The Joy Luck Club Movie Review
The Joy Luck Club Movie Review
“The Joy Luck Club” isn’t what most men would rush to see at the box office. It is, by general opinion, a chick flick, an epic tear jerker directed towards the sensitive side of people. By just that extremely brief description, I would guess a great percentage of males already have lost interest. Why? Because, as I am told by some women, men lack the one emotion to make this movie enjoyable: sensitivity. Although “The Joy Luck Club” has been deemed a “must see movie” and given four stars by many reviewers, it lacks the ability to keep male interest so I would not recommend it.
Before I proceed, I must clarify not all men will hate this movie. Some may actually like it. However, the type of male this review is geared towards can possibly be described as the Tim Taylor. If you do-it-yourself rather than calling a contractor, believe Maxim and Stuff are God’s gift to magazines, and love the rumble of a big block along with the whistle of a turbocharger, then please, read on.
The movie is based upon the bestselling novel written by Amy Tan. Unlike most book-to-film conversions, the story stays exceptionally similar to what the author originally composed. Fans of the novel would consider this a good thing; however in doing so, it lacks theatrical aspects that make movies enjoyable.
Four native born Chinese women immigrated to San Francisco in 1949, all for the hope of finding a better life. Since then, they’ve been meeting weekly to play mahjong and share memorable stories. Even though their previous trans-Pacific life was filled with grief and tragedy, they named their modest group the Joy Luck Club in an effort to raise their spirits. Forty years later, when the movie takes place, the tradition is still alive.
At the beginning of the movie, we’re introduced to a young lady by the name of June. Her mother, one of the members of the club, had recently passed away. Shortly thereafter, as luck has it, her long lost twin daughters were traced back to China. Throughout the movie, the main setting is a farewell party for June, who is leaving the next day to meet her recently discovered sisters.
One by one, we are shown different personal stories narrated by the three remaining elegant, middle aged women and their four daughters. Within each story, the women are faced with several dilemmas and tensions between the generations, ranging from the daughters who can never please their mothers, and the mothers themselves that feel guilty about their past or how they treat their children. There consists the entire plot, which doesn’t fabricate a film terribly exciting enough to sit through a full two hours and nineteen minutes.
Surprisingly, there is not a single strong male character in the whole movie. The small amount that do have a speaking part are simply there to help define the women’s personalities and to illustrate the difficulties they’ve been through. If that wasn’t enough, all the men are also depicted as hurtful, illogical, woman abusers, or just plain unintelligent. Either Amy Tan thought this would further represent the woman as strong and independent, or she simply adopted an undying hatred towards men from previous experiences in her life. I’d