“Shortcomings,” the directorial debut of Randall Park, has just dropped its highly anticipated trailer, unveiling a captivating snapshot of millennial coming-of-age. Based on the 2007 graphic novel by Adrian Tomine, the film features an impressive ensemble cast, including Justin H. Min, Ally Maki, Debby Ryan, and Tavi Gevinson among others.
The trailer introduces us to the world of Ben (Justin H. Min), a struggling filmmaker in Berkeley, California. He spends his days managing an arthouse movie theater and his nights obsessing over unavailable blonde women, watching Criterion Collection DVDs, and dining in diners with his best friend Alice (Ally Maki), a queer grad student with a penchant for serial dating. However, when his girlfriend Miko (Sherry Cola), who works for a local Asian American film festival, moves to New York for an internship, Ben is left to his own devices, triggering a journey of self-exploration.
The film made its premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and went on to play at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. The movie adaptation had been a decade and a half in the making. Park shared his longstanding passion for the graphic novel, which he first fell in love with back in 2007. He had always envisioned it as a movie and when the opportunity presented itself, he jumped at the chance, bringing his production company along for the ride. Park described the process of making “Shortcomings” into a movie as something that came together “magically,” with a strong sense of serendipity.
The movie “Shortcomings” is set to hit theaters on August 4, brought to you by Sony Pictures Classics.
For a sneak peek into this intriguing narrative, you can check out the official trailer here:
