This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Shortcomings is a rom-com that follows our man Ben as he tries to navigate his love life after his girlfriend leaves him for an internship in New York. Shortcomings is a fascinating character study of Ben as his narcissism and his coldness prevent him from keeping maintaining his relationships.
Ben starts as maybe one of the most unlikeable characters I have ever seen. He is incredibly condescending to his ex-girlfriend about her career in filmmaking, he gaslights her in their arguments when he gets called out on his behavior and does not handle rejection with any sort of maturity at all.
Worst of all, he is a textbook film bro from LA. The movie his ex-girlfriend made is too “low brow” with no substance and all representation. He spends his nights watching old foreign films and mixes advanced-level critiques into normal conversations, which is just the worst.
To him, he is not the problem. He blames his race, past, and society for all his shortcomings (that’s the name of the movie!) until he finally decides to leave his bubble.
I thought Ben would go on a redemption arc, but I found genuine pleasure in rooting against him. I think it is fascinating that Randall Park, in his directorial debut, bucks that trend in rom-coms and makes our protagonist the worst. I legit was rooting for his ex when she was ripping into him when he finally confronted her.
The whole point of his story was that he was supposed to grow and change, but he never does, and he suffers because of it. It’s great to have my expectations subverted like that.
Additionally, Randall Park beats the 1st directorial appearance curse of 2023 that has plagued first time directors like Chris Pine, Charlie Day and Grant Singer.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Shortcomings is a really interesting watch. I put off seeing this movie because at first I really, really hated Ben’s character. But after finishing it, I really liked this movie. While Ben on his surface is really easy to hate, when he finally realizes he needs to grow, I actually cared about him. Credit to Justin H. Min for playing that character well, he becomes sympathetic. Randall Park’s style for this movie was very appealing and I hope to see him in the director’s chair more soon.
4/5
“We Missed It” is an ongoing series of short form reviews where we look at films that, for one reason or another, we were unable to see and have been released at least one month prior to being reviewed. For film suggestions, email [email protected].
