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Dinner for two turns deadly when a Korean and a Korean-American fight over who gets to pay the check — and who gets to keep their honor.
Director Biography
Shane Chung is a Korean-American filmmaker who champions diversity, equity and wackiness in the film industry and enjoys pairing genre with unexpected subject matter.
Director Statement
CHECK PLEASE is heavily influenced by schlocky, zany, stunt-filled action comedy and martial arts films (Jackie Chan, Stephen Chow) because first and foremost I wanted to make a crowdpleaser. I think the best movies are like magic tricks in that you walk away after seeing them asking “how did they do that?!”
And yet I also wanted to use the "fun" of the action genre to trick the audience into sitting with a movie that talks about a theme more personal to me: the "in-betweenness" of holding a Korean-American identity. I address a few questions about belonging and representation: what is “Koreanness”? Is it innate? Can you gain or lose it? (Jay attempts to reclaim his perceived “loss in Koreanness” by attaching himself to superficial cultural Korean rituals, like picking up the bill.) And is there such thing as a “bad Korean” on screen? I wanted to portray Asian Americans in film that go beyond a tired immigrant storyline or a discrimination storyline and instead focus on the relatable internal struggle of being too Korean for America, but being too American for Korea. This is a resonant theme for many, my hope is that this film can help them feel that they aren't alone!
Dinner for two turns deadly when a Korean and a Korean-American fight over who gets to pay the check — and who gets to keep their honor.
Director Biography
Shane Chung is a Korean-American filmmaker who champions diversity, equity and wackiness in the film industry and enjoys pairing genre with unexpected subject matter.
Director Statement
CHECK PLEASE is heavily influenced by schlocky, zany, stunt-filled action comedy and martial arts films (Jackie Chan, Stephen Chow) because first and foremost I wanted to make a crowdpleaser. I think the best movies are like magic tricks in that you walk away after seeing them asking “how did they do that?!”
And yet I also wanted to use the "fun" of the action genre to trick the audience into sitting with a movie that talks about a theme more personal to me: the "in-betweenness" of holding a Korean-American identity. I address a few questions about belonging and representation: what is “Koreanness”? Is it innate? Can you gain or lose it? (Jay attempts to reclaim his perceived “loss in Koreanness” by attaching himself to superficial cultural Korean rituals, like picking up the bill.) And is there such thing as a “bad Korean” on screen? I wanted to portray Asian Americans in film that go beyond a tired immigrant storyline or a discrimination storyline and instead focus on the relatable internal struggle of being too Korean for America, but being too American for Korea. This is a resonant theme for many, my hope is that this film can help them feel that they aren't alone!
