I know these actors are capable of good/great acting, as I've seen them in other projects. I think there was just a multitude of problems here.
First, the voices seemed to be dubbed, which was odd. The dubbing (of their own voices) adds to the artificial nature of the movie.
Secondly, the directing was pretty stilted. None of the scenes seemed very organic or natural. Even when the scene called for tension or uneasiness (like when Kelly Hu's character shows up), it was just like first day rehearsal. The pacing and rhythm was very off from the start and it never really improved.
Third, I think the writing didn't lend itself for much characterization. There were hints and starting points, but we never had a real bridge of how the characters were from before the movie started to when it started. It's hard to feel for the characters when we're simply told their mother was a bad mother but it didn't give the audience anything to really supply that. So the surprise that people liked her in the community and all those secrets were just flat. And then everyone's reconciliation stories got resolved too neatly. For example:
Like what exactly happened to Elizabeth and Michael's son and what sort of grief did Elizabeth go through that caused their temporary separation and her closing off?
How did Alex betraying his own promise to not be like his father really affect Cindy? Cindy obviously had more going for her regarding her snottiness. Why did she react that way and take it out on Victoria and the rest of the family? Did she blame them for Alex being the emotionally-vacant man this movie hinted at? Was it from when they were dating and the mom and sisters mistaking her snottiness (from years of doing pageants and probably all the other things women had to buy into in order to succeed in that world like cattiness and thick skin) for malice and never recovered from that? That whole "you're not Miss Taiwan anymore" conversation between Viola and Cindy rang false because it came out of nowhere. She seemed to actually want to help but got rejected, but then boom, storyline stopped. Maybe it was her being cold and made Alex not love her anymore...but how did it get that way? And when they asked him why he wanted to be in love with Cindy again...it goes unanswered. And the movie never answers it, not even with subtlety.
Obviously Victoria was talked into not marrying "the only man she ever loved" but why wasn't she more stubborn and rebellious? She ended up pregnant anyway. How much influence did the mom really have to make her give him up even while pregnant with his child? She didn't seem to be close to her mom anymore. I wish they had explained that or at least showed a bit more of how it happened rather than have Mei Mei's baby daddy just say "I know" after she said "whatever my mom wants, mom gets." And how did the black grandson play into the further straining of the relationship between Victoria and her mom. I think this movie takes for granted that old-school Asians just don't accept it, but I think a movie needs more than that to really have it be a viable motivation for a character.
As for Mei Mei and the lesbian storyline, Victoria and Alex's reactions seemed very negative in the beginning and I thought they were hinting at homophobic attitudes. But then that never gets explored and is later dropped and they're all suddenly accepting. Which makes me wonder why they were so negative about it or negative about Di Di in the first place. Then the lesbianism only serves as a joke for the scenes with the monk seduction, which btw, came out of nowhere. Like they didn't know him at all. Why were they so nonchalant about who their donor was going to be? I know the Monk's monologue was supposed to show the audience how authentic and true Mei Mei and Di Di's love was, and it hinted at the Monk's crush for Mei Mei, but then it leads no where and the preaching that gay love is just love is a very nice message, but it doesn't really do anything for the story and seems tacked on since nobody in the movie seemed to have an issue with it (or at least it's no longer mentioned or shown in anyway). Oh, and Mei Mei didn't even go to Elizabeth's son's funeral. That was sort of a great dramatic point, which gets thrown away. It's there for no reason other than to show how the characters weren't close, which is fine, but then there's no natural evolution to the resolution of their relationship. Like I think this movie needed more scenes of the siblings simply bonding and laughing and crying and being mad at each other. There wasn't a real "let's hash it out scene." That would be fine if they weren't trying to make us buy into a family unity resolution.
And Viola's character. The movie hinted she was forced to get married too young and then she was widowed and the family served as a surrogate family...but that's it. It didn't seem very satisfying of an explanation for her character's motivations to me. It was nice to see Talia Shire in another movie though. She seemed like a doormat and very complacent with the bad environment these kids grew up in. She likes to take credit for being there (with us being told that Mei Mei talks about her lovingly) but I wish they explored whether the kids resented her any for their loveless upbringing (or and they were very mean to her in the beginning and then totally forgiving and humored by of the part she played in the hoax at the end).
And the Mom...I wish they portrayed her Dragonlady tendency and explained why she behaved so differently to other people and kept things. I know they talked about "saving face" but that doesn't explain why she kept all their trinkets and yet still seemed so mean. I'm not the type that needs everything spelled out, but usually fully-faceted characters do the job for you if things are left unsaid. This movie didn't have that. To be honest, if Elizabeth was truly still grieving, I find it very hard to believe she'd forgive her mom so easily for making her go through that again just to make a point. Yes, the movie's point was to be grateful people are still alive and that we should celebrate them, and Elizabeth had some character growth with her husband helping her get over her son's death, but it seemed too neatly resolved to be real for me.
Basically, I think there were too many ideas and characters the movie was changing direction with that it all felt half-assed and I think it affected how the actors portrayed the characters. I know amazing actors can work with some bad material, but they need something, either in the screenplay or with a director to guide them, to give them real substance to make them feel the character and project it for us. I found that fully-realized characterization or even subtext was lacking in this movie. It felt too superficial, and therefore so did the acting. I felt bad for Bai Ling because I think she is a very compelling actress, but she wasn't given anything to do here except play a caricature of the weird chick she's typecast as, since she looks and acts the part in real life, if you haven't seen any of her better work.
I do think the most natural and affecting scene was when they came back from I think it was the plot, and they saw the musician doing Tai Chi and they all just decided to join him. The set up could have been a lot better, but the scene itself was very well-done and the actors do a great job with it. The directing was actually nice and the music went well with it without being too overdone (or maybe it was a bit sentimental). Made me wish the rest of the movie was that natural.
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