They don't come that much more un-Hollywood (quirky) than Lucky Grandma...when was the last time you watched a movie with a droll 80yr old chain-smoking woman as the main star? Is Grandma lucky? well, challenged would be a better fit. Poor Grandma, 40 odd years working hard beside her husband only to find she's been left with virtually nothing. The best thing we can take away from this story is; Luck is an illusion you can't bank on...no matter what the fortune readers may tell you. While there are good helpings of ironic humor and comical situations ‘Grandma' at times presents with some slightly unsettling violence, occasioning death, courtesy of rivalry between a couple of local Chinese crime gangs. To find out how Grandma is drawn into these situations you'll just have to watch. Thankfully, the links with family offer an all-important and warming strength to Grandma's very edgy entrapments. There are plenty of odd, well-played Characters injecting fun throughout, along with some rather sinister types you'd be happy not to meet. An imaginative music score from Andrew Orkin adds nice touches - while the visuals provided by El Salvadorian Cinematographer, Eduardo Enrique Mayen supply professional contrasts between New York Chinatown's side streets, back alleys, and grannies' meager apartment...where it seems there's always someone knocking on her door! The first theatrical feature from director/writer Sasie Sealy gives us good cause to want to see her next effort.

Not what I thought it would be about.

this was really great. the concept that an old lady could swindle the mob might be far fetched, but unlike a lot of comedy movies, everything that happened was potentially realistic in the context. there were plenty of laughs and cute moments. big pong was my favorite character by far.

I'm not sure why critics are lowballing this movie so much. Tsai Chin does amazing work with a role that could have gone horribly wrong with the wrong actor, and she makes even the wackiest parts seem somehow grounded. The writing and direction are taut and entertaining, and a meaningful theme about loneliness, grief, anger, and vulnerability is just below the surface. All of this without being heavy-handed about it. And as if that's not enough, it takes a well-worn sub-genre (found money) and, without too many spoilers, does something new with it. It's the best movie no one is watching.

So many unexpectedly funny scenes. And the characters were a delight -- so different than what we normally see in film, especially ones that involve Chinese gangsters. Anyone who appreciates a good indie film with a lot of humanity would enjoy this, but for Chinese Americans this will really hit home.

It starts very promising, but after 40min or so it starts dragging itself aimlessly with no new interesting developments or good sripting ideas.

I'm not sure why this isn't being marketed as a comedy, but 'Lucky Grandma' is smart and funny and spectacularly performed by Tsai Chin in the titular role. It has a few action sequences and dramatic moments, but it's well acted and subtle. Set in New York's Chinatown, it didn't have that New York movie feel, but it really doesn't matter. Come for the performances, stay for the story and you'll be rewarded with a fun flick. Final Score: 8.6/10

A fun and delightful movie that my whole family enjoyed. What a talented cast. I highly recommend it!

ENDEARING • FUNNY • WICKED

Well-balanced dramedy was engaging and had some laughs without being overly goofy.

A charming start, a weird unnecessary end, a very good performance.

This film was clever enough, but somewhat predictable. I appreciate that it's all asian american, with leads being more than just same white protagonists. Still, in a film that could have done something more meaningful with important issues of partriarchy, ageism, and just human decency and courage, it flopped. Why the critics report 96% makes me wonder what values they are basing their reviews on, beyond marketability.

Really? Boring, slow, really bad. I don't get the great reviews. Snoozefest. Actors were good, but how many old lady frowns can you take? And I am an old lady. A waste of money.

A funny, brilliant film with a heroine that gives a tour-de-force performance. Best movie I've seen in a long, long time.

The first 15 minutes were delightful, but then it evolved into a boring gang-vs-gang movie with little charm. Grandma didn't smile for more than 10 seconds after that, and neither did I! I forced myself to watch til the end. I don't know how it got such so many tomatoes.

Overall, this is a very decent film with many laughs and a brilliant performance by Tsai Chin. She plays a character where her willful stubbornness and rough edges add charm and likability when it easily could have been a stereotypical dragon lady trope. The beginning of the movie sets up the fantasy of how grandma is going to have major "lucky" changes in her life as told by a fortune teller. I was ready to go along for a fantastical ride as set up by the stylish sound design and striking editing early on as she hits it big at a casino. The subplot involves grandma being an aging parent and how she resists her son's help of moving in with him to stay independent. There are some pacing issues in the second half of Act II as the tone of the the movie shifts dramatically to hard realities and takes itself too seriously affecting the ending. I felt as if the first half and second half were two different movies inhabited by the same characters. I really enjoyed the relationship between Big Pong, who is hired as her bodyguard, and Grandma. At first a professional relationship, they grow to like each other as human beings is sweet to watch. Some of the funniest moments are when they are innocently misperceived by her grandchildren as boyfriend and girlfriend. I also wanted to see a proper resolution when Big Pong and Grandma hit a rough patch in their relationship but, it's implied in grandma's voice over towards the end. We don't hear from Big Pong at all how he came to terms with her flaws yet he sits by her side in towards the end. However, I am also cognizant of the fact that the budget was tiny (the filmmakers received 1M at a Tribeca/AT&T competition for diverse representation) and when you have more money, filmmakers get to buy more time for things like rehearsal, rewriting, collaboration, input, more takes, reshoots, etc. The Farewell had 3 M but, it was shot mostly in China where the dollar can stretch more. But we as an audience, including critics, don't usually take that into consideration and expect low budget films to perform and entertain us like say, Hustlers (which starred Constance Wu) made for 20.7 Mil which is also considered low compared to films made by white men who routinely get over 100 M. So kudos to the filmmakers for making this look as good as it does on a shoestring budget! As an Asian woman, I am very happy to see a film like this come out that represents yet another different side of Asian American life. The movie rests squarely on Tsai Chin's shoulders and she shines brightly in this.

I love this movie and it has one of the best casts of the year. More than anything else it is a love letter to Chinatown, full of heart and humor. While set in the Chinese-American community it is full of familiar family and neighborhood characters that EVERYONE will recognize from their own lives. Even if your grandmother never ripped off money from a gang. And how sure are you that she didn't? After you see this movie you may find yourself wondering how well you really know Grandma, and what wonder what she is really up to between visits. Check out this sweet and winning Indie film, and then show it to your friends. Strong Recommend.

It's a joyful movie and a nostalgic love letter to NYC's Manhattan Chinatown. While it's largely centered around a fun, farcical game of cat-and-mouse with a Chinese grandmother, it is grounded at times by the more sobering subtext of common poverty amongst the elderly Chinese community. Worth watching!

You wait forever for a film about Chinese grandmothers and naturally two arrive together but the grandma you'll see in this film cannot be further away from the one in The Farewell. In Sasie Sealy's slap-sticky Coen Brothers-lite Chinese-American crime caper, veteran actress Tsai Chin plays the titular character, a Mandarin speaking curmudgeonly widow, always with a lit cigarette dangling off the corner of her mouth, who refuses to give up her independence in Chinatown to live with her son and his family in the suburbs. After a fortune teller tells her that she is in for a tremendously lucky year, she takes all her savings to the casino but luck seems to have a different set of ideas for her when a bag of cash lands on her lap instead. The film begins rather promisingly and amusingly, setting up a central character/protagonist that's rarely seen on screen. There's a sight gag in the bank that lands perfectly and as the story unfolds, even manages to take a few unexpected turns as Hsiao-Yuan Ha's Big Pong enters the film as her bodyguard and their relationship blossoms into a delightful double act. However, Sealy's homage to 80s HK movies in the form of the cartoonish baddies saps dramatic tension out of the film creating a tonal inconsistency while an ending that falls back into clichés and predictability signals a film that has run out of steam. Which is a shame as otherwise this is a solid debut from Sealy who, on a limited budget, manages to make New York City Chinatown an intriguing and exotic backdrop for telling her story.

I saw this in a theater with my Chinese girlfriend, and she said it's culturally authentic. We both loved the actors, and the story is very funny. "Grandma" shines!