1997 American film
Shopping for Fangs
is a 1997
black comedy
[1]
film directed by
Quentin Lee
and
Justin Lin
, starring
Radmar Agana Jao
. The film marks the debut of actor
John Cho
.
Plot
[
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]
Housewife Katherine loses consciousness and loses her cell phone as a result. Lesbian waitress Trinh sends her sexually suggestive messages and pictures. Katherine's husband works with a man by the name of Phil.
[2]
Payroll clerk Phil, who is confused about his sexuality, thinks that he is transforming into a werewolf because his hair grows so quickly that he has to shave every hour, he gorges on raw meat, and he is uninjured after being struck by a car.
[3]
Cast
[
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]
- Radmar Jao
as Phil
- Jeanne Chin as Katherine
- Clint Jung as Jim
- Lela Lee
as Naomi
- John Cho
as Clarance
- Peggy Ahn as Grace
- Scott Eberlein as Matt
- Daniel Twyman as Dr. Suleri
- Jennifer Hengstenberg as Sammi
- Dana Pan as May
Production
[
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]
The film's budget was less than $100,000 and had a filming schedule of 21 days in
Los Angeles
and the
San Gabriel Valley
.
[4]
[5]
The film was partially funded with a
Canada Council
grant.
[5]
Lee and Lin separated the filming between themselves, with Lee filming the part with Katherine and Lin filming the part with Phil.
[4]
The term "GenerAsian X" may have been coined because of this film's release, with the X later being removed.
[6]
Lee said in a 2012 interview, "
Shopping for Fangs
is about finding connections, which is a theme that threads through all my movies." He also said, "It’s hard to quantify cultural impact, but certainly years after, scholars and critics are still talking about
Shopping for Fangs
."
[7]
He added, "In our culture now we tend to think of people as having fixed identities. We tried to use the myths in the film to make these identities fluid again and make us question what we’re really about."
[5]
Release
[
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]
The film premiered at the 1997 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (
CAAMFest
) on March 7, 1997.
[8]
[9]
It also screened at the
1997 Toronto International Film Festival
.
[5]
The film was distributed by Lin's company Margin Films.
[10]
[5]
Reception
[
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]
J.R. Jones of the
Chicago Reader
commented, "Like so many other indie releases of its time, this 1997 comedy is a knockoff of
Pulp Fiction
, with oddball characters, intersecting story lines, and plenty of
B-movie
flash. But it’s got real energy, and its solid grounding in LA’s Asian community gives the laughs a genuine cultural point of view."
[11]
David Noh, writing for
Film Journal
, said, "Under the circumstances, the actors manage to do rather nicely."
[12]
Edward Guthmann, of
San Francisco Chronicle
, wrote, "Despite some fresh ideas, attractive actors and a sly, surprising performance by Chin as the disaffected Katherine, this is a rough first effort."
[13]
Home media
[
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]
The film was released on DVD on October 6, 2009 by Pathfinder Home Entertainment.
[14]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Shopping for Fangs"
.
Austin Chronicle
. Retrieved
December 4,
2022
.
This Asian-American dark comedy of pop culture features a frigid wife, an acerbic waitress, and a werewolf disguised as a payroll clerk, while referencing the best of America's recent crop of independent filmmakers.
- ^
Williams, Karl (2013).
"Shopping For Fangs (1997)"
. Movies & TV Dept.
The New York Times
. Archived from
the original
on December 16, 2013
. Retrieved
July 18,
2014
.
- ^
Gates, Anita (May 15, 1998).
"Shopping for Fangs': 'A Werewolf?' Or Just a Bit Hairy"
.
New York Times
. Retrieved
July 18,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
Holmlund, Chris (2005).
Contemporary American Independent Film: From the Margins to the Mainstream
. Psychology Press. p. 214.
ISBN
9780415254861
. Retrieved
July 18,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"Toronto International Film Festival: Shopping for Fangs"
.
Playback
. September 8, 1997
. Retrieved
December 4,
2022
.
- ^
DiMaggio, Paul (2010).
Art in the Lives of Immigrant Communities in the United States
. Rutgers University Press. p. 131.
ISBN
9780813547572
. Retrieved
July 18,
2014
.
- ^
Yang, Chi-hui (September 18, 2012).
"Cinema Asian America: Filmmaker Quentin Lee Discusses 'Shopping For Fangs'
"
.
Xfinity
. Archived from
the original
on September 20, 2012
. Retrieved
July 18,
2014
.
- ^
Lim, Mike (May 1, 1997).
"Report From the S.F. Asian-American Film Festival"
.
Synapse
. Vol. 41, no. 28
. Retrieved
December 4,
2022
.
- ^
Hamamoto, Darrell Y (1998).
"New Independence at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival"
.
Journal of Asian American Studies
.
1
(2): 204?209.
doi
:
10.1353/jaas.1998.0019
.
ISSN
1096-8598
.
S2CID
143573624
.
- ^
L. Chaisson, Reba (2000).
For Entertainment Purposes Only?
. Lexington Books. p. 59.
ISBN
9780739101568
. Retrieved
July 18,
2014
.
- ^
Jones, J. R. (April 1, 2010).
"Shopping for Fangs"
.
Chicago Reader
. Retrieved
December 4,
2022
.
- ^
Noh, David (1998).
"Shopping For Fangs"
.
Film Journal
. Archived from
the original
on July 26, 2014
. Retrieved
July 18,
2014
.
- ^
Guthmann, Edward (May 8, 1998).
"
'Shopping' Pilfers Film Styles"
.
San Francisco Chronicle
. Retrieved
July 18,
2014
.
- ^
"Shopping For Fangs - DVD"
.
HitFix
. Archived from
the original
on July 25, 2014
. Retrieved
July 18,
2014
.
External links
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Films directed
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TV series directed
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Written only
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