Asian-American feature films released in the US since the 1980s
In celebration to the August 2018 release of "Crazy Rich Asians", here is a list of feature films released in the past couple of decades that are Asian American. By "Asian American", I mean: features a mostly or significantly Asian American cast (not Asian nationals) and is set mostly in America (i.e., the story doesn't transpire in Asia … but I snuck in a Canada-set movie). I include South Asian Indians. Only feature-length movies released in cinemas (no TV series, no shorts, no documentaries, no streaming-only movies … though I made an exception for my wife’s wonderful short film!).
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- DirectorMina ShumStarsSandra OhStephen ChangClaudette CarracedoEast clashes with West and generations collide as a young Chinese woman struggles to appease her old-fashioned father, and at the same time pursue her modern dreams.
- DirectorWayne WangStarsLaureen ChewKim ChewVictor WongIn San Francisco, an immigrant widow welcomes the new year with some unhappiness: she's sixty-two now, she wants to make a trip to China to pay last respects to her ancestors, a fortune teller has told her this is the year she'll die, and a daughter, Geraldine, remains unmarried. Geraldine does have a boyfriend, but she's not sure she's ready for marriage, and, anyway, he lives in Los Angeles and Geraldine doesn't want to leave her mother alone in her declining years. Mrs. Tan's cheerful brother-in-law tries to help out. Is there any solution that will enable Mrs. Tan to hold onto her culturally influenced and deep-seated hopes, yet keep those hopes from suffocating Geraldine?
- DirectorWayne WangStarsWood MoyMarc HayashiLaureen ChewTwo cab drivers search San Francisco's Chinatown for the mysterious Chan, who disappeared with their $4000.
- DirectorWayne WangStarsCora MiaoRussell WongVictor WongA study in culture bridging, including ... a new US-born husband, trying to work within the traditional ways, a new China-born wife, eager to join the "dream" of America, two family-minded fathers, lots of gender-related social bifurcations.
- DirectorEric BylerStarsJacqueline KimEugenia YuanMichael AkiMichael, a young mechanic, is forced to choose between a daring tryst with an alluring stranger and the habitual comfort of his bittersweet obsession: his beautiful young tenant.
- DirectorDanny LeinerStarsJohn ChoKal PennEthan EmbryA Korean-American office worker and his Indian-American stoner friend embark on a quest to satisfy their desire for White Castle burgers.
- DirectorJon HurwitzHayden SchlossbergStarsJohn ChoKal PennNeil Patrick HarrisAfter being mistaken for terrorists and thrown into Guantánamo Bay, stoners Harold and Kumar escape and return to the U.S., where they proceed to flee across the country with federal agents in hot pursuit.
- DirectorTodd Strauss-SchulsonStarsKal PennJohn ChoNeil Patrick HarrisSix years after their Guantanamo Bay adventure, stoner buds Harold Lee and Kumar Patel cause a holiday fracas by inadvertently burning down Harold's father-in-law's prize Christmas tree.
- DirectorAlice WuStarsJoan ChenMichelle KrusiecLynn ChenA gay Chinese-American and her traditionalist mother are reluctant to go public with secret loves that clash against cultural expectations.
- DirectorQuentin LeeStarsKarin Anna CheungWilson CruzArchie KaoA promiscuous woman tries to find out who got her pregnant so she can get married and live a normal life.
- DirectorMira NairStarsDenzel WashingtonSarita ChoudhuryRoshan SethAn ethnic Indian family is expelled from Idi Amin's Uganda in 1972 and lives in Mississippi 17 years later. The dad sues Uganda to get his property back. The grown daughter falls in love with a Black man.
- DirectorEric BylerStarsChris TashimaAllison SieSab ShimonoLong after their break-up, Chinese American Raymond Ding and bi-racial Aurora Crane struggle to let go. Torn apart by mismatched ideals, meddling friends, and the complexities of racial identities, they find other suitable mates but can't stay away from each other.
- DirectorGeorgia LeeStarsTzi MaJacqueline KimElaine KaoThe Wongs struggle to cope with life, love, and family dysfunction in the suburbs of New York.
- DirectorRichard WongStarsLynn ChenParry ShenSheetal ShethA couple experiment with having an open relationship.
- DirectorJennifer PhangStarsSanoe LakeJulia NicksonLeonardo NamAs troubling signs of global cataclysms accelerate, a brother and sister react to their father's desertion and the powerful presence of their mother's new boyfriend.
- DirectorJustin LinStarsParry ShenJason TobinSung KangA group of over-achieving East Asian American high school seniors enjoy a power trip when they dip into extracurricular criminal activities.
- DirectorDavid AuStarsSharon OmiEdward ChenNicole SullivanWhen Emma moves in with her estranged, gay son, the pair must learn to reconnect through food where words fail, and face the foreclosure of the family's Chinese restaurant and a stubborn fear of intimacy.
- DirectorJimmy LeeStarsAnnie LeePhilip MoonJan DevereauxIn Los Angeles, the young Jenny has a nice childhood with her Korean parents Joanne and David Kim. However, after the divorce of her parents, the judge gives her custody to her selfish mother that neglects Jenny while the disappointed David returns to Seoul. Six years later, Jenny is a troubled and reckless teenager expelled from the public school that has easy sex and uses drugs and booze, and her best friend is the orphan drug dealer Becky. The lawyer Elliot Krasner decides to call his former friend David to tell him about the self-destructive behavior of Jenny, and David returns to Los Angeles. He brings Jenny to live with him and support her, but the lack of emotional structure of Jenny imposes tough difficulties for their relationship.
- DirectorJessica YuStarsJimmy TsaiAndrew VoKhary PaytonA kid dreams of playing professional basketball in order to escape his dead-end job, living in the suburbs, his bossy older brother and running his Mom's ping pong classes.
- DirectorDiana Lee InosantoStarsDiana Lee InosantoKeith DavidMelissa TaylorIn 1985 Colorado, a long-absent woman, proficient as a black belt in martial arts, returns home where she agrees, secretly, to train a bullied gay teen.
- DirectorKayo HattaStarsYûki KudôAkira TakayamaCary-Hiroyuki TagawaRiyo marries a man more than twice her age. She is devastated and labors in the sugar cane field. At the end she is able to love her husband.
- DirectorJustin LinStarsRoger FanDustin NguyenSung KangBruce Lee's shocking death left legions of stunned fans and a legacy of 12 minutes from his unfinished Game Of Death. Undeterred, studio executives launched a search for his replacement chronicled here through the eyes of five aspiring thespians who find out what the real game is.
- DirectorMichael KangStarsJeffrey ChyauSung KangJade WuThirteen-year-old Ernest Chin lives and works at a sleazy hourly-rate motel on a strip of desolate suburban bi-way. Misunderstood by his family and blindly careening into puberty, Ernest befriends Sam Kim, a self-destructive yet charismatic Korean man who has checked in. Sam teaches the fatherless boy all the rites of manhood.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsSihung LungLai WangBozhao WangAll the while, Master Chu tries to find his place in the foreign American world.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsWinston ChaoMay ChinAh-Lei GuaTo satisfy his nagging parents, a gay landlord and a female tenant agree to a marriage of convenience, but his parents arrive to visit and things get out of hand.
- DirectorWayne WangStarsTamlyn TomitaRosalind ChaoKieu ChinhThe life histories of four East Asian women and their daughters reflect and guide each other.
- DirectorRob CohenStarsJason Scott LeeLauren HollyRobert WagnerA fictionalized account of the life of the martial arts superstar.
- DirectorDaniel KwanDaniel ScheinertStarsMichelle YeohStephanie HsuJamie Lee CurtisA middle-aged Chinese immigrant is swept up into an insane adventure in which she alone can save existence by exploring other universes and connecting with the lives she could have led.
- DirectorDestin Daniel CrettonStarsSimu LiuAwkwafinaTony Leung Chiu-waiShang-Chi, the master of weaponry-based Kung Fu, is forced to confront his past after being drawn into the Ten Rings organization.
- DirectorAdele LimStarsAshley ParkSherry ColaStephanie HsuFollows four Asian American friends as they bond and discover the truth of what it means to know and love who you are, while they travel through China in search of one of their birth mothers.
- DirectorJon M. ChuStarsConstance WuHenry GoldingMichelle YeohThis contemporary romantic comedy based on a global bestseller follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu to Singapore to meet her boyfriend's family.
- DirectorCynthia LiuStarsKeiko AgenaEddie MuiJodi LongA playwright tired of dating Mr. Wrong goes on a blind date with an actor who turns out to be Mr. Wrong and Mr. Right.