“Rumors About Us Came And Went Fast And Furious”: Looking Back On ‘Better Luck Tomorrow’
Imagine for a moment that a director makes a low-budget crime thriller that isn’t a massive success but does gain a strong cult following. The director then gets to play a part in a growing franchise of action films focusing on cars and explosive set pieces. Thanks to the director, the franchise becomes a global phenomenon and ends up grossing billions. To make things even better, the original low-budget film that started this all is now officially part of said franchise due to the director’s creative input. This is more or less the story and legacy of Justin Lin’s Better Luck Tomorrow.
The film debuted at Sundance on Saturday, January 12, 2002, and was released in the USA on Friday, April 11, 2003. It follows a group of Asian American teenagers who are overachieving in school and become bored of their lives. They enter the world of petty crime, becoming addicted to the thrill, the material excess, and, of course, drugs. All of this takes its toll on the characters, and as the crimes escalate, it leads to real danger. The film stars Parry Shen, Jason Tobin, Sung Kang, Roger Fan, John Cho, and Karin Anna Cheung. It was directed by Justin Lin and was his second directorial work. The film currently holds an 81% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 106 reviews.
Of course, the most well-known aspect of Better Luck Tomorrow’s legacy is its connection to the Fast and Furious franchise. It retroactively serves as the origin story of Han, played by Sung Kang, who debuted in this film and was inserted into the franchise in Lin’s first entry, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Han would go on to become a fan favorite character, and Lin has gone on to direct five other films in the franchise, as well as the third entry in the rebooted Star Trek series, Star Trek: Beyond, which was meant to take the series back to its roots after the divisive Star Trek: Into Darkness. All of this success can be attributed and traced back to Lin’s work in Better Luck Tomorrow. His representation of Asian Americans has crafted a reputation for this film as one that challenges the stereotypes of Asians in Western cinema and showcases the struggle for identity in a unique way. It helps that it is also a solid crime thriller and coming-of-age story.
So, in a world where even today, Hollywood struggles with proper, nuanced Asian representation, how does Better Luck Tomorrow hold up? What is so unique about its representation and storytelling that means it is still relevant today? What lessons can be taken from it?
Breaking Ground With A Small Budget
The first place to look is obviously the film’s budget. Better Luck Tomorrow only cost $250,000 and made a total $3.8 million at the box office, certainly not a massive success but a solid return given the budget. But it is because of that fact that this film is perhaps the most personal and most distinct film of Lin’s career. He is able to achieve things in this that he otherwise might not be able to in a big franchise blockbuster that requires cohesion between films. Better Luck Tomorrow has a distinctly grounded feel. Despite taking place in a wealthy Orange County suburb, the film’s style makes it feel like the crime-ridden streets of a city. The camera is often handheld, and there are editing tricks that the film employs once and never again. There is a desire to experiment both in front of and behind the camera.
What arguably does not break new ground is the general plot. Combining crime and coming-of-age is certainly a unique premise, but the actual substance of the story falls in line with any story about people entering the world of crime, violence, and drugs. Take David Fincher’s Fight Club as an example. A man who tires of being part of the corporate world he feels trapped in finds identity and joy in letting loose through violence, becoming addicted to that thrill, eventually leading to disastrous consequences as it grows beyond his control. That more or less happens to Lin’s characters in Better Luck Tomorrow, but what makes it unique is how Lin draws upon his personal life and the events around him to tell a story about Asian Americans that is unique and perhaps even timeless.
The characters in Better Luck Tomorrow all at first adhere to Asian American stereotypes that often dominate Western cinema. They are A-grade students, top of their class, intelligent, quiet, and seemingly keep to themselves. They assimilate into the American system and often find themselves dissatisfied with their place in it. A key example is Ben, played by Shen, who, in a seemingly innocuous instance, is often benched in basketball games. He is only there as a token individual despite the work he has put in. Despite assimilating into the system, it hasn’t rewarded him.
The characters’ descent into crime is not just them rebelling against a stale system; they are rebelling against the stereotypes of Asian Americans. They find no satisfaction in being sophisticated, high-achieving, and hard-working students. Instead, Lin portrays them as any other teenager. They desire something more from their lives. They are loud, naïve with sexual urges and material wants. What is also interesting to note is the lack of parents in the film. The common stereotype of the overbearing Asian parent is almost entirely absent here, placing the focus solely on the teenagers. They don’t want to continue assimilating into a world that doesn’t seem to award them. They want to forge their own identities and become their own individuals. But of course, Lin keeps it realistic, showcasing their naivety. Their addiction reaps consequences, their violence and enjoyment push them to darker places, and ultimately, tragedy snaps them back to reality. The characters are more than just their restrictive archetypes; they feel like real people and thus resonate more with those watching it. Better Luck Tomorrow certainly succeeds as a thrilling crime drama, but it also works well as a coming-of-age story.
Standing Against Assimilation and Pursuing Identity
The film is partially inspired by the 1992 murder of Stuart Tay, a 17-year-old Chinese student who was killed by several peers following a failed petty crime. Certainly, this was an event that would horrify most and has the potential to spread untrue messages regarding Asian Americans. Lin’s choice to tackle this event feels like grappling with history, relating to it, and showcasing its importance. Better Luck Tomorrow has built such a strong cult following among the American Asian community due to how accurately it portrays their teenage lives, as well as how personal it feels to Lin himself, who has lived that life. That personal touch makes the film more resonant.
The search for identity, the need to conform, and the contradiction in the desire to find oneself are all universal themes that stretch through every generation. It resonates with all teenagers of any background. In a day and age where the idea of identity is becoming more complex and people’s awareness of it is growing, this film stands as a classic coming-of-age film that both entertains and informs. We were all naïve teenagers once, addicted to the thrill of doing something we weren’t meant to do and feeling lost in a search for who we truly were. There is a timeless quality in Better Luck Tomorrow that transcends backgrounds, where any teenager can see themselves in the struggles of Ben, Virgil, Han, and Daric.
It’s a film that celebrates the individuality of its characters, all of whom exist under the shadow of assimilation that threatens to strip them of their identity in an effort to force an unsatisfactory conformity. It’s no wonder that Lin would eventually gravitate towards the Star Trek franchise, a series known for its wide diversity of characters, many of whom go on journeys of identity, and where cultures are celebrated and protected. One of the franchise’s most prominent antagonists is a race who enact the forced assimilation of all life in an effort to bring everyone into a single, all-consuming collective. Lin evokes these antagonists in his own Star Trek film, which features a ruthless warlord with a drone army who believes the universe is better off divided and that other races should be conquered. But of course, there is another blockbuster franchise that Better Luck Tomorrow connects to.
One would think that Better Luck Tomorrow’s connection to the Fast and Furious franchise would diminish it to simple busy work, but that has arguably widened its audience. It’s a personal addition by Lin, but it nonetheless shows that Asian Americans can succeed in the Western world by being true to themselves. In a way, Han’s journey parallels Lin’s own, going from a low-budget crime thriller to becoming a blockbuster star.
From Small and Quaint to Fast and Furious
All of Justin Lin’s traits as a filmmaker can certainly be traced back to Better Luck Tomorrow. Without this film and Lin as a director, Fast and Furious likely would not be the blockbuster franchise it is today. Not every film that Lin has put out for the franchise has been a critical darling, but he is responsible for Fast Five in 2011, which is widely regarded as the strongest in the franchise, successfully revitalizing a stale formula and taking a series trapped in the world of criminal street racers to one of the defining action franchises of the 21st century. In a way, the franchise would not exist in its current form if it weren’t for Justin Lin and Better Luck Tomorrow, for both good and bad.
But in today’s world, Hollywood still seems to struggle with Asian representation. There is certainly a lack of it, with few films truly tackling the lives of Asian Americans and many falling into the trap of stereotyping. In this light, it is important to recognise Better Luck Tomorrow as an example of strong representation, one that should be cited as a blueprint. Those interested in Justin Lin’s filmography must give it a look, as it is definitely his most personal film. At the end of the day, Better Luck Tomorrow is a solid crime thriller and coming-of-age story that actively goes against the stereotypes of Asian Americans, depicting them as complex and nuanced human beings with personal desires. It serves as a strong look into teenage life and is something that many should resonate with. Its legacy certainly lives on through Han and Fast and Furious, and maybe that’s enough for some people, but when it comes to strong Asian representation in Western media, it doesn’t get much better than this.