![_Whitney Houston, 48, Has Died [Updated]](http://sfist.com/assets_c/2012/02/whitney-houston-dead-2-thumb-250x250-693364.jpg)
SFIAAFF: Shanghai Kiss
SFist Mihi reports in from the SFIAAFF this weekend!
The world premiere of Shanghai Kiss played on Saturday night at the Castro Theatre and the house was packed.
One of the themes running through the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival last year was about how there weren't enough Asian-American men in movies. Clearly things have not improved since out of the three movies we saw over the weekend, two of them featured the same dude (Ken Leung) as the male lead (and the third one was a Japanese anime).
Shanghai Kiss is the story of a struggling 28 year-old Asian-American actor (the perspicacious Ken Leung) in L.A. who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a 16 year-old girl (played by Hayden Panettiere of ABC's "Heroes"). He's forced to confront both his identity crisis and his troubled relationship with his father when he inherits a house in Shanghai where he meets the lovely Kelly Hu (who also stars in an ABC series, "In Case of Emergency" and who is in another SFIAAFF film this year too).
After the jump: donkeys in Compton or taking the bus in LA? And the director's poignant story about his father.
We admit there were a couple of things that immediately ruined the movie for us. A 28 year-old man and a 16 year-old girl? Creepy. Plus, the 16 year-old who lives in Beverly Hills meets the main character while riding a bus. In LA. We grew up in LA and no perky, pretty, princess 16-year-old who lives in Beverly Hills rides a bus. Ever. Why not just have them meet while riding donkeys through Compton? Much more believable that Beverly Hills blondie on rapid transit.
The directors, Kern Konwiser and David Ren were in attendance and before the movie they spoke to the crowd. Ren said he wrote the script in part to connect with his own father, with whom he has a troubled relationship. "When he drinks, I don't even know him," said Ren quietly. Shanghai Kiss is his attempt to communicate with his father but unfortunately the snowstorm in New York grounded his dad's plane and his father was missing the world premiere of the movie. He paused and the crowd was hushed, struck by the tragic irony and subdued to be witnessing such an intimate moment. "But this is a comedy!" finished Ren and the audience laughed in relief.
Shanghai Kiss plays on Friday night at Camera 12 Cinemas in San Jose.