Long Life, Happiness and Prosperity (2002)

Pretty Good

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Who says that a Korean actress cannot portray a Chinese character? Granted it's not a perfect movie, I was deeply moved by the human elements so true to the Chinese Community in North America.I do agree with Frank L. though that little of the superstition exists in Chinese culture these days, but i respectfully disagree that this film would create "new stereotypes unheard of before".After all, it's just 90 minutes of good entertainment. As a Chinese American/Canadian living far away from China Town, it opens a window for me to other Chinese's lives, and to better appreciate what i have as well as what I don't have.Didn't know that Sandra O. & Russell Y. are from Canada! Best wishes to them both on their continued success on the big screen or small:)

I feel this movie was great for a number of reasons. The lead character was charming, earnest, and while not a seasoned actress he had a strong grasp of her role that brought immediate sympathy.The story was outrageous, but it's about magic. Of course it's outrageous. The fact that the magic is self-taught from a do-it-yourself-spells-and-charms book just makes it feel fresh, with a Gilbert-and-Sullivan style story twist to boot.My only criticism is that this would be a perfect movie for kids but for some side stories that deal with serious issues like parental estrangement and suicide.

A sweet but slight portrait of Chinese-Canadian community outside Vancouver, Long Life, Happiness and Prosperity benefits from two wonderful leads — Sandra Oh and Valerie Tian – but comes out a bit short everywhere else. Oh (who is really Korean-Canadian, but who's counting) plays the harried single mother of Mindy (Tian), an adorably geeky twelve year-old. Mindy is desperate to fix her mom up with an eligible bachelor (Russell Yuen) who works with her at a Chinese restaurant, and turns to Chinese traditional medicine and Taoist magic. In the meantime, other members of the community struggle with family strife, economic hardship, and conflicting values. Only the romantic mother-daughter story, and a story about a son who turns to religion rather than working in the family butcher shop, are really interesting. The rest is kind of a muddle — interesting in its way, but failing to contribute to the plot.Because of Sandra Oh's recent high-profile appearances in Sideways and Grey's Anatomy this might get improved distribution on DVD. I got it through the filmmovement.com series.

This movie is quite charming and humourous. The Chinese Canadian characters are incredibly superstitious to the point of being a bit over the top. I wonder if they are like that in real life, or whether it wasn't deliberately exagerrated. I live with many Chinese, but feel I don't understand them.There was a family in the film that spanned three generations. The father was anticipating a visit from the grandfather and was pushing his own son to be up to snuff. The son rebels by becoming a Bhuddhist monk and the grandfather writes that he disowned the son 20 years ago. However it wasn't clear to me why there was a split between first and second generations in the first place.If you are interested in cross-cultural issues, this is a good movie to go to.