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James Marsh

4/5 stars
Comedian Jimmy O. Yang lands the role of his dreams in Interior Chinatown – stylised on-screen as Int. Chinatown – playing a lowly waiter at a family-run restaurant who discovers he is really an extra within a popular television cop show.
Ronny Chieng, Chloe Bennet and Tzi Ma also star in the 10-episode series, adapted by Charles Yu from his own award-winning novel. Academy Award winner Taika Waititi serves as an executive producer and also directs the first episode.
Addressing issues of diversity and racial stereotyping in mainstream entertainment, Interior Chinatown examines the impact of these deep-seated prejudices both on creatives working within the industry, as well as audiences searching for role models and focal points in the films and shows purportedly created for their entertainment.


Set in the fictional city of Port Harbour, the show also knowingly sends up the conventions of the police procedural format to winning comedic effect, even as it deconstructs its inherently generic, repetitive and reductive nature.
Wallis Wu (Yang) is the son of Chinese immigrants and yearns to become the hero of his own story. On the news, Chinatown is presented as a crime-ridden slum torn apart by gang violence, but Wallis does not see that; all he sees is a dead-end neighbourhood where nobody ever succeeds or manages to leave.
The only exception was his elder brother Johnny (Chris Pang), who disappeared under mysterious circumstances 12 years earlier.
Wallis jokes with his best friend and colleague, Fatty (Chieng), that one day he might find a dead body in a rubbish bin and become a key witness in a criminal investigation.

His dream comes true the next day when he witnesses the abduction of a young woman and is suddenly swept into the plotline of Black and White: Impossible Crimes Unit, a polished, brightly lit detective series fronted by the good-looking, sharp-witted detectives Turner (Sullivan Jones) and Green (Lisa Gilroy), who always get their man.
After his initial encounter with the authorities, Wallis craves a bigger role, and in answer to his prayers, in swoops detective Lana Lee (Bennet).
Transferred to assist Turner and Green, Lee apparently wields expert knowledge of Chinatown and its residents, even though Wallis has never seen her in his life. All he sees is a beautiful woman asking for his help, who in turn might help him investigate his brother’s disappearance.
The central concept of Interior Chinatown takes a couple of episodes to properly establish, employing an arsenal of visual and stylistic clues to let the viewer know when something is real and when we are watching Black & White, but even then it requires a substantial leap of faith from its audience.

Those willing to strap in for the ride, however, are treated to a delightfully playful and unflinchingly ambitious romp through myriad police officer show clichés. Everything from Law & Order to True Detective is liberally referenced in Yu’s endlessly imaginative mystery.
Beyond that, however, Yu crafts a poignant and heartfelt portrait of second-generation immigrants, who remain deeply embedded within the culture of their parents and their native land, but also yearn to experience the American dream and be accepted by those around them, rather than ghettoised or pigeonholed.
Wallis must battle to be seen and heard, sometimes quite literally as he is forcibly removed from scenes by the true stars of Black & White once his purpose has been fulfilled.
He is determined to find out what happened to Johnny, uncover the identities of the mysterious Painted Faces gang, and hopefully get the cool, attractive detectives to see him as someone of value.

Today he might only be “Random Asian Guy”, but tomorrow he could be “Delivery Guy”. One day, they might know him as they knew his brother, as “Kung Fu Guy”. They might even learn his name.
While the show succeeds in foregrounding a raft of Asian performers, Yang emerges as the undeniable stand-out, proving without any shadow of a doubt that he is more than merely a sharp-tongued source of comic relief.
The actor has significantly bulked up for his role, and even gets to show off the occasional flourish of physical dexterity. Johnny may have been the accomplished martial artist, but both benefited from the guidance of their father (Ma), who runs a small kung fu school.
As the wisecracking best friend, Chieng is in his element and predictably steals every scene he is in. Bennet, who actually changed her name from Chloe Wong to improve her casting opportunities when she first moved to the States, brings depth and intrigue to her mysterious and mercurial role as Lana Lee.

Interior Chinatown is undeniably bold. It wrangles myriad mysteries, loose ends and red herrings into a satisfying conclusion that amplifies the show’s culturally pointed themes and wider-reaching concerns, while also fulfilling its obligations as precisely the kind of detective show it is satirising.
At its heart is a story about remaining true to one’s roots while also successfully integrating into a society predisposed to see you as an outsider. Interior Chinatown cracks its case by aligning these goals to perfection.
Interior Chinatown is streaming on Disney+.


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TV shows and streaming video

Jimmy O. Yang (left) and Ronny Chieng in a still from Interior Chinatown. Photo: Mike Taing/Hulu via AP

Ronny Chieng (left) and Jimmy O. Yang in a still from Interior Chinatown. Yang is the stand-out star in this clever series that sends up police procedurals and addresses racial stereotyping. Photo: Mike Taing/Hulu via AP

Jimmy O. Yang in a still from Interior Chinatown. Photo: Mike Taing/Hulu via AP

(From left) Chloe Bennet, Sullivan Jones, Yang and Lisa Gilroy in a still from Interior Chinatown. Photo: Mike Taing/Hulu via AP

Tzi Ma in a still from Interior Chinatown. Photo: Mike Taing/Hulu via AP

Yang (left) and Bennet in a still from Interior Chinatown. Photo: Mike Taing/Hulu via AP

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Yang is the stand-out star in this ambitious, heartfelt series that sends up police procedural TV shows and addresses racial stereotyping


Yang is the stand-out star in this ambitious, heartfelt series that sends up police procedural TV shows and addresses racial stereotyping.


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An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


Review

Review | Disney+ drama review: Interior Chinatown – Jimmy O. Yang excels in bold detective comedy

Yang is the stand-out star in this ambitious, heartfelt series that sends up police procedural TV shows and addresses racial stereotyping