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Shopping for Fangs
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Wikipedia article
'Shopping for Fangs' is a 1997 American-Canadian film directed by Quentin Lee and Justin Lin, starring Radmar Agana Jao. The film marks the debut of actor John Cho.
Plot summary
Housewife Katherine loses consciousness and loses her cell phone as a result. Lesbian waitress Trinh sends her sexually suggestive messages and pictures. Katherine's husband works with a man by the name of Phil.
Payroll clerk Phil, who is confused about his sexuality, thinks that he is transforming into a werewolf because his hair grows so quickly that he has to shave every hour, he gorges on raw meat, and he is uninjured after being struck by a car.
Cast
* Radmar Jao as Phil
* Jeanne Chin as Katherine
* Clint Jung as Jim
* Lela Lee as Naomi
* John Cho as Clarance
* Peggy Ahn as Grace
* Scott Eberlein as Matt
* Daniel Twyman as Dr. Suleri
* Jennifer Hengstenberg as Sammi
* Dana Pan as May
Production
The film's budget was less than $100,000 and had a filming schedule of 21 days in Los Angeles. Lee and Lin separated the filming between themselves, with Lee filming the part with Katherine and Lin filming the part with Phil. It was released by Lin's company Margin Films. The term GenerAsian X may have been coined because of this film's release, with the X later being removed.
Lee said in a 2012 interview, "'Shopping for Fangs' is about finding connections, which is a theme that threads through all my movies." He also said, "Its hard to quantify cultural impact, but certainly years after, scholars and critics are still talking about 'Shopping for Fangs'."
Reception
David Noh, writing for 'Film Journal', said, "Under the circumstances, the actors manage to do rather nicely." Edward Guthmann, of 'San Francisco Chronicle', wrote, "Despite some fresh ideas, attractive actors and a sly, surprising performance by Chin as the disaffected Katherine, this is a rough first effort."
Home media
The film was released on DVD on October 6, 2009 by Pathfinder Home Entertainment.
References
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