Decades ago, my friend Warren and I theorized that all the really messed up derogatory terms ended in “k.” I have no idea how we separated derogatory terms into categories of “mildly unacceptable,” “completely inappropriate,” and “really messed up,” but I can think of at least four off the bat that fit the theory. (I won’t list them here; that would be beyond completely inappropriate.) One of them is the title to this film.
You might remember Justin Chon as the boy who bandied about wearing only a bra and teddy bear jockstrap during 21 & Over. Four years later, Mr. Chon has grown considerably. He no longer passes for anything resembling under 21 and neither does his current film, Gook. Set in a part of El Lay where white folks fear to tread, Gook explores racial issues at exactly the time of, but not at all relating to, the verdict of the Rodney King trial. Hmmm, that makes it sound like Rodney King was on trial. He was not; the officers who beat him up were.
Eli (Chon) and his brother Daniel (David So) run a shoe store out of a building that might once have been a crappy laundromat or a crappy used car dealership. The store has spent generations in their family, yet their inventory comes entirely from shady “I know a guy with a van” kind of deals. The first half of this film plays a lot like Clerks, mostly banking on the relationships among the responsible one, Eli, his easily manipulated brother, their antagonistic neighbor, Mr. Kim (Sang Chon) –imagine if Oscar the Grouch owned a shotgun and you get the idea—and the store’s mascot, tweener African American Kamilla (Simone Baker). Does the relatively out-of-place Simone prefer the 4th rate shoe store because she likes the fellas, or does she just hate school that much?
Writer/director Chon shot Gook in black and white, lending more to Clerks theory. Gook, however, isn’t in Clerks’ league comedy-wise, and gets much darker 
than Clerks once the verdict becomes public. I lost count of how many times in the film Eli and Daniel get beat up; it’s a bunch. I suppose that goes with the territory; when I see the title “Gook,” I’m pretty sure the Care Bears aren’t showing up anytime soon. Of course, the title also suggests rice paddies and heavy artillery, neither of which appear in this film, unless, that is, you consider Weapons (Magic Johnson’s signature shoe at the time).
“Gook” means country. The word was misappropriated as a slur by American GIs during the Korean and Vietnamese wars. I grew up believing the term was Vietnamese specific, but the pre-credits implied GIs couldn’t be bothered to distinguish among the ethnic groups in the region. In the film, Justin Chon himself notes with faint melancholy that America is “mi-gook” or “beautiful country.” There’s both wonderful and awful in that thought alone.
I’m not wild about titling a film after an ethnic slur, for obvious reason and not-so-obvious reason, i.e. I think you’re limiting your audience. Gook plays very unevenly. I think Chon got mostly what he wanted acting-wise, but either the writing or editing needed clarity with regards to minutiae and flow. I see Gook as not a great film by itself, but perhaps instead a demonstration that the mind behind it is capable of making a great film. I very much look forward to Justin Chon’s next project.
Justin’s film is far from schlock
Exploring racism all over his block
Inner-city thunder
Will make you wonder:
Is that the kid with the teddy bear jock?
Unrated, 94 Minutes
Director: Justin Chon
Writer: Justin Chon
Genre: A little bit of Clerks; a little bit of Boyz n the Hood
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Korean Americans
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: MAGA
