View source for Better Luck Tomorrow

{{Short description|2002 film by Justin Lin}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Better Luck Tomorrow
| image          = Better luck tomorrow poster001.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| alt            = 
| director       = [[Justin Lin]]
| producer       = {{Plainlist|
* Justin Lin
* Julie Asato
* Ernesto Foronda}}
| writer         = {{Plainlist|
* Ernesto Foronda
* Justin Lin
* Fabian Marquez}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Parry Shen]]
* [[Jason Tobin]]
* [[Sung Kang]]
* [[Roger Fan]]
* [[John Cho]]
* [[Karin Anna Cheung]]}}
| music          = {{Plainlist|
* Michael Gonzales
* Tobin Mori}}
| cinematography = Patrice Lucien Cochet
| editing        = Justin Lin
| studio         = {{Plainlist|
* Hudson River Entertainment
* Cherry Sky Films
* Day O Productions
* Trailing Johnson Productions}}
| distributor    = [[Paramount Pictures]]<br>[[MTV Entertainment Studios|MTV Films]]
| released       = {{Film date|2002|01|12|[[Sundance Film Festival|Sundance]]|2003|04|11|US}}
| runtime        = 95 minutes<ref>{{cite web|work= [[British Board of Film Classification]]|title=Better Luck Tomorrow|url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/better-luck-tomorrow-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zmzqxota|access-date=20 April 2024}}</ref>
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $250,000<ref name="BOM">{{cite web |work= [[Box Office Mojo]] |title= Better Luck Tomorrow |url= http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=betterlucktomorrow.htm }}</ref>
| gross          = $3.8 million<ref name="BOM" />
}}
'''''Better Luck Tomorrow''''' is a 2002 American [[crime drama film]] directed, co-written, co-produced, and edited by [[Justin Lin]]. It follows a group of overachieving [[Asian Americans|Asian American]] teenagers who become bored with their lives and enter a world of petty crime and material excess. The plot is loosely based on the [[murder of Stuart Tay|1992 murder of Stuart Tay]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Yi |first=Daniel |date=April 6, 2003 |title=They're the bad seeds? |url=http://www.betterlucktomorrow.com/article.php?id=32 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060321193117/http://www.betterlucktomorrow.com/article.php?id=32 |archive-date=March 21, 2006 |access-date=March 18, 2008 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> The film stars [[Parry Shen]], [[Jason Tobin]], [[Sung Kang]], [[Roger Fan]], [[Karin Anna Cheung]] and [[John Cho]].

''Better Luck Tomorrow'' debuted at the 2002 [[Sundance Film Festival]]. It became the first film acquired by [[MTV Films]], which worked with [[Paramount Pictures]] to release the film theatrically in the United States on April 11, 2003.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blackfilm.com/20030411/reviews/betterlucktomorrow.shtml|title=better luck tomorrow|work=Blackfilm.com|first=Wilson|last=Morales|access-date=July 12, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Hill |first=Logan |date=May 19, 2016 |title=Meet Justin Lin, the Most Important Blockbuster Director You've Never Heard Of |language=en-US |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|url=https://www.wired.com/2016/05/justin-lin-star-trek-beyond/ |access-date=2022-04-07 |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> It received generally positive reviews from critics, and developed a grassroots following among Asian American audiences.<ref name="Email" /><ref name="EO" />

The film is notable for originating the character [[Han Lue]] (Sung Kang), later featured prominently in the [[Fast & Furious|''Fast & Furious'' film series]]. Justin Lin has stated that ''Better Luck Tomorrow'' serves as Han's origin story, [[Retroactive continuity|retroactively]] placing in the ''Fast & Furious'' series continuity.<ref name="Robinson">{{cite magazine |last=Robinson |first=Will |date=June 16, 2016 |title=''Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift'': Here's the story of Han |url=https://ew.com/article/2016/06/16/fast-and-furious-tokyo-drift-han/ |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web |last=Fuge |first=Jonathan |date=February 8, 2020 |title=#JusticeForHan Is What Brought F9 Director Justin Lin Back to the Franchise |url=https://movieweb.com/fast-and-furious-9-justice-for-han-justin-lin/ |access-date=February 9, 2020 |website=[[MovieWeb]]}}</ref>

== Plot ==
Ben Manibag is a [[Stereotypes of East Asian Americans in the United States#Model minority|stereotypical overachieving Asian American]] teenager in a wealthy [[Orange County, California|Orange County]] suburb whose goals are to make his high school basketball team, get with his cheerleader crush Stephanie and to get into a prestigious [[Ivy League]] university. His perfectionism masks another side of his life, which is toilet-papering houses with his best friend Virgil and engaging in petty crime with Virgil's cousin, [[Han Lue|Han]].

Though Ben makes the basketball team, he ends up being mostly a benchwarmer. Through Daric Loo, senior valedictorian and president of nearly every student club, Ben gets involved in a school-wide cheat sheet operation. Daric pays Jesus, another student, to steal the tests from the school office, and Ben uses the tests to make cheat sheets which are then sold off to students. Ben brings Virgil and Han into the racket, and the four of them make a small fortune. Meanwhile, Ben finds himself competing with Steve Choe, a private school student and Stephanie's boyfriend, for Stephanie's affections. Steve discovers Ben's crush and offers to let him take Stephanie to the Winter Formal.

The group's activities gradually escalate into more dangerous crimes, such as the theft of computer parts from the school and selling drugs. They become users themselves, with Ben developing a heavy cocaine habit. Feeling increasingly conflicted by the expectations others have of him, and horrified at waking up with a nosebleed due to his cocaine use, Ben decides to quit the group. He resumes his academic pursuits and begins spending more time with Stephanie. He eventually asks her to the formal, and she accepts.

After the Winter Formal dance, Ben is lured back to his life of crime when Steve meets with Ben and tells him he has information on a possible score. The group is stunned when Steve reveals he wants them to rob his parents' house. Though Ben and Han are initially against it, Daric convinces the group this would be the perfect opportunity to teach the haughty Steve a lesson.

On New Year's Eve, the four meet Steve at Jesus's house under the pretense of robbing Steve's parents, but Daric, Virgil and Han begin attacking Steve while Ben keeps watch outside. In the ensuing struggle, Steve gets Virgil's gun, which goes off. Ben runs in, and, seeing the gun in Steve's hand, beats Steve with a baseball bat. The group convinces Jesus to bury the body in his backyard for $300. Steve begins to twitch, revealing he's still alive, but Daric suffocates Steve with a gasoline-soaked rag while a tearful Virgil holds his arms back. Afterwards, the four go to a New Year's Eve party, where Ben and Stephanie kiss at midnight.

The next day, while cleaning up the aftermath of the murder, Ben and Virgil hear Steve's phone ringing under the ground in Jesus's backyard. They dig it up and learn it was a call from Stephanie. Ben debates on whether to report Steve's murder to the police. The guilt over Steve's murder is too much for Virgil, who attempts suicide, but fails and suffers potential brain damage. Daric expresses concern about Han or Virgil reporting the murder, but Ben simply resolves to do nothing and walks away.

At the end of the film, Ben is shown alone. He encounters Stephanie one day on the way home. She asks him whether he has seen Steve lately, and expresses some concern that he has not called. They kiss, implying the resumption of their relationship. Ben's voice-over tells the audience that he has no idea about what the future holds, but all he knows is that there is no turning back.

== Cast ==
{{castlist|
* [[Parry Shen]] as Ben Manibag
* [[Jason Tobin]] as Virgil Hu
* [[Sung Kang]] as [[Han Lue|Han]]
* [[Roger Fan]] as Daric Loo
* [[John Cho]] as Steve Choe
* [[Karin Anna Cheung]] as Stephanie Vandergosh
* [[Aaron Takahashi]] as Takeshi
* Darian Weiss as Kenny Vandergosh
* Alden Ray as Ulden
* Ryan Cadiz as Jesus Navarro
* Jessie S. Marion as Gina Nabham
* A.J. Green as Mr. Farmer
* Beverly Sotelo as Audrey
* [[Jerry Mathers]] as the biology teacher
}}

== Production ==

=== Development ===
[[Justin Lin]] said that the title ''Better Luck Tomorrow'' refers to how the film explores "the whole youth culture of today, specifically Asian-American, but also just the general mentality of teenagers today. I mean, I work with teenagers, I grew up in the 80s, and already it's very different, the mentality. You go to suburbia, you look at upper-middle-class-kids, and through the media they've literally adopted an urban-gangsta-mentality."<ref name="Aderer">{{cite web |last=Aderer |first=Konrad |date=May 20, 2011 |title=Justin Lin: Getting Better All The Time |url=http://www.asianamericanfilm.com/archives/000029.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923175236/http://www.asianamericanfilm.com/archives/000029.html |archive-date=2015-09-23 |access-date=December 26, 2021 |website=Asian American Film}}</ref>

The plot is inspired by the [[Murder of Stuart Tay|1992 murder of Stuart Tay]]. Tay, a 17-year-old Chinese American high school student in [[Orange County, California]], was killed by several peers following a failed petty crime scheme.<ref>Yi, Daniel. {{cite web |title=They're the bad seeds? |url=http://www.betterlucktomorrow.com/article.php?id=32 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060321193117/http://www.betterlucktomorrow.com/article.php?id=32 |archive-date=2006-03-21 |access-date=2008-03-19}} ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. April 6, 2003. Retrieved on 2008-03-18.</ref> Tay and the perpetrators were all high-achieving students who intended to attend elite universities and college, which led the media to dub the crime "the Honor Roll Murder."<ref name="Lavinyoung">Lavin, Cheryl. "[https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/02/01/young-well-to-do-intelligent-and-charged-with-a-brutal-murder/ Young, Well-to-do, Intelligent - And Charged With A Brutal Murder]." ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. February 1, 1993. December 16, 2012. "Stuart Tay was a 17-year-old Chinese-American honor student[...]"</ref> While Lin had followed media coverage of the Tay murder, he consciously chose not to base the film too closely on the real event.

While writing the script, he found inspiration in his work as a youth basketball coach and teaching high school students how to make community documentaries.<ref name="EO">{{Cite web |last=Friend |first=David |date=2003-04-25 |title=Lucky Today, Better Luck Tomorrow: Justin Lin talks about Better Luck Tomorrow |url=http://www.jupiter2.com/eo/eo_exclusive/interviews/justin_lin.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041217065102/http://www.jupiter2.com/eo/eo_exclusive/interviews/justin_lin.html |archive-date=2004-12-17 |access-date=December 26, 2021 |work=Entertainment Online}}</ref>

=== Pre-production and casting ===
Lin's original investors wanted a white cast with [[Macaulay Culkin]] as the male lead if he wanted a million dollar investment for his movie.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Wong |first=Alex |date=2018-08-16 |title=How Dare You Represent Your People That Way: The Oral History of 'Better Luck Tomorrow' |url=https://www.gq.com/story/better-luck-tomorrow-oral-history |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823040357/https://www.gq.com/story/better-luck-tomorrow-oral-history |archive-date=2018-08-23 |access-date=2023-04-10 |website=[[GQ]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ryzik |first=Melena |date=2016-02-24 |title=What It's Really Like to Work in Hollywood (*If you're not a straight white man.) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/02/24/arts/hollywood-diversity-inclusion.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521080627/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/02/24/arts/hollywood-diversity-inclusion.html |archive-date=2022-05-21 |access-date=2022-06-16 |work=[[The New York Times]] |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Lin objected and continued to fund the project with his 10 credit cards and life savings.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fleming |first=Mike Jr. |date=2015-06-03 |title=Justin Lin Talks Wet Cement at Chinese Theater, 'Star Trek 3,' 'True Detective' And His Foray Into Chinese Film |url=https://deadline.com/2015/06/justin-lin-star-trek-3-true-detective-hollywood-adventures-tcl-chinese-theater-1201437272/ |access-date=2023-04-10 |website=[[Deadline (website)|Deadline]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="EO" /> He said knowing the film "potentially could've been the last film I ever made" he wanted to make it "about issues that were very important to me."<ref name="EO" />

After those funds were depleted, finishing funds equivalent to one third of the film's budget were provided by Cherry Sky Films for post-production, preparing the film to submit to Sundance, after producer Joan Huang reconnected with Lin at the LA Asian Pacific American Film Festival.

A crucial $10,000 was provided by [[MC Hammer]], whom Lin had met in April 2001, when he was working at the [[Japanese American National Museum]] and attended the [[National Association of Broadcasters]] convention in [[Las Vegas]], Nevada.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lin |first=Lynda |date=2003-04-10 |title=Movie Review: "Better Luck Tomorrow" breaks stereotypes |url=http://www.betterlucktomorrow.com/article.php?id=38 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050729081156/http://www.betterlucktomorrow.com/article.php?id=38 |archive-date=2005-07-29 |access-date=December 26, 2021 |website=AsiansInAmerica.org}}</ref><ref name="Yamato">{{Cite podcast |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sung-kang/id1501446978?i=1000475060127 |title=Sung Kang |website=Asian Enough |publisher=[[Los Angeles Times]] |last=Yamato |first=Jen |date=May 19, 2020 |access-date=May 19, 2020 |last2=Shyong |first2=Frank}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> "Out of desperation, I called up MC Hammer because he had read the script and liked it. Two hours later, he wired the money we needed into a bank account and saved us," Lin said.<ref>{{cite web |date=2003-05-09 |title=New movie displays original view of Asian American films |url=http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2003/05/09/8198/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614221536/http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2003/05/09/8198/ |archive-date=2011-06-14 |access-date=2010-11-16 |website=[[The Daily Princetonian]]}}</ref> MC Hammer is credited as a producer of the film.<ref>{{cite web |title=MC Hammer Biography |url=http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/MC-Hammer-Biography/4E0F2063AA089C6748256E0700170A6C |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715115902/http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/MC-Hammer-Biography/4E0F2063AA089C6748256E0700170A6C |archive-date=2012-07-15 |access-date=2010-11-16 |website=Sing365.com}}</ref>

[[Sung Kang]] had originally wanted to play Ben Manibag.<ref name="Yamato" />

=== Filming ===
Originally the film was going to be shot using digital video, but within two weeks, after [[Fujifilm]] and later [[Kodak]] proposed deals with the director, the filming switched to [[35 mm movie film|35&nbsp;mm]].<ref name="Aderer" />

== Reception ==
=== Critical reception {{anchor|Reception|Box office}} ===
The film has an approval rating of 81% at the review aggregation website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 106 reviews with an average rating of 7.03/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A promising work by Lin, the energetic ''Better Luck Tomorrow'' is disturbing and thought-provoking."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://rottentomatoes.com/m/better_luck_tomorrow/ | title = Better Luck Tomorrow (2002) | work = [[Rotten Tomatoes]] | publisher = [[Fandango Media|Fandango]] | access-date=2020-04-12}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100, based on 32 critics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/better-luck-tomorrow |title=Better Luck Tomorrow Reviews |work=[[Metacritic]] | publisher = [[CBS Interactive]]|access-date=March 6, 2018}}</ref>

[[Peter Travers]] of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' wrote "Lin is a talent to watch. There's a sting to this film that gets to you."<ref name="RS">{{Cite magazine |last=Travers |first=Peter |date=April 11, 2003 |title=Better Luck Tomorrow |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/better-luck-tomorrow-249243/ |url-status=live |access-date=October 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20221029041817/https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/better-luck-tomorrow-249243/ |archive-date=October 29, 2022}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] in the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' gave the film a full four-star-rating and wrote that it was a "disturbing and skillfully-told parable about growing up in today's America" and that Lin "reveals himself as a skilled and sure director".<ref>{{cite news |author=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |date=2003-04-11 |title=Better Luck Tomorrow |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/better-luck-tomorrow-2003}}</ref> Ebert defended the filmmakers during a screening after an audience member accused them of misrepresenting their culture and race. Ebert declared "What I find very condescending and offensive about your statement, is nobody would say to a bunch of white filmmakers, 'how could you do this to your people?'".<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSzP9YV3jbc|title=Roger Ebert yelling at Sundance|website=YouTube|publisher=ianmalcm|date=May 20, 2010|access-date=November 12, 2023}}</ref> In 2018, Jane Yong Kim of ''[[The Atlantic]]'' wrote the film "[complicates] the question of Asian American representation in Hollywood in ways that still resonate deeply today".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kim |first=Jane Yong |date=21 August 2018 |title=How Better Luck Tomorrow Argued for Its Existence, 15 Years Ago |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/08/how-better-luck-tomorrow-argued-for-its-existence-15-years-ago/568045/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822013131/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/08/how-better-luck-tomorrow-argued-for-its-existence-15-years-ago/568045/ |archive-date=August 22, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2021 |website=[[The Atlantic]]}}</ref>

=== Release ===
''Better Luck Tomorrow'' opened on 13 screens on April 11, 2003,<ref name="BOM" /> earning the highest per-screen average of any in film release at the time.<ref name=EO/>

Much of the film's success was attributed to grassroots campaigning by young Asian-American viewers,<ref name="Email">{{cite news |last1=Yoshino |first1=Kimi |date=April 11, 2003 |title=An E-mail push for 'Better Luck' |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-apr-11-fi-grassroots11-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=16 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416232802/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-apr-11-fi-grassroots11-story.html |archive-date=April 16, 2023}}</ref> particularly college students, who promoted the film on school campuses and online.<ref name=EO/>

=== Awards and film festivals ===
* Official Selection and Grand Jury Prize Nomination – [[Sundance Film Festival]], 2002. In a question and answer session following a festival screening, in response to an audience member who asked director Lin if he thought it was irresponsible to portray Asian-Americans in such a negative light, [[Roger Ebert]] stood up and said, angrily, "What I find very offensive and condescending about your statement is nobody would say to a bunch of white filmmakers, 'How could you do this to your people?'". And then he continued: "This film has the right to be about these people, and Asian-Americans have the right to be whatever the hell they want to be. They do not have to 'represent' their people."<ref name="EO" /><ref name=":0" /> Ebert's approval of the film drew the attention of major studios, leading eventually to MTV's buying the film for distribution.<ref>{{cite web |last=Downey |first=Ryan J. |date=April 3, 2003 |title='Better Luck Tomorrow' Gets People Talking About Asian-American Stereotypes |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1471010/better-luck-tomorrow-gets-ebert-screaming.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321111805/http://www.mtv.com/news/1471010/better-luck-tomorrow-gets-people-talking-about-asian-american-stereotypes/ |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |access-date=December 26, 2021 |website=[[MTV]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |publisher=National Public Radio |title=Better Luck Tomorrow |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=934065 |work=[[All Things Considered]] |date=January 23, 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=A Sundance success story |url=https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/tn-dpt-xpm-2003-04-24-export5168-story.html |access-date=16 April 2023 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=April 24, 2003}}</ref>
* Official Selection – [[Toronto International Film Festival]], 2002. Lin said reception at the Toronto festival was notably different than Sundance with the audience more interested in discussing the state of youth rather than the race of the ethnicity of the actors. "In America, most of the time, I can't even get into talking about the issues, because they're just stuck on race," he said.<ref name=EO/>
* [[Independent Spirit Awards]] – [[Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award|John Cassavetes Award]] Nomination, 2004<ref>{{Cite web |title=19th Independent Spirit Awards Coverage (2004) |url=https://www.digitalhit.com/isa/19th.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031231141738/http://digitalhit.com:80/isa/19th.shtml |archive-date=December 31, 2003 |access-date=December 26, 2021 |website=Digitalhit.com}}</ref>

== Connection to the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise ==
Director Justin Lin later directed multiple films in the ''[[Fast & Furious]]'' franchise, with Kang reprising his role as [[Han Lue]]. ''Better Luck Tomorrow'' was [[retroactive continuity|subsequently recognized]] as Han's [[origin story]].<ref name="Robinson" /><ref name=":1" />

==See also==
* [[Model minority]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last=Brook|first=Vincent|title=Land of Smoke and Mirrors: A Cultural History of Los Angeles|publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]]|date=January 1, 2013|isbn=978-0-8135-5458-7}}

== External links ==
* {{Official website|http://www.betterlucktomorrow.com/}}
* {{IMDb title|id=0280477|title=Better Luck Tomorrow}}
* {{mojo title|id=betterlucktomorrow|title=Better Luck Tomorrow}}

{{Justin Lin}}
{{The Fast and the Furious}}
{{MTV Films}}

[[Category:2002 films]]
[[Category:2002 crime drama films]]
[[Category:2000s teen drama films]]
[[Category:American coming-of-age drama films]]
[[Category:American crime drama films]]
[[Category:American teen drama films]]
[[Category:Asian-American drama films]]
[[Category:Films about Chinese Americans]]
[[Category:Films about Taiwanese Americans]]
[[Category:2000s English-language films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Justin Lin]]
[[Category:Films set in Orange County, California]]
[[Category:Films shot in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:MTV Films films]]
[[Category:Paramount Pictures films]]
[[Category:Fast & Furious]]
[[Category:Teen crime films]]
[[Category:2000s American films]]
[[Category:2002 independent films]]
[[Category:American independent films]]
[[Category:English-language crime drama films]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]
[[Category:English-language teen drama films]]