Finishing the Game

46

IFC Films (88 minutes)
and Justin Lin
Roger Fan , Sung Kang , James Franco , McCaleb Burnett , Jim Parrack , Dustin Nguyen , Cassidy Freeman , and M.C. Hammer

Rating: Not Rated

Summary: The unexpected death of Bruce Lee, a world-wide phenomenon and established movie star, came at the zenith of his popularity. Having already shot scenes for his upcoming movie Game of Death, studio heads decided to complete the film by launching a search for his replacement attracting hopefuls from all around the world. Finishing the Game is an uproarious, poignant, unpredictable and action-packed re-imagining of that casting process for Lee's replacement and examines the leaps and bounds Asians have taken in media representation - or have they? (IFC Films)

David Wiegand
San Francisco Chronicle:
(75) When you finally stop laughing, there is something to think about.

Ernest Hardy
LA Weekly:
(70) There’s nothing new in the movie’s sociocultural insights, especially for those of us already interested in how identity is shaped by pop culture, but the breezy tone and obvious fun being had by the cast make Finishing the Game a slight, low-key cool cinematic essay on identity politics.

Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide:
(63) It feels as though everyone involved was having a rollicking good time, and while the film itself is wildly uneven, Lin and company get in a few pointed jabs at Hollywood fatuousness and self-delusion, cultural stereotypes and '70s fashions.

Justin Lowe
The Hollywood Reporter:
(60) The ensemble cast members play well off one another, particularly Fan as the self-absorbed Bruce Lee wannabe and Lynn in the role of the monumentally ignorant casting director.

Noel Murray
The Onion (A.V. Club):
(50) Finishing The Game doesn't get anywhere that "Hollywood Shuffle" didn't go to first, even if it has its own set of specific complaints about how show business treats Asians.

Lou Lumenick
New York Post:
(50) A genially scattershot mockumentary.

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