The 15th annual Asian American Showcase, presented by the Foundation for Asian American Independent Media and the Gene Siskel Film Center, runs Friday, April 2, through Thursday, April 15, with screenings at the Film Center, 164 N. State, 312-846-2800. Tickets are $10, $7 for students, and $5 for Film Center members. Following are selected films screening through Thursday, April 8; for a complete schedule visit siskelfilmcenter.org.
The People I’ve Slept With The stereotype of Asian-Americans being quiet/shy/polite/modest/cerebral has been subverted in so many comedies portraying them as loud/overbearing/rude/arrogant/stupid that the latter may soon become the new stereotype. This 2009 indie feature stars Karin Anna Cheung as an LA woman and self-described slut who collects snapshots of her one-night stands; when she discovers she’s pregnant, she manages to winnow her three-inch stack down to four possible fathers and begins tracking them down in search of DNA samples. Some raucous laughs ensue. But another romantic story line involving the heroine’s gay sidekick (Wilson Cruz) is a mass of cliched jokes and phony sentiment; and, naturally, the advent of a baby dictates that the movie will turn into a big alternative-family sapfest. Quentin Lee (Shopping for Fangs) directed; with Archie Kao and James Shigeta. 86 min. Lee and Cheung will attend the screenings. —J.R. Jones