''Watching TV with the Red Chinese'' is a 2012 American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by

Shimon Dotan Shimon Dotan ( he, שמעון דותן; born 23 December 1949) is an Israeli film director, screenwriter, and producer. Biography Early life Shimon Dotan was born in Romania in 1949 and moved to Israel in 1959. He grew up in Moshav Arugot, ...

, based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Luke Whisnant. The film follows a trio of Chinese exchange students who arrive in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1980, eager for what America has to offer. They make friends including a literature teacher named Dexter and his girlfriend Suzanne. As they try to adjust to the New York city atmosphere, they become disillusioned with America, eventually buying a firearm for self-defense.

Cast

* James Chen as Tzu *

Keong Sim Keong Sim is an American actor. He portrayed Dr. Sung Park in the TNT (U.S. TV network), TNT medical drama ''Monday Mornings'' and Pastor Wayne in the Netflix series Dead to Me (TV series), ''Dead to Me''. He currently is living in Los Angeles. ...

as Wa *

Leonardo Nam Leonardo Nam (born November 5, 1979) is an Australian actor. He made his breakthrough as Roy in ''The Perfect Score'' (2004), and gained further recognition for his roles as Morimoto in '' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'' (2006) and Brian ...

as Chen *

Gillian Jacobs Gillian MacLaren Jacobs (; born October 19, 1982) is an American actress and director. She is known for her roles as Britta Perry on the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015) and Mickey Dobbs on the Netflix romantic comedy series ''Love'' (2016� ...

as Suzanne *

Ryan O'Nan Ryan O'Nan (born March 25, 1982) is an American actor, writer, and director, best known for his role as King George in '' Queen of the South''. Career In 2009, O'Nan had a recurring role on the crime drama series ''The Unusuals''.Michael Esper Michael James Esper (born December 1, 1975) is an American actor, best known for his stage work. Early life Esper was born in Manhattan and raised in Montclair, New Jersey. He is the son of acting teachers William and Suzanne Esper, of the Wil ...

as Billy *

Peter Scanavino Peter Muller Scanavino (born February 29, 1980) is an American actor. He currently stars as ADA Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr. in the long-running NBC Police procedural, crime/legal drama series ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''. Career Since 2 ...

as Czapinczyk * Idara Victor as Antigone

Reception

The film received positive reviews, with critics mostly praising the leads' performances and including minor critiques of the script. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', for example, called the acting "solid, particularly by O'Nan, Nam and Jacobs. But the conversations feel artificial, overly concerned with re-creating period detail." Daniel Gold of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' adds that the film "nicely captures the grad-student vibe: beer-fueled bull sessions ... fragile, self-absorbed egos preening even as confidence wavers." '' Paste'' Magazine states that "overall, the film rises above the usual trappings of low-budget productions and succeeds with a smart script and able performances from the cast of (mostly) unknowns, whether you're looking for sociopolitical commentary or just a small tale well told."

References

External links

* 2012 comedy-drama films 2012 independent films 2012 films American comedy-drama films American independent films Chinese-language films Films based on American novels Films set in 1980 Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City 2010s American films {{indie-drama-film-stub