forgotten about June's father who was portrayed as a very likeable man who was trying to bridge the gap between his wife and his daughter. As for his objection of the daughters marrying Caucasian wives, he needs to realize that there are other issues/reasons involved and it's not because Chinese-American women like them "hate Chinese men."

In short, this movie is very good at portraying the intergenerational and/or intercultural conflict between people who are caught between two cultures. Women like me have cried while watching this movie because the issues have been very real for us. For those who could not relate to it or cannot see the "reality" of it, then this movie would not be for them.

The first time I sat down to watch this it was just because there wasn't anything else on. I mean what would a single guy in his late twenties be interested in a film about relationship between Chinese-American women and their mothers? Well I was wrong. This film was very captivating and moving. It does excellent job of showing the universal issue of generational differences and the love that exist between parents and their children. All of the perfomances in this film were excellent. 8 out of 10 stars.

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.