Always Be My Maybe: A Netflix Film Review

Netflix’s New Approach to the Rom-Com

Cast:

Ali Wong … Sasha Tran

Randall Park … Marcus Kim

James Saito … Harry

Michelle Buteau … Veronica

Vivian Bang … Jenny

Keanu Reeves … Keanu Reeves

Susan Park … Judy

Daniel Dae Kim … Brandon Choi

Karan Soni … Tony

Run time: 1 hour 41 minutes

Do you ever wonder some times that your brain gets filled up with toxins after watching comic book movies and the dopamine levels are off the charts and your serotonin and endorphin levels are out of balance because you just one through a tunnel and emerged on the other side of the planet and somehow you survived it but now you need something to get your brain back to some respectable harmony? Your prescription then is to watch Always Be My Maybe, a romantic comedy penned by its costars, Ali Wong and Randall Park.

Now, who is Ali Wong and Randall Park? Ali Wong has been around for a while now and who is finally getting recognition for her work as a comedienne and writer for the show, Fresh Off the Boat. She is part of this cluster of Asian American actors who have been showcasing their talents to a more consciously aware audience. Randall Park has that familiar face that you’ve seen somewhere but can’t quite put your finger on it. You see him and you wonder, “Is that my gynecologist?” Randall’s face has appeared in many production houses and is a ready utility player to just about anything. He did play an Ophthalmologist in The Mindy Project thus the confusion of him being your gynecologist.

Always Be My Maybe was a delight to watch and see it unfold. The two main characters, Sasha Tran (Ali Wong) of Vietnamese descent and Marcus Kim (Randall Park) of Korean descent, are childhood friends who grew up next door to each other. Sasha was a latchkey kid growing up. Whenever she came home from school, she relied on herself to take care of her needs as her parents were busy with their family business. But she had a safety net in the Kim family. Marcus always invited her over to enjoy a family meal that was attentively cooked by his mother, Judy Kim. Somewhere in Sasha’s mind, a template was formed because Sasha grew up to be a world known celebrity chef.

Marcus, on the other hand, did not meet the stereotypical Asian goals and instead opted to work with his father following the untimely and surprising death of his mother during his late teen years. We watched, as Sasha to is affected by the death of Judy because Judy was by default, Sasha’s second mother. They both grief and agonized over Judy’s death but Sasha recognizes that she must do whatever she can to end Marcus grief, even for a moment. In an uncomfortable moment that takes place in his old Toyota Corolla, they have sex. The Toyota Corolla place a secondary role in this film later. The after sex conversation is more than a little awkward but in the hands of its costars writers, they turned awkward into some comedy gems.

Fast forward and we are firmly into adulthood. Sasha in enjoying her celebrity status as a restaurant scion while Marcus is a dope smoking musician air conditioner apprentice who has a goal in life to smoke weed every day. He has grown comfortable with having low ambitions. No need to rock the boat just keep the volume at a nice comfortable level. Our couple is reunited by chance when they get a house call for some air conditioner work at Sasha’s home. They are met at the door by Sasha’s second in command from her restaurant. We get no sense of lost tie between these two as time and distance just erases at that moment. If you are not subconsciously rooting for them, you know that somewhere in this story they will get back together but where exactly will that moment happen. Well, you can thank Keanu Reeves for that transition.

As we open the floor into their adult lives, Sasha has a fiance, Brandon Choi, played by Daniel Dae Kim, a self-important venture capitalist who markets his penis as a goodwill ambassador to the wealthy. He’s morbidly obtuse to other people feelings and lives a life of grandiose exceptionalism as he removes himself from the day to day drudges of a trivial existence that just about every American is experiencing. I must say the Daniel Dae did a very good job playing an asshole. If there ever was a Golden Globe for playing an asshole, I’d give it to Daniel Dae Kim. The best asshole category for the Golden Globes is Brie Larson for Captain Marvel, Daniel Dae Kim for Always Be My Maybe, Liam Neeson for Cold Pursuit and Brie Larson for Avengers: Endgame and the winner is… Sasha ends her relationship after he postpones their engagement and puts off the marriage after coming to a self-important revelation that only assholes are known to have. It’s ass-holy.

Marcus has a girlfriend named Jenny. She’s a living cloud. She lives with no drama and I suppose that is a good thing, to live a life void of any conflict.

Now I mentioned Keanu Reeves. He has a part in this that was a pure joy to watch and something we hadn’t seen in a long time, the comedic side to Keanu Reeves. Keanu plays himself as the rebound boyfriend to Sasha. In a bit of counter-programming, Keanu plays a pompous blowhard of an actor. He pulls out some of his old movies and current movie to let you know how pompous he is. He leaves everything on the table. He is the ultimate boyfriend, good at everything, sex, food, wine, martial arts, if it's doable, Keanu will make it very special and you’d want to have sex with it afterward. The restaurant dining scene is just stupid fun. What Marcus says after eating at this very expensive establishment was just hilarious. But Keanu serves as the catalyst for our main protagonists to get back together.

It starts off rough then smooth then really really rough until it becomes smooth again. This is the staple of the journey to romantic comedies. Netflix has another solid winner on its hands as this film joins, To All The Boys I Loved Before that starred Lana Condor, as the go-to streaming service that has found the formula for making good watchable rom-com. What made this particular iteration of a rom-com viable was that it didn’t shy away from the conversation of facing what was awkward in areas where awkwardness could have ruled in silence. Instead, it was addressed and it was allowed to move forward as a badge of honor. Score one for Ali Wong and Randall Park and score two for Netflix.

Ratings: 4 out of 5 stars