![]() magazine, saw an early cut of the film and found it upsetting - as an Asian and a woman. ![]() But for a formula movie, the writing is pretty smart, and the clash-of-cultures stuff is funnier than you'd expect."įon Lin Nyeu, the assistant to the publisher at A. Sure, a gong rings when Jackie first sets foot in the U.S., and Chris Tucker wisecracks about Rice-a-Roni and Cup-o-Noodles. "But we have to choose our battles carefully, and Rush Hour' isn't worth a fight. "I've never hesitated to speak out against media stereotypes of Asian Americans," Kim says. There's no reason to get mad over something like that."Īsian-American Film Festival organizer Ben Kim agrees that "Rush Hour" was ultimately more amusing than offensive. I don't think it was offensive."Īnd, as for the use of the n-word by Chan, Toyia Parker of Chicago's South Side says, "If he said that in real life, he would get beat up. "He is the Chung King cop," says Anna Fernandez. "It is definitely a step forward having two minorities in the lead even though there were some cliches."īut at the same time, he says he thinks it is far more damaging to African Americans to have Chris Tucker going into a pool hall, as he does in the movie, and use the n-word.įilmgoers exiting a Chicago theater Tuesday didn't seem bothered by racial jokes that include Chan being called the "Chung King cop." Hollywood has a history of portraying all minorities in less than positive ways," he says. "With regard to any stereotyping, I think these things are going to improve in incremental steps. Most Asians might not even know it, but the damage is there just underneath the surface."īut George Toshio Johnston, the editor of Yolk Magazine, an Asian American pop-culture quarterly, thinks that compared with what other minorities endure, Asians don't fare too badly in this action film that pairs Chan with black comedian Chris Tucker as detectives solving a kidnapping. "It's just one more time a major movie with an appeal to young people presents these stereotypes very subtly disguised in humor. it would still be entertaining without doing that sort of thing, without perpetuating the stereotypes. "It is a shame that Hollywood could not stay away from the cheap racial humor. "I walked away feeling entertained on the one hand but also having a knot in my stomach," says Juju Lien, executive director of Chicago's Asian American Institute. Last week, even before the film was released, Asian American groups began criticizing the film on the basis of preview screenings and the movie's trailer. The unlikely duo makes for comedy gold, and together they provide the funniest quotes from the trilogy."Rush Hour," Jackie Chan's big English-language Hollywood debut, may have met with overwhelming approval at the box office last weekend, but it got a mixed reaction from Asian Americans, some of whom were rankled by what they saw as insulting racial jokes and stereotypical Asian portrayals. Tucker also found his breakthrough role, delivering plenty of quotable lines with his quick and energetic style. Chan had already proven himself one of the most gifted physical comedians in movie history with his martial arts movies, but Rush Hour proved he could handle an English-language comedy as well. The possibility of Rush Hour 4has been teased for years with no real signs of it happening, but fans can still return to the hilarious moments in the first three movies. With so many laugh-out-loud lines, the best Rush Hour quotes show why the series still has plenty of fans. ![]() The movie was a huge hit, grossing nearly $250 million worldwide and spawned two sequels with Rush Hour 2 coming in 2001 followed by Rush Hour 3 in 2007. The movie used the classic buddy cop formula in the story of a skilled Hong Kong cop (Chan) forced to team with a loudmouth LAPD detective (Tucker) to solve a kidnapping case. The pairing of Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker ended up being a perfect match for the series beginning with 1998's Rush Hour. The best Rush Hourquotes highlight the funniest moments in the iconic action-comedy trilogy.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |