OK, who wants a new body? Doesn’t that describe a lot of people? I mean, all else being equal, suppose you could choose exactly what you look like at all time, would you? If this weren’t a thing, there would be no makeup industry. So, how exactly do we feel about somebody who is forced to hermit crab out of her handsome fortysomething and move into a supermodel shell? Do we honestly feel sad for this person?
You should know this is the future … and it’s a future where things really suck (like now) … and good jobs are really hard to find (like now) … and the patriarchy has retaken the country, so women have fewer choices about everything (like now). I’m sorry, when was this film written? 2015? Spoooooky.
Gwen (co-writer Jacqueline Kim) is a single mother and high-powered spokeswoman for EvilCorp, for all your future evil needs. No, it’s not that bad, but she’s being paid less than she ought to because in this future the glass ceiling not only exists, all the metaphorical rooms are hobbit-sized. Oh, and they just fired her when she asked for a raise. They want a spokesperson who looks like she should be passing notes in Trig (if Trig is still a thing in the future).
Oh, and, btw, Gwen has burned every bridge she encountered up to this point. Apparently, before we got here, she burned bridges like there was a Nazi invasion every Tuesday. So, she spends a great deal of this film being miserable while trying to keep her daughter Jules (Samantha Kim) from being miserable. Apparently, Jules is all set to go to a school that has a tuition equivalent to the GNP of Denmark. In this age, it’s called “NYU.” Bottom line: Gwen is desperate, which leads her to a monumental decision involving a complete body change. This dilemma is the crux of the picture.
You know … you can hint at a future of organ harvesting, autocracy, flood, famine, holocaust, annihilation, but nothing quite prepared me for seeing Ken Jeong in a dramatic role. Ok, when is he gonna do something wacky? That blew my mind. It was like seeing Trump say, “I’m sorry.”
Advantageous is not a great name for a film, and it’s especially poor for this film in which the word describes almost nothing about its heroine from beginning to end. Even if the film is trying to make a titular point about the advantages of youth, the word itself is unwieldy and hints not a whit at the content. I quite enjoyed Jacqueline Kim’s sad performance with its many shades of blue. I cannot say, however, I’ll remember much about Kim or this film a week from now; it is dour and forgettable and not quite sci-fi enough to make a lasting impression. But maybe if I trade my current body for one of a 25-year-old sexpot, I’ll be able to recall it better.
Middle aged with her life in the red
Gwen needed this speech to tread:
“Don’t want to sound haughty
But I’m good with my body
How ‘bout we swap fates instead?”
Not Rated, 90 Minutes
Director: Jennifer Phang
Writer: Jacqueline Kim, Jennifer Phang
Genre: Our screwed future
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: People forced to wear masks
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Those with no tolerance for sob stories
