It
is the late 1990s, but Trinh is still down with the “sunglasses at night” style
statement of the 1980s. At that time, independent film still had a rep for very
personal passion projections, whereas today it is considered just as much an
industry as the studio system. This lowkey quasi-horror comedy was very much a
film of its time, but it is fondly remembered by many as one of several Asian
American indie releases that have recently been dubbed the “Class of 1997.”
Even without the zeitgeisty context, it would still be notable as co-director
Justin Lin and co-star John Cho’s first features. Take a nostalgic trip back to
the post-Pulp Fiction indie glory
years when Quentin Lee & Justin Lin’s freshly restored Shopping for Fangs (trailer here) premieres on Chopso, the brand-new
English-language Asian-interest streaming service.
Clarance
idylls away a great deal of time in a Southern California coffeeshop, partly
because it is comfortable looking and partly because he enjoys the company of
the ditzy, blonde-wigged waitress, Trinh. It is strictly platonic. He pines for
his long-distance boyfriend in Taipei, while she has developed a weird crush on
Katherine, a mousy housewife, whose wallet and Gordon Gekko-style cell phone she
swiped from a ladies’ room. Trinh seems to live in another world, so she has no
reservations about sending Katherine flirting notes and photos of herself. Yet,
much to her surprise, Katherine finds herself fascinated by this free spirit.
Meanwhile,
the sexually and professionally frustrated Phil starts to suspect he is becoming
a werewolf, due to the alarming increase in the volume and rate of growth of
his facial hair. As fate would have it, his bossy sister has just shacked up
with lycanthropy expert, so perhaps it is just the power of suggestion. In any
event, poor Phil is getting a lot stronger and physically resilient, but also
starting to develop anger management issues.
Like
so many indie films of the era, the various characters and story arcs crisscross
at key junctures, to demonstrate what an ironic little world we live in. However,
the two main strands are more stylistically delineated, because Lee helmed
Katherine’s sequences, while Lin handled those focusing on Phil. Even though Lin
would become the industry powerhouse (Fast
and the Furious installments 3-6, Star
Trek Beyond), Lee’s Katherine/Trinh story arc has more zip. Frankly, Fangs could have been a rather
intriguing (albeit idiosyncratic) little De Palma-esque psychological thriller
without the lycanthropy storyline.
Lin
and Cho became famous and Lee has built a reputation as a crossover indie-LGBT
filmmaker (he also directed the bizarrely under-appreciated The Unbidden), but the real discovery here
is Jeanne Chin’s amazing performance as Katherine. Initially, she seems almost
distressingly passive, but when you least expect it, she reveals her
extraordinary range. The young, fresh-faced Cho also exhibits the smart
presence and on-screen charm that would lead to the Star Trek reboot (and the excellent sf series, Flashforward, which ABC inexplicably sabotaged, by giving it the NewsRadio treatment).
