Shortcomings is another random movie I found under the romance category on Netflix. This movie made me wished I planned the movies I watch more.

Ben (Justin H. Min) is a manager at a failing movie theater. He is unhappy with his life, including his relationship with Miko (Ally Maki). When Miko moves to New York City for a three-month internship and his best friend, Alice (Sherry Cola), goes to New York City for a new girlfriend, Ben doesn’t know what to do with himself. Thinking that white women are the ideal, he tries to date one of his employees, Autumn (Tavi Gevinson). When that fails, he tries to date Sasha (Debby Ryan). When that also fails, he follows Miko and Alice to New York City, only to find that they have both found better lives there.

So…I think I know what the movie was trying to say. I think it was mostly about internal hatred and racism and how that effects your relationship with others. Because if that isn’t what this was about, Ben is a complete and total asshole. I mean, he’s a jerk either way but if he hates himself so much, it is a little more understandable. Unfortunately, we don’t really get any internal dialogue from him. All we have to go on are his actions, which, in case you haven’t gotten it yet, all suck. He is a terrible person.

However, you can have a good movie with a terrible lead character. It isn’t unheard of. But I’m not sure this is a good movie. It’s not a bad movie. It just feels like it’s missing something. If we knew a little more about what was happening inside Ben’s head, it might give us a little more insight as to why he is so awful to people he’s supposed to love. I understand that this movie is aimed at an Asian American audience. I am not their target audience. And maybe that is why I feel so confused about Ben’s intentions.

Rating: B-