Signs of the Dragon Boy
January 08, 2007
Vinay Menon
vmenon@thestar.ca
Jerry Ciccoritti, here's my unsolicited blurb:
"The miniseries crackles with attitude, atmosphere and style. This frantic action-thriller about Asian gangs in Vancouver will grab you by the throat, yank you to the edge of your seat and transport you to another world."
If the rest of you are confused, well, you obviously missed last night's premiere of CBC's Dragon Boys, a hypnotic, high-octane romp through the savage underworld of organized crime on the West Coast (Part II airs tonight at 8).
What can I tell you? Sometimes, all the cathode stars line up – writing, casting, directing, acting, camera work, lighting, set design, soundtrack, post-production – and a television project twinkles with undeniable greatness.
Written by Ian Weir, who executive-produced with Michael Chechik, Dragon Boys follows Tommy Jiang (Byron Mann), an RCMP detective investigating increasingly treacherous factions within an Asian crime syndicate.
The four-hour project – which also stars Steph Song, Tzi Ma, Lawrence Chou and Eric Tsang, Simon Wong and Darryl Quon – is a veritable clinic in narrative pacing.
But Dragon Boys is more than just an action ride; it's anchored by subtle yet powerful insights into cultural assimilation, generational conflict, personal identity and, most of all, the need to be an insider when you're seen as an outsider.
It is, in short, outstanding television.
I know, I know. Mondays are quickly becoming "gushing praise" days.
That said – and because I can't spoil tonight's conclusion – let's completely change gears and conclude this dispatch with a list of random observations inspired by last night's premiere.
Here now, 30 Signs You May Have Accidentally Joined an Asian Gang:
1. Thugs kick down your door to give you a gift box that contains a meat cleaver; it's promptly used to cut off your face.
2. "I thought we were friends" roughly translates into "I'm so going to terrorize your family."
3. The most important people in your life have names like "Movie Star" and "Willie the Duck."
4. Your new "modelling" job is actually at a "massage parlour" where VIPs pay $120 per hour for happy endings.
5. Whenever you're asked to grab a briefcase from the back of a Mercedes, your head is repeatedly slammed in the door for no apparent reason.
6. You are sworn to secrecy at least twice a day under the threat of brutal violence.
7. Your old peer group enjoyed video games; your new peer group enjoys swarmings.
8. New associates refer to you as "Eggroll."
9. Inexplicably, the bullies who tormented you in gym class have been hospitalized.
10. You meet this new girl who seems really, really nice – until she bludgeons an elderly couple with a phone.
11. Local strippers know you by name.
12. In your world, there are more males than females who dye their hair blonde.
13. You can calculate the street value of heroin while doing your homework.
14. You can't go to a karaoke bar without getting recruited into another violent scheme.
15. The thought of "school detention" makes you giggle.
16. Your new best friend knows more about the Young Offenders Act than most judges.
17. You now have a "Dai Lo."
18. You're encouraged to kill. You're also encouraged to get a teardrop tattooed on your cheek after each kill.
19. You root around the bathroom each morning, searching for your mom's cosmetics so you might hide the bruises that cover your face.
20. Just before he serves afternoon tea, your brother pummels you with the kettle.
21. Submerging your arm in a cauldron of boiling cooking oil now seems like the only way out.
22. In casual conversations, the word "triad" always follows the words "Hong Kong."
23. You have a parole officer.
24. You're learning new domestic tricks. For example, an orange concealed in a hand towel can be used as a weapon.
25. The wisest person in your life is a junkie.
26. You often sneak home with a garbage bag full of bloody clothing.
27. One day you're flirting with a girl from school, the next you're face down in the woods with a pistol to your head.
28. You can't even check into a seedy motel without bumping into a psychopath who's determined to kill you.
29. Your new friends smoke and drive very bright cars.
30. After-school activities now include robbery, assault and home invasion.
Vinay Menon
vmenon@thestar.ca
Jerry Ciccoritti, here's my unsolicited blurb:
"The miniseries crackles with attitude, atmosphere and style. This frantic action-thriller about Asian gangs in Vancouver will grab you by the throat, yank you to the edge of your seat and transport you to another world."
If the rest of you are confused, well, you obviously missed last night's premiere of CBC's Dragon Boys, a hypnotic, high-octane romp through the savage underworld of organized crime on the West Coast (Part II airs tonight at 8).
What can I tell you? Sometimes, all the cathode stars line up – writing, casting, directing, acting, camera work, lighting, set design, soundtrack, post-production – and a television project twinkles with undeniable greatness.
Written by Ian Weir, who executive-produced with Michael Chechik, Dragon Boys follows Tommy Jiang (Byron Mann), an RCMP detective investigating increasingly treacherous factions within an Asian crime syndicate.
The four-hour project – which also stars Steph Song, Tzi Ma, Lawrence Chou and Eric Tsang, Simon Wong and Darryl Quon – is a veritable clinic in narrative pacing.
But Dragon Boys is more than just an action ride; it's anchored by subtle yet powerful insights into cultural assimilation, generational conflict, personal identity and, most of all, the need to be an insider when you're seen as an outsider.
It is, in short, outstanding television.
I know, I know. Mondays are quickly becoming "gushing praise" days.
That said – and because I can't spoil tonight's conclusion – let's completely change gears and conclude this dispatch with a list of random observations inspired by last night's premiere.
Here now, 30 Signs You May Have Accidentally Joined an Asian Gang:
1. Thugs kick down your door to give you a gift box that contains a meat cleaver; it's promptly used to cut off your face.
2. "I thought we were friends" roughly translates into "I'm so going to terrorize your family."
3. The most important people in your life have names like "Movie Star" and "Willie the Duck."
4. Your new "modelling" job is actually at a "massage parlour" where VIPs pay $120 per hour for happy endings.
5. Whenever you're asked to grab a briefcase from the back of a Mercedes, your head is repeatedly slammed in the door for no apparent reason.
6. You are sworn to secrecy at least twice a day under the threat of brutal violence.
7. Your old peer group enjoyed video games; your new peer group enjoys swarmings.
8. New associates refer to you as "Eggroll."
9. Inexplicably, the bullies who tormented you in gym class have been hospitalized.
10. You meet this new girl who seems really, really nice – until she bludgeons an elderly couple with a phone.
11. Local strippers know you by name.
12. In your world, there are more males than females who dye their hair blonde.
13. You can calculate the street value of heroin while doing your homework.
14. You can't go to a karaoke bar without getting recruited into another violent scheme.
15. The thought of "school detention" makes you giggle.
16. Your new best friend knows more about the Young Offenders Act than most judges.
17. You now have a "Dai Lo."
18. You're encouraged to kill. You're also encouraged to get a teardrop tattooed on your cheek after each kill.
19. You root around the bathroom each morning, searching for your mom's cosmetics so you might hide the bruises that cover your face.
20. Just before he serves afternoon tea, your brother pummels you with the kettle.
21. Submerging your arm in a cauldron of boiling cooking oil now seems like the only way out.
22. In casual conversations, the word "triad" always follows the words "Hong Kong."
23. You have a parole officer.
24. You're learning new domestic tricks. For example, an orange concealed in a hand towel can be used as a weapon.
25. The wisest person in your life is a junkie.
26. You often sneak home with a garbage bag full of bloody clothing.
27. One day you're flirting with a girl from school, the next you're face down in the woods with a pistol to your head.
28. You can't even check into a seedy motel without bumping into a psychopath who's determined to kill you.
29. Your new friends smoke and drive very bright cars.
30. After-school activities now include robbery, assault and home invasion.
posted by wontonguru @ 9:12 AM
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