Falling for Grace (2006)

Cinematography: 7/10 Way too much soft focus.Sound: 7/10 Fine for the English speakers. The incidental music is cloying.Acting: 5/10 This is a mixed bag, to say the least. BD Wong, Lewis Black, Christine Baranski, Ato Essandoh, Roger Rees, and Margaret Cho were fine. Christine Baranski was the best; her discussion with Andrew Jr about how he had to marry Kay was one of the most genuine moments in the film. On the other hand, Fay Ann Lee, Gale Harold, Stephanie March, and Ken Leung were much less satisfying, with Gale Harold being the absolute worst.Screenplay: 4/10 There were too many clichés from the romantic comedy field. I have nothing against clichés; even the oldest can be funny if done right. There were only a few recognizable attempts at humor. I found myself thinking that I should be laughing at this, but I did not laugh once.

We saw this movie at its premiere in Sausalito, CA this past weekend. It was the perfect ending to a beautiful day by San Francisco Bay. The script is well written, the veteran actors are well directed, and the scenes are well shot. The movie has meaningful thematic elements that are serious in nature...but does not present them in a harsh or preachy manner. The movie is billed as a romantic comedy and that it is. It is a delightful movie that is sure to raise the spirits of everyone who sees it. The writer, director and star of the movie (Fay Ann Lee) was present after the movie and discussed it with the audience. What a treat! I highly recommend it!

I went to Washington DC to see Falling for Grace, and I just want to say how much I enjoyed this movie. It was sweet and funny and I really loved it.All of the different stories in this movie were good and interesting. I loved Grace and her family, all the scenes with them were really funny and touching. I really liked Margaret Cho and DB Wong's characters in this, they were some really cute scenes with the 2 of them. And what can I say about Gale Harold, he is great as always. It was so nice to see him in such a lighthearted comedy, so unlike all of his other movies and TV shows. He is not only tall and handsome, but he plays a really regular guy who just happens to be rich and successful. I loved his character.I would really recommend this movie, I saw it twice and hope it is released nationally so that I can see it again. Go and see it this summer, you will not be disappointed.

Visit the official website "fallingforgrace.com" and check out the trailer to see for yourself - you will want to go see this movie.'Falling for Grace' is very much as New York City as Woody Allen's cinematic world. The sound of the metro and the CANAL Street Pictures - the very first image on screen already gives one the New York and Chinatown feeling. If you've been to New York and its Chinatown, there are plenty of NYC locale hints you may recognize - but not a prerequisite. The film's original title is "East Broadway" for the Tribeca Film Festival 2006 entry, hence it's definitely New York, New York. The opening credit roll simply fascinates me: the thoughts behind it having each actor's name with Chinese character translations briskly displaying (equal opportunity whether Asian or not) and the Chinese film title playfully appearing like 'falling' for grace: "Sub Mein Ling Lone" - meaning "in every way refined." Refined being cultivated, polished, elegant, well-conceived. This film with its story, dialog, production details and effort behind it all, is very much 'every way refined.'You might say the script is ambitious - written by director-producer Fay Ann Lee, who's also in the lead role of Grace Tang - so it is, yet it all comes together unobtrusively as you watch and follow the story unfolds, bringing smiles, chuckles, laughter and tears along the way. The dialog, including the Cantonese portions with easy-read subtitles, are well thought out and timely. Yes, coming out from Margaret Cho (the elegant side we get to see), the word "Jesus" can very well be the most endearingly delivered sound you'd ever heard. So a romantic comedy it is, with hints of political viewpoint on 'sweat shop' vs. big business intertwined, and family values, Chinese traditions rolled into one entertaining movie. A tall order and Fay Ann Lee and team delivered: with Gale Harold as Andrew, and wonderful supporting roles by Clem Cheung as Ba and Elizabeth Sung as Ma - the parents, Ken Leung as Ming the brother, even brief ones like Christine Baranski's 'emotional' line to son Andrew, and Ato Essandoh's Jamal quote so casually uttered at Central Park, "It's better to be disliked for what you are, than to be loved for something that you are not" - it's delightful.Had waited a year for the film to debut in San Francisco. It was exciting when I first saw the theatrical trailer on screen at Sundance Kabuki two weeks before July 20 - I love it. The trailer is available for repeated 'play again' on Myspacetv.com ("www.myspace.com/fallingforgracemovie"). The catchy song "wonderful crazy" from Katelyn Tarver sure captures the spirit of this film, and it can be heard on both the official site of "East Broadway" ("www.eastbroadwaythemovie.com") and "Falling for Grace" ("www.fallingforgrace.com"): "it's so wonderful crazy, it's so beautiful out of control, kinda scary amazing …cos my life's so wonderful, crazy, crazy, crazy." The official site includes info on the team's trip to China, visit to Tsinghua University in Beijing and the original "Shanghai Tang" in Hong Kong.It's been worth the wait. "Falling For Grace" is essentially a heartwarming and satisfying romantic comedy, cliché to some or not, it is a bold debut feature effort which can pass for a polished 'Hollywood' movie, and that's not bad at all. But being an independent film without big budget promotions, it definitely needs steady support and word of mouth to keep it circulating for wide distribution and successful following. May this be so. Kudos to the filmmakers of "Falling for Grace."