Ping Pong Playa (2007/Image Entertainment DVD)
Picture: C
Sound: C+ Extras: C Film: C
Jessica
Yu’s Ping Pong Playa (2007) is a
comedy that has some potential and an interesting cast as a Hip Hop-influenced,
lazy guy who will not grow up (Jimmy Tsai) tries to find anything to help him
not have to take responsibility. His
parents are getting annoyed with him while those around him either feel the
same way or worse, leading up to his latest idea, becoming involved in ping
pong for money. However, he fails to
realize how serious some are about the sport and are about to be plunged into
its world.
Told in
flashback via a cable TV interview (a device with mixed results) the script
spends more time giving him endless combinations of one-liner jokes/Hip Hop wit than actual character development and us a story
worth following. The result is a film
that is more miss than hit (pun intended) that wears thin quickly, which is a
shame because the cast is likable and so much more could have been made of the
situation, which instead becomes perpetually pandering. It might find a cult following, but not much
more.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is soft and colors
are slightly inconsistent, with the would-be video footage worse. The lighting is like a TV sitcom and framing
nothing too memorable. The Dolby Digital
5.1 and 2.0 Stereo with Pro Logic surrounds are limited and uneven, partly a
problem with the location recording, leaving the combination dull. Extras include a trailer, two making of
featurettes and an audio commentary by Yu and Tsai, who also co-wrote the
script.
- Nicholas Sheffo
