GOOK (2017) - An unsubtle drama for unsubtle times

Gook is a 2017 drama written and directed by Justin Chon, starring Justin Chon and David So (of DavidSoComedy on YouTube) as two Korean-American brothers running their late father's shoe store in 1992 L.A. The film follows the two with their unusual friendship with Kamilla, an 11 year-old black girl played by Simone Baker on the first day of the Los Angeles Rodney King riots. The movie sees the unlikely trio dealing with racial tensions, attacks, and robberies, all as they struggle to live their lives in a world that doesn't care.

I went into this movie with mixed expectations. Being a fan of David So, I had heard a lot about and was somewhat following the movie's production, and it's extremely refreshing to see a movie that centers around regular Asian Americans living in everyday America. Not only that, but the context of Korean Americans living in the L.A. riots was a pretty unique concept and it could prove to be a surprisingly strong and emotional movie. After all, I had no expectations going into Straight Outta Compton, and that movie made me feel all kinds of emotions. However, this was Justin Chon's first movie, all with basically no-name actors, and that usually paves the way for a "pretty okay" movie at best.

Which is essentially what this movie amounts to. Gook is original for sure, and it's a great step forward for Asian and other POC actors in Hollywood. For a first-time directorial position, Chon doesn't do such a bad job. But the plot is a bit on the dull side, the pacing is rather off, and the characters seem almost completely one-dimensional for most of the movie. Justin Chon is stressed out to the point of desperation, with his own redeeming quality being his brotherly relationship to Kamilla. David So is a bit of a caged spirit who wants to be an R&B singer but is stuck in the monotony of his daily life. Kamilla is barely a character, and seems to act more as the embodiment of purity and innocence--ironic considering her constant cussing, but hey it's a black girl in early-90's L.A. so what can you do? Probably the most egregious is Keith, Kamilla's brother who is characterized by "being evil". And sure, you could argue that he represents the type of person that his environment creates, it doesn't help when he is given no redeeming or humanizing qualities other than the last few minutes of his screentime.

The only person who truly stands out is Mr. Kim, an elderly Korean man who owns the liquor store down the street. Played pretty well by Justin Chon's father, Mr. Kim is the only character who has dimensions to him. A man who once saw America as the land of hopes and dreams, he's since become jaded by the environment around him, constantly hiding behind a thick, bullet-proof glass barrier and literally shielding himself from the world and people around him. But as the film progresses, we see little cracks in his façade, little snippets of the kind, benevolent, friendly man who used to see the world with the same innocence of Kamilla. Mr. Kim feels real, he feels lived-in; he feels like the exact type of character that should be plenty in spades in a drama like this, which makes it just too bad that no other character could have been written with the same type of care.

The characters are at the heart of this story, and it's disappointing that none of them--besides Mr. Kim--are really all that interesting. The two brothers' relationship with Kamilla is heartwarming and believable, but nothing else really is. I don't buy that these are two brothers at all, and while it's understandable that they wouldn't like each other, they don't exhibit any of the complex feelings that comes with hating a person who is your family.

And ultimately the ending, which tries so hard to be emotional, feels forced and fake. It's a big event with Kamilla at the centerpiece and is meant to really humanize all the characters while propelling them forward in their character arcs, but because she's more of a plot device and a metaphor than an actual character, I really felt nothing. I wish I would've had more of a reaction, since I did kind of like her character and Simone Baker is actually a pretty good actress for her age, but ultimately I just kind of rolled my eyes a bit and moved on.

Final Verdict

Gook isn't bad; it just fell a bit flat for me. It's an important movie, not because it's all that good but because it's a part of this period in which actors of Asian descent are slowly able to have a bigger presence in the movie and TV industry. Fresh off the Boat isn't an amazing show, but it's great to see a sitcom featuring an Asian family; Rose Tico isn't an amazing character, but she's an Asian main character in a Star Wars movie. These are baby steps, but they're important, and that's ultimately the best thing Gook stands for. It's a pretty unsubtle movie, but early 90's L.A. was a pretty unsubtle time, and while the movie never really gets interesting, it does succeed in shedding light on a previously overlooked angle in American culture. And ultimately, it was Justin Chon's first ever directed movie, and I'm still looking forward to see his next work.

Gook premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and was released in select theaters on August 18, 2017. It can currently be streamed on Netflix.

Score: C-