Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (October 23, 2023)
Best known as a comedic actor, Randall Park changes gears with 2023’s Shortcomings. Here Park hops behind the camera and makes his debut as a feature film director.
Though he aspires to create movies, Ben Tanaka (Justin H. Min) finds himself stuck in a professional rut. He makes ends meet as a manager at a Berkeley arthouse cinema but otherwise seems left in neutral professionally.
Ben’s personal life reaches a crossroads when his relationship with longtime girlfriend Miko Higashi (Ally Maki) encounters rocky territory and she also heads to New York for an internship. Left to his own devices, Ben needs to figure out what he wants from life and the ladies.
Face it: we all know some people who are just unpleasant. Sure, most have some redeeming qualities, but they appear to make life more difficult for themselves and those around them.
Movies don’t often acknowledge this. We usually find ourselves confronted with “likable” characters, as filmmakers seem afraid to give us personalities with deep, divisive flaws.
Kudos to Park for his willingness to largely paint Ben as a pretty miserable guy. I don’t want to overstate Ben’s lack of charm or endearing qualities, but he comes across as substantially more abrasive and flawed than we usually find in movies.
That feels especially true because Shortcomings can lean toward the rom-com side of the street. Indeed, the majority of the plot revolves around Ben’s female-related woes, from his struggles with Miko to his other dalliances when she leaves town.
To be sure, Shortcomings a fair amount of rom-com tendencies – with more “com” than “rom”. That doesn’t seem like a surprise given Park’s background as a largely comedic actor.
But Shortcomings acts more as a “coming of age” tale in the end. It’s unclear how old Ben’s supposed to be, but Min and his costars are all in their early 30s, and Ben makes sense in that same demographic as well.
Especially since Shortcomings posits Ben and Miko as a couple of six years standing. While normally I’d expect “coming of age” to focus on late teen/early 20-something characters, the extension into the roles’ 30s works fine – especially in this day and age where people seem to wait longer and longer before they “adult”.
While it comes with those rom-com trappings, Shortcomings lacks the real romance to firmly make sense there. The movie’s more about Ben’s issues as a boyfriend/suitor, and it avoids the usual cutesy pairings.
So we’re back to “coming of age”, as Shortcomings concentrates on Ben’s journey from arrogant, self-centered jerk to… somewhat less arrogant, self-centered jerk. As I alluded, I admire that Park allows us to see Ben as such a flawed protagonist. But this doesn’t mean Shortcomings goes all the way with its concept.
Is it a spoiler to indicate Ben eventually shows signs of maturity? Maybe, but that feels like a given, as very few movies would take us through a character path that ends with the lead right back where he started.
I just respect the fact Shortcomings makes Ben as off-putting as he is. Actually, I admit I found Ben more contentious the first time I watched the movie, probably because I didn’t expect a film with such a prick as its focus.
On second viewing, Ben’s positives and softer side become more apparent. Nonetheless, he remains deceptive, deceitful, and far too self-destructive to become a standard rom-com hero.
If one looks for a clear antecedent, 2004’s Sideways makes sense. Both films come with deeply flawed main characters who act as their own worst enemies.
Shortcomings doesn’t quite live up to the highs of the 2004 movie, but it does well for itself, and Min helps. At no point does he attempt to sand off Ben’s rough edges, so he leaves the role just as off-putting as he needs to be.
Ultimately, I find a lot to like about Shortcomings. It offers a twist on both the rom-com and coming of age genres to become a winning experience.
