''Front Cover'' is a 2015 American romantic

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film written, directed, and co-produced by Ray Yeung. It stars Jake Choi and James Chen, with Elizabeth Sung, Ming Lee, Jennifer Neala Page, Sonia Villani, and Li Jun Li in supporting roles. It follows an openly gay

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

fashion stylist who, rejecting his traditional Asian upbringing, is assigned to style a famous

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

actor for an important

photo shoot A photo shoot is the process taken by creatives and models that results in a visual objective being obtained. An example is a model posing for a photographer at a studio or an outdoor location. A photo shoot is a series of images that are taken, ...

for his firm. The film had its world premiere at the

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is a film festival held annually in Seattle, Washington, United States, since 1976. It usually takes place in late May and/or early June. It is one of the largest festivals in the world, and feature ...

on May 28, 2015, and was given a

limited theatrical release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

in the United States on August 6, 2016, by

Strand Releasing Strand Releasing is an American film production company founded in 1989 and is based in Culver City, California. The company has distributed over 300 auteur-driven titles from acclaimed international and American directors such as Apichatpong W ...

. It received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics.

Plot

''Front Cover'' tells the story of Ryan Fu, a gay Chinese American who rejects his Asian heritage and has learned to suppress it to climb up the social ladder. Through talent and hard work he attains his dream job as an assistant to Francesca, a celebrity fashion stylist. One day Francesca assigns Ryan to style Ning, an actor who has just arrived from Beijing, for a top magazine photo shoot. Ning dismisses Ryan's initial Western styling and demands Ryan create an image for him that represents the power of the new China. Their opinions clash, resulting in a strained working relationship. Over the following days, they socialize while working together and discover not only do they have a lot in common, a mutual attraction begins to develop. As they get closer, Ryan reveals that he detests his Chinese heritage because he is ashamed of his impoverished upbringing. Ning also opens up and confesses that he is closeted. As they fall in love, a Chinese tabloid magazine exposes Ning as gay. Terrified of the impact it will have on his career, Ning begs Ryan to lie for him at a press conference. Ryan must now decide whether to help Ning or stay true to himself.

Cast

Release

''Front Cover'' had its world premiere at the 41st

on May 28, 2015. It opened the 26th Hong Kong Lesbian & Gay Film Festival on September 19, and was screened at several film festivals. In September 2015,

acquired North American distribution rights to the film, while Edko Films picked up Hong Kong and Macau distribution rights. It was theatrically released in New York City on August 5, 2016, in Los Angeles on August 12, and in Hong Kong on October 25.

Reception

Box office

''Front Cover'' grossed $26,409 in the United States, and earned an additional $57,832 in domestic video sales.

Critical response

Jeannette Catsoulis of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' stated, "''Front Cover'' still strains to surmount its thin narrative and unfortunate dips into clichéd cultural comedy. Yet the acting is reserved and sincere, the two leads exhibiting a believable attraction that Mr. Yeung takes care not to disrupt." Gary Goldstein of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' described the film as "a root-worthy picture with its share of warm, amusing moments, an attractive pair of leads and a vivid use of Big Apple locales." Stephanie Merry of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' gave it 2 out of 4 stars and opined, "''Front Cover'' is weighed down by heavy-handed dialogue and a melodramatic score." Edmund Lee of the ''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...

'' gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and concluded his review by writing, "''Front Cover'' does deliver as a nice little romantic comedy with a pair of endearing leads." Godfrey Cheshire of '' RogerEbert.com'' gave it 3 out of 4 stars and remarked, "Yeung's creenplayis subtle and assured, tracing an emotional arc that's believably nuanced." Cheshire also praised Choi and Chen for their "exceptionally strong lead performances."

Accolades

;Awards *Best Screenplay, FilmOut San Diego, 2016 * Jury Award Best Domestic Feature, Outflix Film Festival Memphis, 2016 * Audience Award for Best Narrative Film, Boston Asian American Film Festival, 2016 * Best Full Feature, Serile Filmului Gay International Film Festival Romania, 2016 * Best Actor ( James Chen), Australia Golden Koala Chinese Film Festival, 2017 ;Nominations * New American Cinema Award,

, 2015 * Q Hugo Award,

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

, 2015 * Best Director, Australia Golden Koala Chinese Film Festival, 2017 * Best Film,Australia Golden Koala Chinese Film Festival, 2017

References

External links

* * {{Ray Yeung 2015 films 2015 independent films 2015 LGBTQ-related films 2015 romantic comedy-drama films 2010s American films 2010s English-language films 2010s Mandarin-language films 2010s Cantonese-language films American independent films American LGBTQ-related films American romantic comedy-drama films Asian-American drama films Asian-American romance films English-language independent films English-language romantic comedy-drama films Gay-related films LGBTQ-related films about Chinese Americans LGBTQ-related independent films LGBTQ-related romantic comedy-drama films Films about actors Films about Chinese Americans Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City Fortissimo Films films Chinese-language American films Cantonese-language American films