Bad Genius
One can’t help but be somewhat confused by high school drama ‘Bad Genius’ a reimagining of its 2017 Thai blockbuster movie of the same name. The writer director J.C Lee first time modifies the original plot entirely regarding the tale of a don who assists her snobbish friends in getting through their university exams to make it more suited to the American context. Some of those alterations come across as cliched and apply in the first place to first generation Americans who are in desperation to bear the weight of their honorable immigrant parents who toil so very hard. All in all, however, Lee is a decent filmmaker and dramatist as to enrich his version with appropriate details without which the contemporary update is less than complete, helped by great supporting roles as well as brisk pace. The entertainment value of the 2017 movie version of ‘Bad Genius’ may require no renovation, but it is great to have something that feels fresh and is interesting enough.
The new “Bad Genius” Holiday is somehow similar with its predecessor, like the story tone, as well as the way they Corporate Heist Test Scenes. Like last time, there is also a very bright high school student called Lynn (this time Callina Liang), who earned a scholarship and was accepted into a prestigious private school, but soon afterwards endangers her new friendship with aspiring actress Grace (Taylor Hickson). And of course, Lynn is not white and wealthy like Grace. This puts her in a subservient position and makes her vulnerable to the kinds of tension and flattery that such features based on adolescents pretending to be taken for buck would be endowed with.
Both versions of “Bad Genius” deal with Lynn’s ambition not only to be successful, but also to belong everywhere, at the same time expanding the narrative by telling the story of another scholarship holder. Bank (Jabari Banks) does not socialize much, but to help Leslie out with supporting his Nigerian mother and her take out joint Fufu’s Café becomes vital as Lynn’s story develops.
In the remake, Bank seemed to have accepted the fact that, if only for being an African American, a quotation of ‘the Burn Book is expression and not oppression’ would manage to raise a few eyebrows, therefore, at a fundraiser to celebrate both Lynn and his scholarships, he managed to cut down the most cutting line in either movie as: ‘ The dinner’s to raise money, Lynn. Celebrations aren’t for mascots.’
That does not, however, help build a critique to be later more developed, detailed and focused on the American school system and the kind of individuals who are allowed to thrive in the structures embedded in it. This new “Bad Genius” is an interesting film that tries to culminate to a different ending and this is in fact a better way to end a film which is meant to engage the audience because this film does engage the viewers with uneven brilliance so it is fair to say it needed a better ending than American films. But this should not be construed as reservation as overtness is not the goals of this film and it is not for audiences looking for deeper contemplation over their film Vex Canada’s series of Food channels. As such, it seemeth unlikely both Lynn and Bank will examine how their hyphenated American identities have evolved, which are only barely specified when Lynn exclaims that her “Chinese name” is actually her “real name,” or when he is yelled at by a Kunta Kinte by a group of hostile African-American men who hang out around Fufu’s Cafe.
Additional backstory and dialogue is also present in both Bank, and more so Lynn’s insecurities in regard to her mother, Meng (played by Benedict Wong) who should be supportive of her. Recreating these test taking (and note exchanging) and “wows” does apply to the new movie, even though it served more as polish to what was already clear in the first Bad Genius, these are perhaps the most selling points of the new movie.
‘Bad Genius: The Series’ However, these easily missed scenes end up being among the most enjoyable in the new ‘Bad Genius’. Grace is supposed to be thoughtful while plotting something and Hickson performs this occupation convincingly in most other movies where the non Asian protagonists do not have two emotional expressions. Hickson, however, most of the time, exposes her character’s thought process and at times enjoys the satisfaction of the process of winning her bets, which makes life more fun. That is not the same as say, shrilly relishing in evil which is a bad and careless option often adopted by weak actors.
Likewise, rousing home dramas of his rather disengaged protagonists come to the fore again. In his first feature Lee achieves great success with establishing shots once more, capturing the moment when Lynn and Bank are given a booth at Fufu’s Café. Cameras also spotted the first “Bad Genius”. What this sequence does is also quite simple, where not only does Lee position the frame around the windows in the diner above the silhouettes of Lynn and Bank, but also places screen doors and other elements in the scene so that these horizontal shots show places and people miles away from the action.
One more useful feature is Lee’s focalization of peripheral action in “Bad Genius”, for instance, Wong’s father who tries to convince you of good fathers. Most, however, the new “Bad Genius”, does not improve as much as poorer sources. However, it is still a quite good re-do if it is its only aim to be a re-do.
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