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Combination Platter

Combination Platter

Actor(s): Jeffrey Lau, Colleen O'Brien, Lester "Chit-Man" Chan, Colin Mitchell, Kenneth Lu
Director(s): Tony Chan
3






Movie Details

Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Suitable for Children, Profanity
Movie Release: 1993
DVD Release: 01/11/2005
Format: DVD
Audio Tracks: English
Subtitles: English
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Number of Discs: 1
Run Time: 1 hrs 24 mins
Studio: Koch Lorber Films
Total Copies: 2
Genres: Drama, Comedy of Manners

DVD Synopsis

Made on the proverbial shoestring, Combination Platter represents the directorial debut of 23-year-old Tony Chan. Himself a Hong Kong émigré, Chan draws from his own experiences in detailing the tribulations of illegal immigrant Robert (Jeff Lau), who takes a low-paying job at a Szechuan restaurant in New York (the film was shot in the restaurant owned by Chan's parents!). Robert would like to attain U.S. citizenship and has been told that this will be possible if he marries an American girl. Frightened at this prospect -- -especially since it will set him back 25,000 dollars -- Robert nonetheless scurries about to "Americanize" himself in as short a time as possible. (Did you know that tipping the waiter is considered an insult in China?) The plot is secondary to the film's atmosphere and ambience: the dialogue flows so naturally from the restaurant's patrons and employees that one is hard pressed to believe that a written script (by Tony Chan and Edwin Baker) actually existed. Combination Platter received mainstream distribution after its Best Screenplay award win at the 1993 Sundance Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Actors


Member Movie Reviews

S A A. (Learned2Heal) wrote on 12/24/2008...

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Made on a shoestring, this little movie is no masterpiece, but it is interesting. Gives an in-depth view into the workings of an American Chinese restaurant. The trials and tribulations of the staff, some of whom are illegal aliens trying to figure out ways to land a green card.

It also defines how Chinese people with different dialects (Mandarin and Cantonese, in this case) actually don't generally understand each other. One of them might as well be speaking Greek.

Finally, it touches on the gambling addiction of one of the staff and the trouble that generates.

This is a very Cinema-verite type of movie and I do recommend seeing it to learn about Chinese culture and mindset.


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