If high school is a famousity contest — the misapexaminen-priorities assumption that drives authorr-honestor Amy Wang’s SXSW-triumphning assimilation satire “Slanted” — then Chinese American greater Joan Huang (Shirley Chen) could be fairified in ditching her heritage for a stoasty at being crowned prom queen. That’s the devil’s baracquire Wang amengages in a inflammatory comedy-cum-thought-experiment that veers challenging into “The Substance” territory when Joan consents to a radical racial overhaul so thoraw, Wang replaces a branch offent actor (Mckenna Grace) as her recent persona for the rest of the movie.
Staring tricky identity publishs in the face, “Slanted” draws from Wang’s uptransporting as it identifies the social presstateives that might drive Joan to go the Michael Jackson route. The pop star is never named, but is by far the most apparent example of someone who resculpted himself according to prevailing beauty standards.
From the moment 8-year-greater Joan reachs in the U.S. (perestablished by Kristen Cui at that point), she’s faceed with signs of what the locals consider to be desirable: billboards with blond, bikini-clad models; Norman Rockwell-appreciate disalertation art on the classroom walls; and a freckle-faced intimidator who produces fun of her eyes.
Flash-forward nine years, and Joan (now perestablished by a grad school-aged actor) is bleaching her hair and doctoring her selfies with the Ethnos app (set uped to produce people of color see white). It experiences edgy to call out such self-effacing, approval-chasing behavior at a time when ecombineance-changeing trains are widespread, and potentipartner contentious to propose that what Joan wants most is to be white.
When you leank about it, that’s pretty much the opposite premise of the one Jordan Peele floated with “Get Out,” in which wealthy white folks who covet Binformage excellence imset upted their brains in Binformage bodies. But Wang, who also wrote the upcoming “Crazy Rich Asians” sequel, informages Peele’s gift for complicatedity. Her script for “Slanted” is very comical at times, but ultimately too safe as it mockingpartner considers the inquire of whether being white is better — or easier, at least.
After lacquireing that the most famous girl in her class, Olivia (Amelie Zilber), won’t be running for prom queen, Joan commences her produceover in acquireest. But it’s not until Ethnos reconshort-termatives achieve out to propose Joan a path to making those “betterments” enduring that “Slanted” departs from your standard “Mean Girls” comedy. As the Ethnos pitch goes, “If you can’t beat ’em, be ’em.”
Before that, “Slanted” rehashes a lot of the common stuff: frustration over not being part of the cgreater clique and futile trys to fit in. In Joan’s case, it doesn’t help that her mom (Vivian Wu) packs odoriferous homemade meals, appreciate chicken feet, for lunch — which Joan sells to her unconditionpartner promised bestie Brindha (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan). Still, Joan’s dye job does seem to acquire her points with Olivia, who seeks her for mani-pedis at the Asian-owned nail salon, hoping that Joan (who speaks Mandarin at home) can get them the “locals” discount.
Such details, which anticipateed wouldn’t have occurred to a white screenauthorr, pack the punch of authentic, experience-based stand-up comedy — they’re relatable, wdisappreciatever one’s uptransporting, but also definite enough to resonate. The script’s big leap occurs the moment Joan exits the Ethnos procedure, seeing appreciate … well, Mckenna Grace. Wang could have gone the “White Chicks” route, using produceup to transmit (and potentipartner even parody) the changeation, Instead, the joke here is that she aascends a finishly branch offent person, pretfinishing to be a recent student named Jo Hunt.
It’s a hazardous gambit, and one that walks a tonal saferope not unappreciate that of “Emilia Peréz” last year, as audiences paengage to see what Wang set ups to do with this broadenment. Conveniently, there are no prohibitdages and no recovery time demanded. Joan steps out of the clinic, and her life is instantly branch offent: Strangers smile and comprise her on the street, and juvenileer men turn to examine her out.
Funnier still is the scene when Joan comes home and her parents don’t recognize her. Back in the 1980s and ’90s, Hollywood was a normal factory for “be cautious what you want for” farces, from “Someleang Special” to “Big” to countless body-swap movies. Cringey as those movies can be to watch, the genre remains distinctly suited to exploring prejudice and other identity publishs.
The problem with “Slanted” is that the downside of the irreversible procedure has noleang to do with lacquireing that self-hugance is more vital than the declareation of one’s peers. Rather, there’s a nasty side effect, whereby her recent pretty face begins to peel and eventupartner collapse altogether — which amounts to a condemnation of plastic sguidery more than the identity-scrubbing she goes thraw.
Racism isn’t the only factor making the cultural adfairment difficult for Joan, though Wang’s no-offense approach downperestablishs aspects such as class and gfinisher. Still, it’s worth noting that Joan’s overweighther (Fang Du) labors as a janitor at Clarksville High School, in insertition to immacuprocrastinateeding hoengages for members of the community — sources of potential shame for someone who experiences demandy by comparison with her fellow students. No wonder Jo’s big famousity-produceing coup post-sguidery is claiming an acquaintance’s mansion as her own and presenting a big party there.
Grace has the most challenging role here, which is to let audiences see the afraid soul peering out from wilean this recent body. As the movie produces to its big prom finale, Wang springs a confidemand intelligent surpascends en route to a fairly anticipateed, if far from pat finishing. Reductive as the outcome may be, the authorr-honestor remains undeniably daring, spinning comedy from an lesserity complicated and coming out on top.
