If you are deeply offended when you read punctuation marks subbed for four-letter words, then Ping Pong Playa, in spite of its light-hearted and genuinely good-natured tone, will likely turn you off.  If, however, like me, “&%!@%” just reminds you of Pogo, you might well laugh your butt off while watching this film.

The basic premise—which feels fresh and inspired in spite of its similarity to other comedic fare like Dodge Ball and Balls of Fury—is that a family’s honor (and business) must be salvaged by the most unlikely hero: C-Dub Wang, yet another twenty-something slacker who fails to hold down basic jobs like selling cell phones in malls.  He fancies himself the victim of both racism and genetic shortcomings, showboats his wildly mediocre basketball skills while invoking the specter of Yao Ming, mooches off his overly-indulgent parents, and chafes under lectures from his stereotypically-successful physician brother. 

When C-Dub’s brother and mother are both put out of commission, he finds himself the only option for running the family’s ping pong academy… and for winning L.A.’s annual East Hills table tennis tourney—an enormous source of business for Mom’s school, and for Dad’s supply store, Ping Pong Palace.  Throw in a subplot about a couple of white guys trying to steal customers from the Wangs, and you’ve got your stock villain and sidekick.  It’s a formula for a pretty routine slack comedy, the type which is bound to disappear from theaters in three to four weeks.

But wait!  This isn’t your standard late-summer dumper!  The star of this movie, Jimmy Tsai, has invented a truly hysterical character in C-Dub Wang—a Chinese ranconteur who’s equal parts Spike Lee, Quentin Tarantino, Charles Barkley, and Larry the Cucumber—and director Jessica Yu knows how to milk every setup for maximum laughs.  The script is just edgy enough to play well to a festival audience without pandering to the Sundance Effect (you know: when “edgy” must be spelled with a capital E and pronounced “dark,” when just plain “edgy” would suffice for broad appeal), and just innocent enough to have an almost-Saturday-morning feel.

Almost. 

Yu has wisely elected to keep C-Dub—a gangsta-lite product of his culture—appropriately profane while employing creative sound effects to do the job for which the FCC usually employs bleeps.  So as a forty-something critic who has seen thousands of films over the years, I find it all pretty much gut-splitting, and in no way offensive… and yet I can see how such adult-oriented childishness might turn a lot of viewers off.

But don’t think this is any kind of Eddie Murphy raunch-fest like Norbit (nothing at all, for instance, is made of the plot’s one obviously-phallic gag) or some Chinese-American riff on a Judd Apatow, Will Ferrell, or Ben Stiller envelope-pusher.  I’ll take this brand of comedy any day over that of Yu’s White-American counterparts.

The film was produced by Cherry Sky Films, the same outfit that brought us Better Luck Tomorrow a few years back—and both films feel terrifically unique for their genres, precisely because they offer both satiric barbs and puffed out chests.  They’re pointed and insightful without being at all mean or slighting—and ultimately, they’re affectionate.

But gosh, it just comes back here to a terrific performance from Tsai—Cherry Sky’s production accountant, who caught Yu’s eye after producing some home-brew commercials for his fledgling clothing company.  If we don’t see a lot more from Tsai down the road, I’ll be surprised and disappointed.

So if you’re just sick of the comedic dreck that Hollywood’s been dishing out lately and want something new (but not saintly), please please please give Ping Pong Playa a chance… and pay close attention to the opening sequence.  The comedic surprises come fast and early, so be prepared.

And don’t read any spoiler-laden reviews!  This is one film that deserves to be seen fresh.

Ping Pong Playa is rated PG-13 for “language, including some sexual remarks and drug references.”  The rating is entirely appropriate… but that just highlights how inappropriate most PG-13 assessments have become.  Please consider this film at the PG end of the spectrum in relation to its peers, and still take that “13” recommendation seriously.

Courtesy of a local publicist, Greg viewed a promotional screener of Ping Pong Playa.