The romantic comedy has long been maligned for being over the top and unrealistic. Saving Face never suffers from this. Wu’s characters feel real and true, and I am glad to have gotten to know them.

| Feb 28, 2024

There are moments that are laugh-out-loud, but more importantly, there are times you can't pry the smile off your face simply in anticipation of what comes next.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 8, 2023

Why do rom-coms always get happy endings, and not family dramas? With Saving Face, Wu dares to ask: Why not both?

| May 4, 2022

Saving Face could get really preachy if it wanted to. But that it addresses multiple concerns with a light touch is one of its virtues.

| Jan 11, 2021

Saving Face is a beautifully crafted movie about the fight between family tradition and finding a new way for yourself.

| Dec 30, 2020

The result is a good, if occasionally uneven, film that should have and could have been great.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 5, 2019

Saving Face is one of the few films focused on queer people of color and their families. Having those two elements together might seem like a modest achievement, but Pariah is one of the only recent films that also includes both.

| Mar 9, 2019

Although everyone seems to be trying very hard, it has a deadly earnestness that squashes any fun flat.

| Aug 24, 2017

Chinese-American mom and daughter reconnect.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 17, 2010

Wu has abundant affection for her characters and a sharp eye for how they interact.

| Original Score: B+ | Aug 3, 2007

Exudes the kind of warmth and intelligence that delivers to well-defined segments of the indie-oriented audience.

| Mar 1, 2007

Abjectly collapses into feel-good nonsense.

| Feb 9, 2007

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 12, 2006

The message here, as in every quirky ethnic romantic comedy, is 'follow your heart.' But wouldn't it be great if for once the characters cared more about the continuity of antiquated cultural traditions than their own personal happiness?

Full Review | Sep 26, 2005

If that sounds supremely sitcomy, well, it is. But Wu and her cast elevate the proceedings.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Sep 16, 2005

There's a wedding, a death and two love affairs in Saving Face, and they all come as a surprise

| Aug 30, 2005

This indie film's wrong turns include a feel-good finish as phony as any Hollywood ending.

Full Review | Aug 12, 2005

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jul 29, 2005

Lesbian Chinese-Americans deserve sitcom fantasies of idealized romantic reassurance as much as anyone, I suppose...

Full Review | Original Score: '2/4' | Jul 22, 2005

The sort of competent, intelligent and humane film that often signals the beginning of a major career.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 16, 2005