With her feature debut, director Sasie Sealy may not reinvent the crime genre altogether, but certainly opens the door for previously unheard voices – and I for one can’t wait to see who comes charging in next. With its surly and unconventional chain-smoking protagonist, Lucky Grandma uses convention against itself to create a colorful world of gangster, goons, and unflinching grandparents in New York’s Chinatown. In addition, once one looks past its comedic facade, Lucky Grandma has a lot to say about fate, tradition, and family that are both a celebration of Chinese culture and a critique of American views on generational responsibility.
With her savings withdrawn from the bank and passage booked on a chartered bus trip for elderly Chinese immigrants, “Grandma” (the phenomenally defiant Tsai Chin) heads to Atlantic City on vague advice from a fortune teller. Today, the card reader foretells, is her lucky day. And it is for a time, until one too many bets breaks her streak and she’s left with nothing. But, a chance encounter on the bus ride home changes things, as the man seated next to her unexpectedly dies, leaving a satchel full of money behind. It seems it was Grandma’s lucky day after all – at least until rival Chinese gangs lay claim to the missing money and come after her to collect it.
From there, we learn bits and pieces about Grandma, her life, and the climate in which she lives. She might be stubborn and old-fashioned, but she’s also surprisingly caring and spry. Grandma doesn’t take any shit, but also knows when enough is enough. Interestingly, her reluctance to give up the money isn’t rooted in greed, but rather in the collection of a debt never paid. Grandma and her late husband were never rewarded for their years of uncomplaining toil – as was promised by the American dream. In logic that’s sympathetic and hard to argue, she sees the found money as a payment for services rendered, and since the hoods chasing her “never worked a day in their life,” she feels she deserves it much more than they do. As the film gains steam, it’s clear that Grandma’s luck comes with a price, but with enough gumption, the right friends, and unbreakable bonds that go beyond family, everyone winds up exactly where they should be – for better or worse.
Throughout, Lucky Grandma sticks to its slick, stylized, slightly dark, and “American” genre roots, but its story is one that can only be truly told by immigrants and their children. Disillusionment gives way to optimism, and back again, as Grandma struggles with the possible futility of her existence within the American experience. And with nary a white face to be seen, the insulated Chinatown setting seems like a foreign land, even though it sits right in the center of our largest city. This island isolation creates both a dreamlike atmosphere and a dour one, and elevates Lucky Grandma from a film about Chinese criminals to one about Chinese-Americans living in the margins. The difference may be subtle but remains important nonetheless. Further, Lucky Grandma isn’t a film about crime or poverty, but a film about working-class, displaced peoples and communities that are affected by these issues and are forced to fend for themselves.
Sealy misses a few opportunities and the film may suffer from some pacing issues, but Lucky Grandma is a wonderful debut. These kinds of stories – ones that take place in the U.S, are recognizably American, yet are strongly rooted in immigrant philosophies and outlooks – are gaining steam with audiences. The movie business is finally allowing its voices to diversify, and with luck and enough steadfast resolve, unique films like Lucky Grandma won’t be relegated to the margins any longer.
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James is a writer, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.