| Ping Pong Playa | |
| Director: | Jessica Yu |
| Producer: | Anne Clements Joan Huang Jeffrey Gou |
| Starring: | Jimmy Tsai Andrew Vo Khary Payton Jim Lau Roger Fan Elizabeth Sung Javin Reid Kevin Chung Peter Paige Smith Cho Scott Lowell Stephnie Weir |
| Music: | Jeff Beal |
| Cinematography: | Frank G. Demarco |
| Editing: | Zene Baker |
| Distributor: | IFC Films |
| Runtime: | 96 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English Chinese |
| Gross: | $77,907[1] |
Ping Pong Playa is a 2007 American sports comedy film directed by Jessica Yu and written by Yu and Jimmy Tsai.[2] [3] The story centers on a Chinese ping pong family living in California with a buffoonish and irreverent son.
Christopher Wang is a 25-year-old man who lives under his Asian-American parents in a suburb in Southern California. His father, who was a prominent ping pong player in his youth, owns a sports goods shop, and his mother teaches young children at the sport at the local community center. Outperformed by his older brother, Michael, who is considered by their parents as more mature and responsible and has brought pride to the family by winning regional ping pong tournaments and also works ads a doctor, Chris seems to lack motivation and a realistic vision for his career, indulging in defeating young kids in basketball, riding a mini moped and playing video games.
After his mother and Michael are injured in a minor car accident, Chris comes to learn about taking responsibility by taking over his mother's ping pong class and representing his family in the forthcoming ping pong tournament. With the training by his father and the support of his friends including a posse of young pupils, Chris strives to prove to those who put trust in him that he is capable of making serious effort while following through a commitment.
Film and television review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a rating of 64% based on 33 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10.[4] Review aggregator Metacritic gives the film a score of 55 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally mixed reviews".[5] Film critic Justin Lowe of the Associated Press write in his review: "Yu directs with a clever eye and nimble camera, filling scenes with wicked banter, slapstick comedy and amusing visual puns. The rest of her team plays at a similarly skillful level, buoyed by a gleeful score featuring nonstop hip-hop beats."[6]
Ping Pong Playa was released on DVD on January 6, 2009, by Image Entertainment.[7] Ping Pong Playa was released on Blu-ray February 10, 2009.
The soundtrack to Ping Pong Playa was released on CD on December 16, 2008, by Lakeshore Records.[8]