Combination Platter

Combination Platter
Combination Platter
Directed by	Tony Chan
Screenplay by	Edwin Baker; Tony Chan;
Produced by	Tony Chan Mark Fuk Chan; Jenny Lee; Judy Moy; Ulla Zwicker;
Starring	Jeffrey Lau; Colleen O'Brien; Chit-Man Chan; Colin Mitchell; Kenneth Lu; Thomas K. Hsiung; Ellen Synn;
Production; company	Bluehorse Films
Running time	84 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$250,000

Combination Platter is a 1993 drama film directed by Tony Chan starring Jeffrey Lau, Colleen O'Brien, and Chit-Man Chan. It is Chan’s directorial debut from a screenplay he co-wrote with Edwin Baker.

The film centers on Robert, a young Chinese undocumented immigrant living in Flushing, Queens, and his attempt to gain legal status as a U.S. citizen through a marriage of convenience. It premiered at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize for Chan and won a Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for Chan and Baker.

Plot

The film details the difficulties faced by Robert, young undocumented immigrant who works at a low-paying job in a Sichuan restaurant in the Queens neighborhood of Flushing. Seeking to obtain U.S. citizenship, Robert is told that a possible solution is to marry an American woman. Though he is initially hesitant towards the idea, he resolves to find someone who will marry him for a green card. In the meantime, Robert sends money to his parents back home in Hong Kong, along with letters which falsely portray a positive portrait of his life in America. One of Robert’s fellow waiters, Sam, is in major debt, which prompts him to pocket communal tips. A pair of regular customers at the restaurant, a young white man and his Asian-American girlfriend, make an impression on Robert.

Robert’s sympathetic boss Mr. Lee thinks business is too slow to create tax penalties for sponsoring Robert, and if he were to do so, it would take Robert about five years to get his green card. Robert also lets his street-smart friend Andy set him up with a shy white woman named Claire. However, Robert comes to realize he and Claire have hardly anything in common with each other. He ends up confessing to her that the real reason he is with her is to avail himself of a green card, which angers her and results in her breaking up with him. At work, Robert confronts Sam about his theft, which leads to Sam’s firing. Later, Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids the restaurant, and Robert narrowly avoids capture by hiding in the walk-in freezer. After this incident, Robert returns to work. With his plight still undetermined, he observes the couple he admires as the young white man proposes to his girlfriend.

Cast

Jeffrey Lau as Robert
Colleen O' Brien as Claire
Chit-Man Chan as Sam
Colin Mitchell as Benny
Kenneth Lau as Andy
Thomas K. Hsiung as Mr. Lee
Ellen Synn as Jennie
Nathaniel Geng as Glasshead
Jia Fu Liu as Dishwasher
Peter Kwong as Stanley
Eleonora Kihlberg as Noriko
James Dumont as James

Production

The film was shot at Flushing Meadows Park and at Rego Park, Queens over a period of 24 days.^[1]^[2] The restaurant in the film is owned by the real-life parents of the film’s director, Tony Chan.^[1] The young Hong Kong-born producer spent a year editing the footage in the kitchen of his family's Long Island home.^[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
TV Guide	^[1]

Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Few films explore so thoroughly the role of cultural identity in creating unconscious racism--and with such a subtle, light touch."^[3] David Mills of The Washington Post commended director Tony Chan for breaking through the monolithic view white people so often have of Chinese people.^[4]

TV Guide voiced a similar sentiment, stating, "Chan's film confronts racial stereotyping by telling the stories of those too often excluded from the table of mass culture",^[1] adding, "Combination Platter presents some New York neighborhoods rarely shown in films or on TV and Chan utilizes his limited locations with aplomb."^[1]

Praise was also given to the film’s actors. Mills of The Post wrote, "As portrayed by stockbroker and amateur actor Jeff Lau, Robert is decent and earnest and instantly likable. Even so, by the movie's climax -- a raid by immigration officials -- it may surprise you to realize how much you care about him."^[4] Mills added, "Chan surrounds Robert with an interesting mix of characters...street-smart buddy Andy, who is helping him find a wife, seems especially hip when he's speaking in New Yawk-inflected English. Lester 'Chit-Man' Chan brings scowling authenticity to the part of Sam, the grumpy waiter who likes to insult his American customers in Chinese, right in front of their faces."^[4]^[1] Emanuel Levy of Variety also gave a positive review, commenting, "Though serious, the film is not devoid of comic touches or even action."^[2]

In addition, the film was praised for its multi-layered depiction of various cultural divides within the Chinese community, such as those "between immigrants and "ABCs" (American-born Chinese), [and] those who speak Cantonese and those who speak Mandarin".^[4] Kevin Thomas also acknowledged these barriers, while pointing out "the owner's...American-born niece Jennie (Ellen Synn), the restaurant's cashier…knows neither [the Cantonese or Mandarin dialect]--and eats Chinese food with a fork instead of chopsticks".^[3] Thomas wrote "Jennie's unfamiliarity with her ancestral language puts her in a situation similar to that of the restaurant's only white employee (Colin Mitchell), who's razzed by his friends for working in a Chinese restaurant in the first place."^[3]

Year-end lists

Honorable mention – Duane Dudek, Milwaukee Sentinel^[5]

Awards and nominations

Year	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
1993 Sundance Film Festival	Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award	Tony Chan and Edwin Baker	Won	^[6]
1993 Sundance Film Festival	Grand Jury Prize (dramatic)	Tony Chan	Nominated	^[6]
9th Independent Spirit Awards	Best First Feature	Tony Chan and Judy Moy (producer)	Nominated	^[7]
9th Independent Spirit Awards	Best Screenplay	Edwin Baker and Tony Chan	Nominated	^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Combination Platter reviews". TV Guide. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
^ ^a ^b Levy, Emanuel (February 9, 1993). "Combination Platter". Variety. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c Thomas, Kevin (February 16, 1994). "MOVIE REVIEW : A Bittersweet 'Combination Platter'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 8, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Mills, David (January 21, 1994). "'Combination Platter'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 11, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
^ Dudek, Duane (December 30, 1994). "1994 was a year of slim pickings". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 3.
^ "Sundance Film Festival 1993". history.sundance.org. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
^ Fox, David J. (January 14, 1994). "'Banquet,' 'Ruby' Lead '93 Spirit Nominees". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2022.

External links

[tvguide-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Combination Platter reviews". TV Guide. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2016.

[:0-2] Levy, Emanuel (February 9, 1993). "Combination Platter". Variety. Retrieved April 12, 2022.

[:1-3] Thomas, Kevin (February 16, 1994). "MOVIE REVIEW : A Bittersweet 'Combination Platter'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 8, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2016.

[:2-4] Mills, David (January 21, 1994). "'Combination Platter'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 11, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2022.

[5] Dudek, Duane (December 30, 1994). "1994 was a year of slim pickings". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 3.

[6] "Sundance Film Festival 1993". history.sundance.org. Retrieved September 27, 2022.

[7] Fox, David J. (January 14, 1994). "'Banquet,' 'Ruby' Lead '93 Spirit Nominees". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2022.

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