Slanted
One of the first things Joan Huang (Kristen Cui) saw arriving in the U.S. as a child was a wall mural advertising American Burgers being enjoyed by two blondes. She was greeted on her first day at school as 'all the way from China' by her teacher, a young seatmate slanting his eyes with his fingers at her. The girls she sat with at lunchtime fled in disgust when she opened the meal her mom had prepared for her. Ten years later, Joan (Shirley Chen, "Didi") wants nothing more than to be her school's prom queen, but will learn major life lessons when she denies her heritage to achieve it in "Slanted."
Laura's Review: B
Writer/director Amy Wang's feature directorial debut was inspired by the 2021 Atlanta massage parlor shootings, which brought back a racist incident the filmmaker endured as a child. The film crosses the generational conflicts facing immigrant families found in such films as Neon's 2023 horror outing "It Lives Inside" with The Twilight Zone's 'Number 12 Looks Just Like You' and a dash of "Mean Girls" to explore racial inequality in America.
We can see the American dream starts at the bottom for the Huang family when little Joan runs to her dad after school at his job as a high school janitor, lying about all the friends she made that day to please him. She wanders upstairs just in time to see the prom queen crowned, the moment so special it becomes Joan's goal in life. Fast forward ten years later and Joan's selling her mom's lunches to her best friend Brindha (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, "Freakier Friday"), who creates a campaign poster for Joan's prom queen quest even though she thinks it absurd. But when those posters are defaced, Joan takes her first step towards becoming what she views as the ideal, dying her hair blonde to the surprise of her dad Roger (Fang Du), who declares it 'very rock 'n roll,' and the horror of her more traditional mom Sophia (Vivian Wu, "Dead Pigs," HBO's 'Irma Vep'). The very next day, Joan's tapped from behind by cool girl Olivia Hammond (Amelie Zilber, TV's 'Grown-ish'), whose exit from the race due to the demands of a TV show she's been cast in has everyone clamoring for her endorsement. It turns out to be a case of mistaken identity, but Olivia admires Joan's hair and invites her to come along after school with her entourage Cat (Callie McClincy) and Greta (Sarah Kopkin) to get her nails done. Joan jumps at the chance after having promised to make dumplings with her mom that afternoon for the Lunar New Year.
She'll regret it when she discovers she was asked so she could speak Mandarin to the shop owner to try and procure the group a discount and Olivia recoils from her black roots during a goodbye hug, but as Joan walks away, she notes the name Ethnos, a company that's been texting her, in the window of a papered over barber shop and walks in, only to be led to a spa in the back where Dr. Singer (R. Keith Harris, "A Walk in the Woods") explains a painless process that will turn her into a white woman with the features she desires, offering a free hair transplant ('no more black roots!') as an incentive. Joan tricks her mother into signing the underage consent form, returning home to parents who try to throw the 'stranger' (Mckenna Grace, "Gifted," "Scream 7") out of their house until she spouts family secrets and sings in Mandarin. In school, Joan is a 'new girl' all over again, redubbing herself Jo Hunt, immediately snagging Joan's crush Nash (Nicholas Myers) and sliding right into Olivia's set. The cost of fitting in will be her father's job and a public denial of her best friend.
Wang creates the brutal social hierarchies of high school, leavening with humorous teenaged behavior (calling a friend, Joan receives the message 'hang up and text me you weirdo') and their current trends (Olivia 'interviews' a teacher with a ring light attached to her phone). She and her cinematographer Ed Wu also create nightmare and fantasy sequences, one involving Joan named prom queen lugging her father's cleaning implements on stage before a horrified audience, a red filtered homage to "Carrie." Wang also throws in a surprise twist when Jo's face begins to melt at a very inopportune time. And the racism Joan is subjected to is also reflected in her home town's adults, her dad's boss Harmony (Elaine Hendrix, "Freakier Friday") a hypocritical virtue signaler. But what really makes "Slanted" special is the Huang family's closeness and the way Wang has balanced parental perspectives on their daughter's rash choices. I challenge you not to get choked up when dad tells Jo 'I became my own American and you will become your own American too."
Robin's Review: B-
Joan Huang (Shirley Chen), a Chinese-American high schooler, is overwhelmed by the “white” world she lives in, She is pressed by a company, Ethnos, to take advantage of their “once-in-a-lifetime” offer to become the white girl prom queen of her dreams in “Slanted.”
If the Right had its way, America would be a “whites only” country. That is kind of the underlying vibe that permeates “Slanted,” the coming of age story of a Chinese-American girl who just wants to become white. She has dreamed of being a prom queen when just a little girl. But, she knows that being “Chinese” is a stigma that will ruin that dream.
If Joan is to achieve her goal, she will need help. Enter Ethnos Corporation and their advertising that promises to change her life with their “ethnic modification surgery.” Intrigued by what they can offer her, she visits the tunnel-like offices of the company. There, she is greeted by Dr. Singer who promises to change her life with the surgery. It does, but not the way Joan expected.
Writer-director Amy Wang is none too subtle with her treatise on the pervasiveness of “white privilege” in its domination of America. (Keep in mind that just shy of 50% of the America population does not happen to be white.) The constant reminders of that privilege are everywhere, like the gallery where all of the past prom queen pictures are on display – they are all blonde and white.
The main cast is not extensive but well played with Vivien Wu and Fang Du giving depth and character to Joan’s mom and dad. Amelie Zilber as mean girl Olivia, who dictates who the next prom queen will be, breaks stereotype with an important secret. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, as Brindha, does a good job as Joan’s BFF of color and represents Joan’s non-white friends. Kudos to McKenna Grace and I will leave it at that.
As a White Anglo-Saxon atheist, I have been aware that, no matter what others say, being white has always given me de facto privilege. As I matured into an actual human being, I knew that this privilege is not earned, as it should be. Amy Wang examines this and does not show it in a good light.
Another lesson the film also puts forth is “be careful of what you wish for.” Food for thought in our brave new world.
Bleecker Street releases "Slanted" in theaters on 3/13/26.
