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Matt Glasby

This is the latest instalment in a feature series reflecting on instances of East meets West in world cinema, including China-US co-productions.
The Chinese movie market grew rapidly in the late 2000s and early 2010s, becoming the world’s second largest in 2012.
Hollywood responded by wooing Chinese audiences with films set in China (2009’s Push), splicing Chinese stars into successful franchises (2013’s Iron Man 3) and including extra scenes in movies for Chinese viewers (2012’s Looper).
21 & Over, which premiered in 2013 – in the middle of this period and at the end of the gross-out comedy craze – is a Sino-American co-production that seemingly could not decide whether it wanted to please everybody or offend them.


Written and directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, the screenwriters of 2009’s highly successful The Hangover, it is a bad-taste frat comedy that has a special Chinese cut, with extra scenes shot in and around Linyi in Shandong province.
The original version follows old friends Miller (Miles Teller of Top Gun: Maverick fame) and Casey (Skylar Astin) as they visit their pal Jeff Chang (Justin Chon) at university to celebrate his 21st birthday.

Despite the fact that Jeff has an interview for medical school the next morning – and a terrifying dad (Lost’s François Chau) – they go out and get him blind drunk, then cannot find their way home.
A cross-campus odyssey ensues with plenty of breasts, beer pong and bodily fluids. American Pie covered much the same ground 14 years earlier but is almost quaint in comparison.
However, what passed as harmless fun in 2013 definitely would not today.

The film opens with a montage of images of campus life, with an emphasis on women students in bikinis or jogging. Miller makes jokes about having sex with Casey’s underage sister.
In the film’s most near-the-knuckle scene, our heroes trick two blindfolded sorority girls into making out, for their, and presumably the viewer’s, entertainment.
If the sexism is depressing, the racism is astonishing. “Hey, you f***ing Jew, get in the cab!” Miller shouts at Casey by way of greeting.
In the next scene, he tells Jeff, “Happy birthday, you tiny yellow son of a b***h,” before making fun of his accent.
Miller – like American Pie’s Steve Stifler (Seann William Scott) – is a truly terrible person, but it’s worth noting that nobody makes fun of his heritage.

Having an Asian lead character in a mainstream Hollywood comedy might seem like a step in the right direction – in 2013 at least – but Chon is Korean-American, not Chinese (and Chau is Cambodian-American), so it hardly counts as progress.
Even worse, as writer Asawin Suebsaeng of non-profit American progressive magazine Mother Jones points out, Jeff is “passed out for most of the movie and thus reduced to a glorified ethnic prop”.
Both Miller and Casey refer to him by his full name, Jeff Chang, at all times, which might be funny to begin with, but ultimately makes him feel less like an old friend than the butt of a tired joke.
Really, it is only the quality of the three central performances (particularly Astin’s) that makes the film watchable at all.
But there is a twist. Whereas most Hollywood films adapted for Chinese audiences add in throwaway moments, 21 & Over’s extra scenes bookend the movie, completely changing the narrative.

In the extended version – essentially a fish-out-of-water comedy – Jeff is a Chinese exchange student who comes to the United States and finds himself tempted from the path of academic righteousness by the dissolute locals, only to reject that life and return home.
“21 & Over, in China, is sort of a story about a boy who leaves China, gets corrupted by our wayward, Western partying ways and goes back to China a better person,” Lucas told the Los Angeles Times.
Not only does this move make a mockery of the original movie, but it caused international controversy when the production moved to Shandong, near where human rights activist Chen Guangcheng had been held under government house arrest since 2005.
Nicholas Bequelin, senior researcher for Human Rights Watch’s Asia division, told entertainment news outlet The Wrap: “Picking Linyi as a film location is probably not a good idea, but signing a deal with [the local officials] directly responsible for one of [the] most egregious and cruel abuses of a human rights defender in China is really beyond the pale.”

This move did not help the film’s box office performance.
It opened to poor reviews and made a modest US$48 million worldwide­ – The Hangover pulled in almost 10 times that amount.
Perhaps nobody really wanted to watch a racist, ruthlessly mercenary comedy, no matter where they were in the world.
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American cinema

How Chinese-American comedy 21 & Over became 2 movies, and why they’re both problematic

(From left) Miles Teller, Justin Chon and Skylar Astin in a still from 21 & Over (2013). Photo: John Johnson/Twenty One and Over Productions, Inc.

(From left) Skylar Astin, Justin Chon and Miles Teller in a still from 21 & Over. The original Hollywood version of this frat comedy and the subsequent Chinese cut are both controversial, but for different reasons. Photo: John Johnson/Twenty One and Over Productions, Inc.

(From left) Teller, Chon and Astin in a still from 21 & Over. Photo: John Johnson/Twenty One and Over Productions, Inc.

(From left) Astin, Sarah Wright and Teller in a still from 21 & Over. Photo: John Johnson/Twenty One and Over Productions, Inc.

(From left) Astin, Chon and Teller in a still from 21 & Over. Photo: John Johnson/Twenty One and Over Productions, Inc.

Chon in a still from 21 & Over. Photo: John Johnson/Twenty One and Over Productions, Inc.

(From left) Teller, Astin and Chon in a still from 21 & Over. Photo: John Johnson/Twenty One and Over Productions, Inc.

In Ferry to Hong Kong, Casablanca meets The World of Suzie Wong, but cast nearly sinks it

Curt Jürgens (centre) in a still from Ferry to Hong Kong (1959).

Curt Jürgens (centre) in a still from Ferry to Hong Kong (1959). The movie, described by one commentator as part Casablanca, part The World of Suzie Wong, co-starred Orson Welles, who caused many issues for James Bond director Lewis Gilbert.

(From left) Orson Welles, Jeremy Spenser and Curt Jürgens in a still from Ferry to Hong Kong.

Sylvia Syms and Curt Jürgens in a still from Ferry to Hong Kong.

Orson Welles (left) and Curt Jürgens in a still from Ferry to Hong Kong.

A still from Ferry to Hong Kong (1959).

1984 meets Blade Runner in Shanghai-set sci-fi Code 46 with shades of Wong Kar-wai

Samantha Morton and Tim Robbins in a still from Code 46.

Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton in a still from Code 46. Shot in Shanghai on the fly, as well as in Dubai and elsewhere, Michael Winterbottom’s sci-fi takes elements from 1984, Blade Runner and Brazil and looks like a Wong Kar-wai film.

Samantha Morton (left) and Tim Robbins in a still from Code 46.

Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton in a still from Code 46.

Year of the Dragon, Michael Cimino/Oliver Stone triad thriller set in New York’s Chinatown

Mickey Rourke and Ariane in a still from Year of the Dragon.

Mickey Rourke as a police captain and John Lone as a triad boss in a still from Year of the Dragon (1985), a crime thriller set in New New York’s Chinatown. 

Rourke as Captain Stanley White in a still from Year of the Dragon.

Ariane as reporter Tracy Tzu in a still from Year of the Dragon.

Rourke plays a Vietnam-vet police captain in a still from Year of the Dragon.

John Lone as triad boss Joey Tai in a still from Year of the Dragon.

Rourke and Lone in a still from Year of the Dragon.

Ariane as reporter Tracy Tzu and Rourke as Captain Whilte in a still from Year of the Dragon.

How Dragonball Evolution, Hollywood’s worst ever manga adaptation, made a mockery of Akira Toriyama’s iconic series

Justin Chatwin and Emmy Rossum in Dragonball Evolution, the laughably bad 2009 movie adaptation of Akira Toriyama’s iconic Dragon Ball manga series.

Director James Wong (left) and Justin Chatwin, who played protagonist Goku, on the set of Dragonball Evolution.

Chow Yun-fat in a still from Dragonball Evolution.

Rossum (left) and Joon Park in a still from Dragonball Evolution.

(From left) Rossum, Chow Yun-fat and Jamie Chung attend a media event to promote Dragonball Evolution in Seoul, in 2009. Photo: AP

Rossum and Chatwin in a still from Dragonball Evolution (2009).

Why did first Hollywood film with a mostly Asian cast flop? The tale of 1961 musical Flower Drum Song

Flower Drum Song was the first Hollywood film with a mostly Asian cast. From left: Kam Tong, Miyoshi Umeki, James Shigeta, Nancy Kwan and Victor Sen Yung in a lobby card for Flower Drum Song. Photo: Getty Images

(From left) Jack Soo, Nancy Kwan, Miyoshi Umeki and James Shigeta in a lobby card from Flower Drum Song. Photo: Getty Images

Reiko Sato (left) and James Shigeta in a lobby card from the film. Photo: Getty Images

Miyoshi Umeki (left) and James Shigeta in a lobby card from the film. Photo: Getty Images

A poster for Flower Drum Song. Photo: Getty Images

Lifestyle

Entertainment

Culture

Film & TV

East meets West

How giant shark movie The Meg, starring Li Bingbing and Jason Statham, became the highest grossing China-US co-production in history

Li Bingbing and Jason Statham in a scene from The Meg (2018).

Li Bingbing and Ruby Rose in a still from The Meg.

Rain Wilson and Winston Chow in a still from The Meg.

Li Bingbing (third, left) and Jason Statham (centre) lead an international cast in The Meg (2018). Despite negative reviews, the film made US$530 million worldwide to be the highest-grossing Chinese-American co-production of all time.

Zhang Yimou’s fantasy movie The Great Wall with Matt Damon – a great fail for the China-US co-production model

Matt Damon in a still from The Great Wall.

Director Zhang Yimou (centre) and his main cast members on the set of The Great Wall.

Andy Lau in a still from The Great Wall.

Matt Damon in a scene from The Great Wall. The most expensive film ever shot on Chinese soil, it lost US$75 million worldwide.

Keanu Reeves’ martial arts movie Man of Tai Chi marked a high point for China-US co-productions – yet bombed at the box office

Keanu Reeves in a still from Man of Tai Chi (2013).

Tiger Chen stars in Man of Tai Chi, a 2013 film directed by Keanu Reeves.

Tiger Chen (right) and Yu Hai in a still from Man of Tai Chi.

Keanu Reeves in a still from Man of Tai Chi.

How Chinese movie fans made Warcraft the most successful video game adaptation of all time

A still from Warcraft: The Beginning (2016).

A still from Warcraft: The Beginning (2016). Despite flopping badly in the US, the film made a massive US$156 million in its first five days on release in China.

Travis Fimmel (left) in a scene from Warcraft: The Beginning.

Fimmel (left) and director Duncan Jones on the set of Warcraft: The Beginning.

A still from Warcraft: The Beginning.

How 2012 time-travel thriller Looper rewrote the future of Chinese-American co-productions

Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a still from Looper.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a scene from Looper. The movie was one of the first major Hollywood films to be granted Chinese co-production status.

Summer Qing (left) and Bruce Willis in a still from Looper.

Emily Blunt in a still from Looper.

Director Rian Johnson (left) speaks to Gordon-Levitt on the set of Looper.

US-China co-production Transformers: Age of Extinction, with its Hong Kong scenes and Chinese character, made more money in China than in the US

Mark Wahlberg in a still fromTransformers: Age of Extinction.  

Optimus Prime and a Dinobot in a still from Transformers: Age of Extinction. The fourth instalment in the Transformers series took more money at the Chinese box office than in the US.

 Mark Wahlberg at the world premiere of Transformers: Age of Extinction, at the Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, in 2014. Photo: Felix Wong

Stanley Tucci and Li Bingbing in a still from Transformers: Age of Extinction.

A model of the Transformers character Bumblebee in front of Qianmen Gate in central Beijing in 2014. Photo: Jason Lee/Reuters

Why China – not Jackie Chan, nor even Jaden Smith – is the real star of 2010 co-production The Karate Kid

Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith in a still from The Karate Kid (2010).

Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, co-stars of The Karate Kid. The real star of the 2010 co-production is arguably China, where the film was shot in locations including the Forbidden City, Great Wall and Wudang mountains. Photo: AP

Jaden Smith in a still from The Karate Kid.

Jackie Chan as Mr. Han and Jaden Smith as Dre Parker in a still from The Karate Kid.

How Marvel’s Iron Man 3 tried but failed to please Chinese viewers, from Fan Bingbing’s pointless cameo to brazen product placement

Robert Downey Jr. in a still from Marvel’s Iron Man 3 (2013). A special cut of the movie made for Chinese audiences included four minutes of extra footage. 

Ben Kingsley plays a version of The Mandarin in Iron Man 3.

Fan Bingbing in a still from the Chinese version of Iron Man 3.

Performers at a promotional event before the release of Iron Man 3 in China. Photo: Reuters

Why Jackie Chan’s 2017 movie The Foreigner, a UK-China co-production, was that rare project to offer the best of both worlds

Jackie Chan in a still from The Foreigner. Photo: Christopher Raphael

Jackie Chan and Rory Fleck Byrne in a still from The Foreigner, directed by Martin Campbell. Photo: Christopher Raphael

Jackie Chan and Katie Leung in a still from The Foreigner. Photo: Christopher Raphael

Pierce Brosnan in a still from The Foreigner.

Jackie Chan (centre) at the China premiere screening of The Foreigner.

How The Last Emperor opened doors for more China co-productions and offered a balanced view of its complicated past

Tao Wu and Joan Chen in a still from The Last Emperor, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci.

John Lone as Puyi in a scene from Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor (1987). The film opened doors for future co-productions with China.

A still from The Last Emperor.

Film director Bernardo Bertolucci (right) in Beijing, in 1985, with The Last Emperor adviser Pujie, brother of Puyi, the last emperor of China’s Qing dynasty.

How Furious 7 left the competition behind in China, unlike most China-US co-productions

Paul Walker in a scene from Furious 7. When the China-US co-production was released in China in 2015, it broke just about every record going.

A still from Furious 7.

Director James Wan and Vin Diesel on the set of Furious 7.

How 2012 movie The Expendables 2 short-changed Chinese viewers and everyone else, too – but still made US$315 million

Sylvester Stallone in a still from The Expendables 2.

(From left:) Yu Nan, Terry Crews, Sylvester Stallone, Randy Couture and Dolph Lundgren in a still from The Expendables 2.

Jet Li in a still from The Expendables 2.

Arnold Schwarzenegger in a still from The Expendables 2.

Sylvester Stallone (left) and Yu Nan in a still from The Expendables 2.

How US-China co-production The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), co-starring Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh, buried a billion-dollar franchise

Jet Li in a still from The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

Jet Li as the vicious Han Emperor in a still from The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008).

Maria Bello (left) and Brendan Fraser in a still from The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

Luke Ford (left) and Isabella Leong in a still from The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

Michelle Yeoh in a still from The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

Despite starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li, The Forbidden Kingdom, a US-China co-production, ended up as ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon for kids’

Jet Li (left) and Jackie Chan in a still from The Forbidden Kingdom. Photo: Online


From left: Jackie Chan, Michael Angarano and Liu Yifei in a still from The Forbidden Kingdom (2008). Photo: SCMPost

Jet Li (left) and Jackie Chan in a still from The Forbidden Kingdom. Photo: Online

Jet Li (left) and Jackie Chan arrive for the world premiere of The Forbidden Kingdom in Beijing, China in 2008. Photo: AP

Jet Li and Liu Yifei in a still from The Forbidden Kingdom (2008).

Steven Spielberg’s China-set Empire of the Sun – the first American film to be shot in Shanghai since the 1940s – forgot one important element: the Chinese

Christian Bale (left) in a still from Empire of the Sun.

Christian Bale in a still from Empire of the Sun.

The crowded streets of Shanghai in a still from Empire of the Sun. Directed by Steven Spielberg.

A still from Empire of the Sun.

How The Dark Knight’s makers tried in vain to court China by shooting scenes for Christopher Nolan’s superhero masterpiece in Hong Kong

The Dark Night was partly filmed in Hong Kong.

Batman swoops over Hong Kong’s Central district in a scene from The Dark Knight, which failed to impress China despite its makers’ intentions. Photo: Warner Brothers

Christopher Nolan (right) on the set of The Dark Knight in Hong Kong.

Crowds mob Christian Bale during shooting in Hong Kong in 2007. Photo: SCMP

 Chin Han plays corrupt businessman Lau (right), with Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, in a still from The Dark Knight (2008).

Bad guys changed from Chinese to North Korean in Red Dawn remake at the height of Hollywood appeasing China in 2012 – but it still flopped

Chris Hemsworth in a still from Red Dawn (2012).

(From left) Josh Peck, Josh Hutcherson and Chris Hemsworth in a still from Red Dawn. Photo: Ron Phillips/2009 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios

‘North Korea’ in a still from Red Dawn.

Chris Hemsworth and cast in a still from Red Dawn.

Will Yun Lee in a still from Red Dawn.

Did China ruin actor Richard Gere’s career after 1997 film Red Corner?

FOR USE WITH FEATURE PACKAGE FOR SUNDAY NOV. 2 --Chinese actress Bai Ling begs Richard Gere not to run in a scene from the movie “Red Corner,” being released Friday, Oct. 31.  “Red Corner,” an account of an American executive framed for murder and railroaded by the Chinese judicial system, is one of five films being released that deal with Chinese oppression.  The fresh batch of China-related films is motivated by genuine concern about international human rights and the film business’ unique position to advocate for change. (AP Photo/Richard Foreman Jr., HO)

Richard Gere in the 1997 film Red Corner, which was highly critical of China. Photo: UPPA

Bai Ling (centre) in a still from Red Corner. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios

Richard Gere in a still from Red Corner. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios

Richard Gere (centre) and Bai Ling (right) in a still from Red Corner. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios

Is Dwayne Johnson action movie Skyscraper a blueprint for US-China co-production despite being a box-office flop in America?

Dwayne Johnson attends a Skyscraper press conference in Hong Kong. Photo: Sam Tsang

Dwayne Johnson (left) and Chin Han in a still from Skyscraper, a film which courted the Chinese market it wanted to break into with respect. 

Neve Campbell (left) and Dwayne Johnson in a still from Skyscraper.

Johnson with Chin Han (left) and Campbell (right) at the Skyscraper press conference in West Kowloon, Hong Kong. Photo: Sam Tsang

Dwayne Johnson in a still from Skyscraper.

Why this dragon didn’t roar: starring Sam Neill, first Chinese-Australian film co-production The Dragon Pearl was a flop

Sam Neill in a still from The Dragon Pearl.

A still from The Dragon Pearl (2011). In order to appease China and get approval for the film, the character of the dragon was changed and the script rewritten weeks before filming began. 

Li Linjin as Ling (left) and Jordan Chan as Wu Dong in a still from The Dragon Pearl.

Sam Neill as Chris Chase (left) and Robert Mammone as Philip Dukas in a still from The Dragon Pearl.

Louis Corbett and Li Linjin in a still from The Dragon Pearl.

Why Milla Jovovich movie Ultraviolet, a US film shot in China, went so horribly wrong

Milla Jovovich in a still from the 2006 movie Ultraviolet, a US-China co-production that rips off sci-fi standards such as Total Recall, The Matrix and Minority Report.

Milla Jovovich (left) and Cameron Bright in a still from Ultraviolet.

Milla Jovovich in a still from Ultraviolet.

(From left) Ultraviolet director Kurt Wimmer, Charles Wang of producer Salon Films, and John Tsang, then Hong Kong secretary of commerce, industry and technology, in 2004. Photo: SCMP

Why Brad Pitt was banned from China after 1997 movie Seven Years in Tibet

Brad Pitt as mountaineer Heinrich Harrer in a still from Seven Years in Tibet (1997), directed by Jean-Jacque Annaud. Photo: Columbia/Tristar Photo.

Brad Pitt in a still from Seven Years in Tibet (1997), directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud.

Seven Years in Tibet director Jean-Jacques Annaud (left) and star Brad Pitt (centre), and members of the Tibetan Association of Southern California, at the film’s premiere in Los Angeles on October 6, 1997. Photo: Reuters

Brad Pitt (right) as Heinrich Harrer receives a blessing from Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk as the Dalai Lama in a still from Seven Years in Tibet. Photo: Columbia/Tristar Photo

Brad Pitt (left) as Heinrich Harrer and David Thewlis as fellow Austrian mountaineer Peter Aufschnaiter in a still from Seven Years in Tibet. Photo: Columbia/Tristar Photo

Brad Pitt poses for a selfie with Chinese fans as he arrives at a premiere of the film Allied in Shanghai, China on November 14, 2016. Photo: AP

Was Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim, a US-Mexico co-production set in Hong Kong, really a show of Hollywood power?

A still from a scene in Hong Kong in Guillermo del Toro’s “Pacific Rim”. The film, inspired by Godzilla movies, was criticised by some in China for its geopolitical undertones, but the director argued that it was simply popcorn entertainment. Photo: Warner Bros

Charlie Hunnam (left) and Rinko Kikuchi in a still from “Pacific Rim”. Photo: Warner Bros

A still from “Pacific Rim”. Photo: Warner Bros

Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro signs posters from “Pacific Rim” in Los Angeles, California, in 2013. Photo: EPA/Michael Nelson

How US-China co-production The 355, starring Penélope Cruz, Jessica Chastain and Fan Bingbing, failed on all fronts

Jessica Chastain as Mason “Mace” Brown in a still from “The 355”, co-written and directed by Simon Kinberg.

(From left) Diane Kruger as Marie, Jessica Chastain as Mason “Mace” Brown and Lupita Nyong’o as Khadijah in a still from “The 355”, co-written and directed by Simon Kinberg. The US-China co-production, which also featured Fan Bingbing, was a box office flop.

How Chinese-American comedy 21 & Over became 2 movies, and why they’re both problematic

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Racist, sexist Hollywood comedy from The Hangover writers underwhelmed viewers. Extra scenes in a Chinese cut made it a different movie

Racist, sexist Hollywood comedy from The Hangover writers underwhelmed viewers. Extra scenes in a Chinese cut made it a different movie