A delightful cast makes up for any shortcomings here
As his best friend Alice (Sherry Cola) would be the first to tell him, Ben (Justin H. Min) is not the sort to be a rom- com hero. A would-be filmmaker who in reality is the indifferent manager of a failing repertory movie house in Berkeley, Ben obsesses over old movies, alternatively argues with or ignores his longtime girlfriend Miko (Ally Maki) and displays a wandering eye — particularly toward earnestly artsy blondes. Miko, frustrated by Ben’s lack of participation in her life ( being supportive, Alice observes to Ben, is “not really your brand”), heads to New York for an internship, leaving Ben to reevaluate what his life looks like without her.
The actor Randal l Park’s feature directing debut “Shor tcomings” pulls off something quite tricky: making a funny, thoughtful movie about a thoroughly self- centered hero.
The movie- obsessed man- child is a character we’ve seen before, perhaps too many times, but Park and Min find something fresh here: Min brings a light touch and unexpected charm to the character, who admits in a moment of wistful honesty that he tried to be the next Éric Rohmer, but ended up as “just the current Ben Tagawa.”
You don’t exactly watch “Shortcomings” rooting for Ben and Miko to get back together.
You wonder, in fact, how these two ever got together at all. But you enjoy how Park and screenwriter Adrian Tomine, adapting his own graphic novel, play with the conventions of romcoms (note the sly spoof of “Crazy Rich Asians,” and a “When Harry Met Sally…” nod near the end), coming- of- age tales and buddy comedies.
The central couple here really isn’t Ben and Miko; it’s Ben and Alice, who haven’t a whisper of romantic attraction between them (she’s gay), but whose sardonic love for each other goes the distance — quite literally.
“Shor tcomings” has its shortcomings, as first films tend to do — the writing of some of the suppor ting characters ( particularly Ben’s alluring cinema co- worker, played by Tavi Gevinson) sometimes feels flat, as if they’re types rather than people, and Miko’s role in the film’s final third feels inconsistent and underwritten.
But the cast is a delight — Cola, between this film and “Joy Ride,” is officially the funniest best friend of summer 2023 — and the film has some thoughtful things to say about identity, attraction, ambition and moving on. Ben doesn’t magically become a better person by the end of the film, but he’s starting to figure things out, and you leave “Shor tcomings” unexpectedly rooting for him.