Shortcomings - Review: Love Is a Very Selfish Thing

 

Love is a many splendored thing. And for some, it can be an absolute chore to be in love with someone not because of the acts involved, but purely because of the person themselves. That was the circumstance surrounding the subject of Adrian Tomine’s graphic novel “Shortcomings” and now comedian Randall Park (“The Interview,” “Fresh Off the Boat”) has chosen to direct an adaptation of that graphic novel for his directorial debut, with Tomine writing the script himself. Will this adaptation be as hard to love as its central character? 

The film follows Ben, played by Justin H. Min (“After Yang,” “The Umbrella Academy”), an arrogant, self-centered movie theatre manager who decides to live his life as if he’s a bachelor after his girlfriend Miko, played by Ally Maki (“Wrecked,” “Toy Story 4”), accepts an internship in New York City. His best friend Alice, played by Sherry Cola (“Good Trouble,” “Joy Ride”), disagrees with this and attempts to discourage his infidelities, but despite this Ben attempts to fool around with numerous women, including Sasha, played by Debby Ryan (“Jessie,” “Spin Me Round”), and Autumn, played by Tavi Gevinson (“Gossip Girl (2021),” “Person to Person”). 

Min plays Ben flawlessly, almost to a concerning degree. While everyone around him has varying levels of positives and negatives, Ben is an almost entirely reprehensible person. Even when the film ends, he seems to have marginally improved, but not by much, and it creates a fascinating performance to watch. Cola is also excellent, and Alice proves to be a great foible for Ben, as the pair have quite a bit in common, but she’s far more mature and has far more self-awareness for her flaws than Ben does. 

Gevinson, Ryan, and Maki all manage to elevate their performances above being eye candy for Ben, although it does help that Ben is such a jerk. Ryan clearly has fun playing against her previous Disney child actor type casting, and Gevinson is a fun spin on the “young female artist” trope. But Maki really gets her teeth into her performance, especially in the film’s conclusion. She manages to turn what could have easily been a flat foible to Ben’s lackadaisical quest into a meaty character equal to his in terms of criticisms and complexity. 

Park does manage to direct with a good amount of gusto, playing with some fun angles without branching too far out for his debut. Tomine’s script is also exceptionally sharp and makes a meal of most of the male characters, refusing to pull any punches with any of their archetypical behaviors. It's packed full of cringeworthy moments that never fail to make you do exactly that, but Tomine also peppers in plenty of fantastic dialogue and quips back and forth. 

This is a film that is clearly aware of how detestable Ben is and it makes no bones about it. Park literally has a small cameo where he says just this. It makes for a fascinating dynamic to have, like some kind of twisted live-action version of the classic Looney Tunes cartoon “Duck Amuck.” It’s the creator versus the lead, just one wherein the creator clearly knows the lead can be a better person. 

“Shortcomings” has very few, coupling a great cast with a great script for a directorial debut that, while it lacks a lot of visual panache, makes for a thoroughly entertaining takedown of the kind of dude bro guy that is the bane of so many women’s existences. Min is absolutely stellar at being such a terrible guy, and Park takes glee in setting up his comeuppance and serving him (and us) some delicious just desserts. 4.5/5