Lucky Grandma – A Heartfelt Heist Adventure

Films that represent different cultures with an American flare don’t come along very often. Lucky Grandma is a celebration of Asian-American pride and an enjoyable adventure. Serving as the directorial debut of Sasie Sealy, the film follows Grandma Wong (Ching), a lonely widow living in the culturally-driven Chinatown region of New York City. After being told from a fortune teller that she will find great luck, Wong heads where anyone would go after being told such a thing, the casino. Unfortunately for her, the opposite would be the case once she accidentally steals money from the city’s Red Dragon gang.

There is so much to delve into with Lucky Grandma, the first being Chin as Grandma Wong who is truly a sight to be seen and that is sure to be under-looked. Her incredibly nuanced performance adds further depth to her character, allowing for a stronger emotional connection with the character. She subverts expectations for older characters to create one of the coolest grandma’s in cinema’s history. Meanwhile, Ha as Big Pong, the bodyguard hired by Grandma Wong was also a pleasant surprise. Their energy (or lack thereof) bounces well of each other, resulting in an awkwardly funny and authentic relationship.

However, the true standouts were Tow and Woody Fu as Little Handsome and Pock Mark, a pair of mob men sent to find Grandma Wong and retrieve the stolen money. Every time the duo appeared, a sense of hysteria followed. The juxtaposition between their absolutely hilarious on screen personas vs their actual role as henchmen allows the film to tow the line tonally between comedy and drama. Tow and Fu embody their roles in esque of something such as a classic Three Stooges episode, bringing the same energy.

As for behind the camera, Lucky Grandma works wonders. Cinematographer Eduardo Enrique Mayén frames the film in such a way that it makes it feel extremely intimate and immersive. The backdrop of New York City’s Chinatown gives viewers an un-americanized, authentic view of one of the most interesting subcultures. Sealy’s directing style is quite minimalistic but in a positive way. The film brings viewers on authentic and sprawling journey with Grandma Wong.

Despite being made and produced in America, it was great to see the dialogue being 90% Mandarin with the remainder being whenever Grandma Wong communicates with her extended family. However, the one thing Grandma wasn’t so lucky about was the pacing. Despite featuring many engaging and fun moments, it does suffer from questionable pacing. Luckily that alone was not enough to detract from the overall experience.

At the end of the day, it is very important that films like Lucky Grandma exist. Celebrating different cultures is something that should be done more often in order to further create a sense of unity through the power of cinema. Hopefully, the film leads to a domino effect that ripples across the film industry leading to more films to continue to bridge the gap.

still courtesy of levelFilm

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Jaeden Noel