Watch Saving Face

Saving Face is a heartwarming romantic comedy-drama movie that features a Chinese American family living in New York City. The movie is directed by Alice Wu with a fantastic cast including Joan Chen, Michelle Krusiec, and Lynn Chen. The story revolves around the life of a young Chinese-American woman named Wilhelmina "Wil" Pang (Michelle Krusiec), who is successful professionally but single and unable to satisfy her traditional-minded mother's demand for a proper Chinese spouse. Her mother, Gao (Joan Chen), is a conservative widow who still acts according to the traditional values of her homeland, making life-complicating for her daughter.

Wil is a successful surgeon who is still in the process of completing her residency. Her mother is insistent that she finds a suitable Chinese husband and constantly arranges blind dates for her daughter via the "matchmaker," Mrs. Ha (played by actress Tsai Chin). Mrs. Ha is a godly presence in the Chinatown community, and she knows everything about everyone's business. Her character is comical and brings lots of laughter to the movie.

However, Wil has a secret. She's gay and is in a loving relationship with a modern ballet dancer named Vivian Shing (Lynn Chen). Wil's mother has no idea about her daughter's sexuality but begins to grow suspicious when she overhears their love-making session. The mother is beyond upset because homosexuality is something that goes against her values and beliefs. She believes that it's a sickness and that her daughter can be cured.

To deal with the mounting pressure from her mother, Wil moves out of her apartment to stay with her mother in her apartment. Meanwhile, Vivian's parents banish her from their home after discovering their relationship with Wil. She ends up living with Wil and her mother, further complicating matters.

The film explores the complex relationships between adult children and their parents, with themes of traditional values and what it means to be "free" to be oneself. This movie represents a clash between modern American and traditional Chinese values. The two cultures collide, and the movie gives the audience an excellent perspective of the real Chinese customs and beliefs.

The movie’s most impressive aspect is that it touches upon the struggles that modern Chinese-American women face when trying to balance their ambitions and hope for romantic love with the expectations of their traditional and deeply conservative families. It's not easy to be part of two worlds, but Alice Wu does an excellent job in making the audience believe that it's possible.

Saving Face is a beautiful movie that delivers on all fronts, including drama, romance, and comedy. The characters are well written and well-acted, and their interactions are fun to watch. The story is heartwarming, and the movie leaves the audience with a greater perspective of family, love and the relationships between parent and child.

In summary, Saving Face is a beautiful and entertaining movie that highlights the complexities of being a child to traditional-minded parents while living in an otherwise progressive society. The performances by Michelle Krusiec, Joan Chen, and Lynn Chen are exceptional, and the themes of this movie will touch the hearts and minds of anyone who watches it. Overall, it’s a well-crafted romantic comedy-drama that is worth every second of your time.

Saving Face is a 2004 comedy with a runtime of 1 hour and 31 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.4 and a MetaScore of 65.