Randall Park, beloved TV dad and everyone’s favorite Marvel sidekick, makes his feature film directorial debut with Shortcomings. Based on Adrian Tomine’s graphic novel with a screenplay by Tomine himself, the movie had its successful premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Not quite a rom-com and more a coming-of-age for grown adults, Shortcomings sees its protagonist Ben fall apart after his relationship ends and he examines his own treatment of gender and race.
The Umbrella Academy darling Justin H. Min plays Ben Tanaka, an aspiring filmmaker whose flagging arthouse movie theater gig keeps him distracted from his screenwriting aspirations. He consistently degrades his gorgeous girlfriend, Miko (Ally Maki) in favor of white women until she grows tired and moves across the country for a stellar internship. It is at this point when Ben realizes he might need to make a few changes, with the help of his wisecracking best friend Alice (Sherry Cola, Good Trouble). But not before he tries dating a couple of white women first, of course.
Screen Rant caught up with the cast and director of Shortcomings while at the Sundance Film Festival last month, where they discussed how they approached the flaws of all the characters and why they were all so eager to join a film helmed by Randall Park.
Cast & Director on Shortcomings at Sundance
Ben is full of shortcomings, but Justin has none. What was the marriage like?
Randall Park: The marriage was finding an actor that could pull off a very difficult character to play. Because, yes, he is a complicated person. And you’re following him throughout the movie. Will you want to sit with this person who’s so opinionated? Who’s so rude and angry? We found Justin Min, who is able to bring so much depth to him that you almost understand where he’s coming from just by his performance.
There’s a deep well of pain and sadness and humanity, and you get where it comes from. Because of that, he’s so watchable. And I wouldn’t say he’s the only complicated one. Everyone in this movie is flawed, and the entire cast is all so skilled and just remarkable at what they do. They put a lot into it.
Screen Rant: I can’t imagine anyone disliking you, so how do you pull off a role like Ben?
Justin H. Min: First of all, I appreciate that. There’s a lot of people who dislike me; ask my parents. But I actually think that’s maybe one of the reasons why Randall cast me. He told me very early on that I was able to say some of these horrible things with a smile, which gave him a bit of a likeability.
Ultimately, we have a little Ben in all of us. I think we’re all a little broken inside; we all have insecurities that somehow manifest themselves in saying the wrong things or saying them in particular ways. I think he’s a very relatable person.
You have many Bens inside you. What can you say about which one we’ll see in the final season of The Umbrella Academy?
Justin H. Min: You’ll have to see. I feel like they’re always listening, so I can’t give away any spoilers. But what I can say is, literally tomorrow after all the festivities, I’m heading straight to Toronto to begin filming.
Thank you so much for always supporting our show. You guys always have written nice things about Umbrella Academy, so thanks so much.
Screen Rant: How did you join Shortcomings and what spoke to you about it?
Sherry Cola: Randall and I have known each other for a few years now, and I’ve been a fan of his for even longer. So, when he told me that there was a role in this film that he was thinking of before, “I was so flattered, so touched, and so enthusiastic about it.” I read the script, and I did my due diligence. I took a self-tape, we had the chemistry read with Justin, and all that stuff. Cut to: you book it, you’re filming it, you wrap it, and we get it to Sundance. It’s such a sweet moment, you know? Look at this guy. That guy deserves the world!
How did you first get involved with Shortcomings?
Ally Maki: Actually, I ran into Hieu Ho, who is Randall’s producing partner. We’ve been friends for over 10 years, and he’s like, “Ally, I’ve got to talk to you about a project.” We ended up Zooming months later, and he’s like, “Finally! I’ve got to tell you about this.” He told me about Adrian’s novel, he told me about the role. First of all, I couldn’t believe that this kind of movie existed, but also that my friends were making this. It was just a dream come true.
Ben is full of shortcomings, as the title implies, but Justin is so charming. What was he like as a scene partner?
Ally Maki: The minute I met Justin, I felt like I just knew him through and through. He’s the only one in the world that I think could play Ben the way that he has. He’s absolutely phenomenal. He’s so grounded, but he views everything with such emotion and depth. He made everybody’s job easy. He was wonderful.
Screen Rant: What was the collaboration with Randall Park like, seeing as it’s his directorial debut?
Debbie Ryan: Randall was very thoughtful. He’s been wanting to get this made for a long time, and you could feel that and sense that. But at the same time, he really directed with a light touch, honored the source material, and honored what the actors are bringing collaboratively. He really [heard] my more conversational, inquisitive process and was just thoughtful about what we created.
What was your most memorable experience during Shortcomings?
Debbie Ryan: I would say doing a company move towards the end of the shoot from New York to San Francisco Bay Area. It was a really nice bonding summer camp experience for everyone to have just created this thing, which is usually married to a location and have it so informed by New York, but also come together to San Francisco and see each other there.
How would you describe your role in Shortcomings?
Timothy Simons: I play Leon, whom we come to find out is the new boyfriend of Ally’s character.
Would you say she traded up?
Timothy Simons: I think so. Because ultimately, if you look at it from [Ben]’s point of view, he is just awful. But once you actually get to meet him, you’re like, “No, he’s caring and smart; he loves and supports her. He’s kind of doing all the things that Justin[‘s character] doesn’t, even though Justin paints him as a hateful person.
What do you hope audiences take away from this film?
Timothy Simons: Honestly, what I want everybody to take away from this is to go back to seeing movies in the theater. It’s an underrated communal experience. I came out of the theater, and that’s very much a community experience, but I’ve been going to see movies in theaters since I was a kid. I’m glad that people are excited to get back in. It feels like there’s an appetite for it again. Everybody was predicting the death of theatrical movies, and it feels like that opinion was short-lived.
Shortcomings premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on January 22. The film is 92 minutes long and is rated PG-13.