CAMFest 2013: Someone I Used to Know

CAAMFest 2013 has since finished, but I’ve been watching a few films via DVD screeners, since it’s been a challenge to make it up to San Francisco to see all the screenings live. The other night, I watched Someone I Used to Know:

“Three former high-school friends reunite for a long Los Angeles night in Nadine Truong’s bittersweet drama, a new-millennium remix of such classic eighties’ ensemble dramas as The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo’s Fire. Fresh from losing his girlfriend, his job and almost his life, the suicidal thirty-something Charlie (West Liang) heads to L.A. to reconnect with his best friends from high school, Luke (Brian Yang, Hawaii 5-0), who’s now a successful actor, and Danny (Eddie Mui), who’s always been a rich boy. Their faltering nightclub reunion is quickly derailed, however, by two young women (Emily Chang, Kara Crane), one of whom will seemingly do anything to be with Luke, the other barely legal, yet wiser than her years. Later joined by the girls’ best friend (the fabulous Rex Lee, a.k.a. Lloyd from Entourage), the group winds up at Luke’s palatial hillside home, where a “few more drinks” soon becomes an all-nighter filled with revelations, recriminations and, well, a few more drinks.”

I’ve never seen St. Elmo’s Fire (but do remember the 80s hit theme song) but have seen The Breakfast Club (and enjoyed it). From reading the film’s description, I was eager to see the film. However, I was sorely disappointed. From the beginning, the film seemed to have over dramatic acting, weak plot lines and poor production values. Considering Better Luck Tomorrow was made over a decade ago on ten credit cards, the production quality and over all “look and feel” as well as audio could have been much better. I felt that the film dragged on. There is a lot of dialogue, which is somewhat funny at times, but didn’t really keep me engaged.

I guess I just couldn’t take the situation seriously, not that portraying three high school friends who are reunited one evening is not a common story. But the character Luke – who played an A-list movie star in Hollywood, is unfortunately, no an A-lister (like perhaps John Cho could be – but he’s probably considered a B-lister). I’ve never lived in Los Angeles and don’t know the Hollywood scene, but I’m thinking that groupies getting access to meeting A-listers, let alone into their homes, when that A-lister doesn’t know who the hell they are and pretends to be a friend of his friend, is quite rare, especially when the A-lister actor is not initially interested in the woman.

While watching the film, I was wondering who the actress Emily Chang was and why she looked so familiar, and realized after looking her up on the Internet that she is the famous “Ba-zing!” girlfriend in the Ruffles commercial. Like I read in another review, I appreciate the effort but the execution could have been a whole lot better – from the script, to the acting to the actual production.