The Joy Luck Fight Club is a fantastic movie that merges together the heretofore never combined genres of
action,
drama, and
chick flick.
The movie opens with the protagonist
June, daughter of a Chinese immigrant, as she starts going to self-help clinics to get away from her
obsessive mom. Her life starts going downhill when she meets a woman named
Waverly. Waverly is going to the clinics to get away from the psychosis caused by obsessive chess playing.
June meets up with Suyuan-Woo Durden on a plane ride who intrigues her with the idea of a vicious
Mah-Jongg game after a few beers. This isn't the typical Mah-Jongg you may have played in college with your Jewish friends, however, this is rough-and-tumble
Chinese Mah-Jongg, straight from
oppressive,
patriarchal China. Although Suyann-Woo beats her bloody with a vicious
pair of dragons, June manages to retaliate with several swift blows from her
four east winds. As they get to know each other, they realize that they each have mothers who immigrated from China.
Empowered by their Mah-Jonng battle and how alive they felt after beating each other to a
bloody pulp, they form a club for other mothers and daughters of Chinese immigrants. Every week this
club grows stronger, and more and more mothers and daughters gain that special connection you can only get from
beating the crap out of each other over a friendly game of Mah-Jonng (with a meal for everyone served afterwards, of course!). All seems to be going well...at least, until the
flashback sequences start getting out of hand.
And that's only the beginning! Thrill to the
shocking conclusion where it turns out that all seven of the other main characters are really just in the mind of June, caused by her inner need for
unnecessary familial conflict.
The Rules of Joy Luck Fight Club:
The first rule of Joy Luck Fight Club is: You do not talk about Joy Luck Fight Club.
The second rule of Joy Luck Fight Club is: You do not talk about Joy Luck Fight Club.
The third rule of Joy Luck Fight Club is: when someone has a touching moment or has a
connection with their previously distant mother, the fight is over.
The fourth rule of Joy Luck Fight Club is: only two Chinese female immigrants in a fight.
The fifth rule is: only one
flashback at a time.
The sixth rule is: no matter what the cook says, you will not insult her cooking.
The seventh rule is: this movie will go on as long as it has to.
The eighth rule is: even if your mother has passed on and this is your first night, you
will play Mah-Jongg.