Randall Park Says His Feature Directorial Debut ‘Shortcomings’ Was Inspired by Noah Baumbach’s ‘Marriage Story’

This article contains spoilers for Shortcomings.

Randall Park says he never thought of himself as a leader before he directed his debut feature film, Shortcomings, out Friday via Sony Pictures Classics.

Ive been in numerous situations where Ive been in a leadership position throughout my life, and Ive always enjoyed it, he says, but I never saw myself as one. I always just saw myself as doing my own thing.

Park, best known for his work as an actor on Fresh Off the Boat, The Interview, WandaVision and Always Be My Maybe, first picked up Adrian Tomines graphic novel Shortcomings 16 years ago. The story, which follows Berkeley-based cinephile Ben Tanaka as he navigates souring relationships with his girlfriend, Miko, and best friend, Alice, resonated with Park, because it seemed to address and reflect real-life conversations and issues head-on. Ben doesnt shy away from expressing his strong opinions and gets into arguments with Miko and Alice over topics including, but not limited to, identity politics, representation in movies and his proclivity for porn featuring white women. Underneath his pretensions lies recognizable insecurity.

Around the time when I read the book, it really made me think of some of my friends the way in which he saw the world, the entitlement. But also hes a really good friend. Hes this complicated mix of things, Park says.

Parks resulting film, which stars Justin Min, Ally Maki and Sherry Cola, draws from influences including Justin Lins Better Luck Tomorrow and Noah Baumbachs Frances Ha and Marriage Story. Ahead of the films premiere, Park spoke with Variety about the process of filming and promoting his directorial debut, his main characters complexities and what conversations he anticipates the movie will spark.

Shortcomings opens with Ronny Chieng and Stephanie Hsu acting in a spoof of a scene from Crazy Rich Asians. Ronny Chieng actually starred in Crazy Rich Asians, so hes playing a character in a spoof of a film that he himself was in. Why was it important to have both of them in the movie?

Well, for one, theyre incredible. So to have the two of them open our movie was just like something that was really special to me. Theyre beloved, and I didnt want anybody to feel like that we were taking shots at Crazy Rich Asians. To have Ronny there, who was also in Crazy Rich Asians, it was nice, because he understood what we were what we were going for. Ben is very critical of [the movie], but I do agree with Mikos character when she says that you cant have a movie like Shortcomings without a Crazy Rich Asians. So to have those two actors in it, and and to have Sonoya [Mizuno] in our movie, who was also in Crazy Rich Asians if anything, its just proof that theres the lineage here that were part of and a throughline that connects us to movies like Crazy Rich Asians.

What sort of pressure do you feel right now to succeed financially? What does that success look like to you?

Im anticipating a blockbuster here, you know Im kidding. This is Barbenheimer coming. [laughs]

I dont know what to expect. This is a very specific kind of movie. Were a small indie, and were coming out in a very tenuous period and also in the shadow of these huge blockbusters. My hope is that people who do go and watch it and enjoy it, that they spread the word, and that eventually we find our audience, if not immediately, at least over time. Thats the reason why Im so relaxed right now, because Im not feeling this huge pressure to break the bank.

What were some of the challenges of marketing the film?

The main challenge right now is we dont have our full marketing machine, in large part because the actors arent promoting the movie, because were all in support of the strike. The actors and Adrian Tomine, our writer, everyone is on the picket lines. Because of that, its just me as the director going out there and spreading the word, so we are compromised in that regard which is for good reason, and we dont feel bad about about it, because nows the time for the strike, its now or never, so were in full support. If anything, itll be word of mouth that gets this movie seen.

Your movie is coming out at a historic moment in Hollywood history. What are some ways that you hope the industry will change as a result of the strikes?

My hope is that we come to a fair agreement on all of these points. As far as just working actors being able to survive off of this job and to make a living, its definitely harder than its ever been . So my hope is that the things were fighting for, we get. The AI thing is very scary to me, the idea of taking someones image and using it in perpetuity without compensation or people agreeing to it. My hope is that all of this gets resolved. If we have to sacrifice a little bit of our promotion to get it resolved, its worth it.

Ben is such an interesting, polarizing character. To what extent would you say hes a fuckboy?

Im not too hip on what exactly a fuckboy is, but my guess is that there are probably some elements of that in him. More than anything, he reminds me of some of the Asian American men I knew when I was in college and just out of college.

What sort of criticisms of him or of the film do you anticipate or have you heard already?

I definitely have heard that hes a tough character to sit with, and thats totally something I anticipated. Ive heard the gamut of responses on Ben, and some people saying, I really liked him, because hes just so honest and raw, and other people are saying, I didnt like him, but I do understand. Then I hear other people saying, I hate him, I cant stand him. All of those were expected. These are interesting characters, and theyre at a crossroads, and theyre going through a lot. Theyre flawed people trying their best and so people are gonna take them in different ways. And I like that.

Youve mentioned before that the sequence in which Ben is running through New York City at the end was inspired by a sequence from Noah Baumbachs Frances Ha, in which Greta Gerwigs character runs through the city. If this is your Frances Ha, then what would be your Barbie, or your Marriage Story, in terms of your directing career?

The big fight scene in the apartment [in Shortcomings] a huge inspiration for that scene was the big argument scene in Marriage Story. There was a lot of inspiration from Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig and her work, but as far as Barbie, I dont know. I dont know if I would ever tackle a movie that big. For now I feel very comfortable in the very intimate spaces of people just walking and talking and hanging out in diners. To me, thats my pocket.

In what ways does this 2023 film looks different than it might have if you had made it in the moment when you first read the book 16 years ago?

It definitely wouldnt have had as many influences as it does, because when I first read the book I was definitely a cinephile, but I think my appreciation and taste has expanded since then. Back then not that I was like Ben in any way I was definitely less mature. In the graphic novel, because of the nature of the medium, we dont get to dive as deep into these characters. I dont know if I would have had the courage or the wherewithal to even explore these characters as as deeply as we do in the movie. And I think that just comes with maturity and my own growth and my own therapy sessions.

What kind of conversations and discourse, if you will, would you want the film to spark when it comes out?

Im not shooting for specific conversations to happen, but I do expect a lot of conversations to happen. A lot of the conversations that take place in the movie are very real conversations that people have in the community, you know, but theyre not necessarily conversations that we get to see reflected back at us. With that said, after every screening, its amazing how much chatter I hear in the audience. After the applause, theres just really palpable conversation immediately happening. I think thats because so many points of view and opinions and harsh opinions from Ben, in particular, are expressed in this movies, and its just conversations that we dont get to see in film too often.