'Shanghai Calling': West meets East

Shanghai Calling should be deemed a comedic romance because the humor takes the forefront. It follows the expected story arc of a romantic comedy that would stereotypically attract the lady folk, but is actually not as sugary sweet with its lovely bits—a refreshing take on the genre. It stars the handsome Korean-American Daniel Henney as a Chinese-American big-shot attorney sent to Shanghai. This character, Sam, finds himself in a legal debacle that can only be solved with the help of a striking relocation specialist, Amanda (Eiza Coupe from Scrubs), and some local connections he makes along the way. It also features the well known Bill Paxton (Twister), Alan Ruck (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), Geng Le (Spring Subway) and Zhu Zhu (MTV China). It’s a lighthearted look at the interaction between Chinese and American culture, showing that opposites do attract, but not always in the way you are thinking. It is hard to believe that Shanghai Calling is being shown as an indie in a film fest instead of a regular on the big screen. It is well scripted, professionally shot, and the execution of key moments is punctual. Director Daniel Hisa shows the whimsy of a West-meets-East adventure.