Ping Pong Playa (2007)

One way to break down cultural walls is assimilation, and that's where Ping Pong Playa has its dubious triumph: it's just about as generic as the next 'loser makes good by coaching kids' comedy...[Blu-ray]

An endless stream of near-misses.

Ace documentarian Jessica Yu's fictional feature debut ... is mostly funny and often cute, but it suffers a bit in comparison to the very similar Foot Fist Way ...

Overall the movie was enjoyable but not amazing.

Gently pokes fun at model minority and athletic stereotypes, but gets repetitive and wears thin before the engaging plot finally kicks into gear.

If you go into Ping Pong Playa' expecting a light, predictable comedy, it would be hard to come out unsatisfied.

Ping Pong Playa falters on formula only occasionally, but otherwise remains a consistently agreeable romp that strikes just the right chord of ironic sentimentally.

Asian-American cinema breaks out of its identity crisis with a comedy that is competitive with the American standard while addressing social and cultural issues particular to minority audiences.

There's no resisting the movie's antic affability or its irreverence, even with Chris's unavoidable progression toward the mature appreciation of his roots.