'21' got a 31% on rotten.

and it bothers me that this review, http://www.mountainx.com/movies/review/21_movie, keeps on using the word nerd.

"Considering the source book turned the real-life Asian Jeffrey Ma (who has a cameo in the film) into the Anglicized Kevin Lewis, it’s perhaps excusable that he is further transformed for the movie from Kevin Lewis into Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess, Across the Universe). Whether that also explains why the movie ups the character sympathy is another matter. In the film, Ben is a poor boy just wanting to get enough money to go to Harvard Medical School, who ends up veering off onto the wrong path when success and money go to his head. (This sets up a painfully obvious plot device that my colleague Justin Souther pegged in the first reel.) All this results in a lot of attractive people standing in for real-life nerds, and a plot that knows all the clichés and isn’t afraid to use them."

i think real life nerds are attractive.

where is the article from, Alvin?

"I personally think America is willing to see Asian American male faces, and it is a shame that these studio executives give Americans such little credit."

We shall see..on the morning of November 5, 2008.

What happens on Nov 5, 2008? Are you talking about elections?

i think he is. yes. referring to whether or not obama will win. unless there's an asian american male running for president somewhere out there that i don't know about...

I just don't think the real guys, including Jeff Ma, and Mike Aponte whome I happen to know, are all worked up about this whole Asian vs. White vs. whoever thing. Just look at Mike's partner Dave Irvine - a "white" guy -- c'mon what difference does it really make? It's like, can't we all just work together and sort of get around what Hollywood does or doesn't do?

Look at Dave and Mike working together on their blackjack virtual training site - I mean, does it look like it matters to them that one is Asian and one Caucasian?

Nope, it doesn't matter. The whole thing is fictionalized and Hollywood-ized anyway. It's not even close to the real story. So why worry about race ?

- J. Fong

can't we all just get along? ah yes. the good old sentiment.

it's not that we are "worrying" about race. it's just pointing out that time after time, hollywood has blatantly chosen to want to have asian americans on screen because it won't "sell" or it won't be "realistic" because the rest of america won't relate to it.

we've seen some changes lately due to harold and kumar and whatever else we see out there with random asian americans here and there (dan in real life, anyone?), but bottomline is, we're pointing out that for hollywood to accept any sort of "normal" asians on screen is beyond hard. look at all the re-makes. it's not just enough that these films are pure works of genius (the departed, my sassy girl) in themselves. they have to be re-made, for the "american" audience. and who are they, to be exact?

so what does that mean for the rest of the millions of asian americans living in the states if what we see on the big screen is supposed to be realistic? everything funnels down my friend. representation. shouldn't we get a say in how we choose to be represented? wouldn't you be pretty pissed if this happened to you, let's say if you wrote this amazing story about yourself, and some guy came along and decided to change that person so he's 180% not like you at all?