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Ping Pong Playa

Play trailer Poster for Ping Pong Playa PG-13 Released Sep 5, 2008 1h 36m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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64% Tomatometer 33 Reviews 52% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
A slacker (Jimmy Tsai) must preserve his family's honor by winning a table tennis tournament.

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Ping Pong Playa

Ping Pong Playa

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Critics Consensus

A gentle, light, kid friendly comedy about a Chinese-American hoopster turned ping pong pro, Playa is a charming but considerable digression from director Jessica Yu's previous works.

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Critics Reviews

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Leo Goldsmith IndieWire Mostly a little shrewder about stereotypes than your typical slacker comedy, deriving its edge from Yu and Tsai's mining of the cultural specificity of Asian-America for laughs Aug 8, 2009 Full Review Michael Esposito Chicago Tribune Charming despite requisite training sequences and a cartoonishly evil opponent. Rated: 3/4 Oct 18, 2008 Full Review Ted Fry Seattle Times Ping Pong Playa falters on formula only occasionally, but otherwise remains a consistently agreeable romp that strikes just the right chord of ironic sentimentally. Rated: 3/4 Sep 12, 2008 Full Review Peter Canavese Groucho Reviews One way to break down cultural walls is assimilation, and that's where Ping Pong Playa has its dubious triumph: it's just about as generic as the next 'loser makes good by coaching kids' comedy...[Blu-ray] Rated: 2/4 Feb 15, 2009 Full Review David Cornelius DVDTalk.com An endless stream of near-misses. Rated: 2/5 Jan 16, 2009 Full Review Andy Klein Los Angeles CityBeat Ace documentarian Jessica Yu's fictional feature debut ... is mostly funny and often cute, but it suffers a bit in comparison to the very similar Foot Fist Way ... Nov 12, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member A classic! A celebration of ping pong and life itself! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member Silly movie that is actually hilarious and even heartwarming at times. Grade:B+ Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie is hilarious! It's low budget, but has amazing directing. Not only that, It is full of humor and situations that are relatable within a Chinese family. I've seen it at least 4 times and could keep watching it especially with new audiences. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member With open expectations, it's a great movie. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member There are so many good movies, like this one, which remain hidden in plain sight. I was doing a search on movies deriving humor from racism after watching Ted-2 when I stumbled upon this one. And I must say that the late night awakening to watch it and being late for work the next day was all worth it !! A matter-of-fact, light-hearted movie which eschews undue bawdiness and just does what it is meant to- make people laugh. Excellent acting by all especially the keep-it-real, pro-feminist role by Smith Cho. I suggest there should be a sequel to this one. Look, if Rocky can come out of retirement five times and Zoolander can be revived, I'm damn sure 'C-dub' can coach a second time too... I'm gonna watch it again after a few months or maybe an year... Comforting, entertaining cinema... Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Audience Member PPP is shooting for Napoleon-Dynamite-style quirky, but instead is mostly just hitting the stupid, made with more well-intentioned heart than actual skill. It's not completely unfunny, but Tsai in the lead role is a bit too irritating to follow for 96 mins. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Ping Pong Playa

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Cast & Crew

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Jessica Yu

Director

Jimmy Tsai

Actor

Andrew Yo

Actor

Khary Payton

Actor

Jessica Yu

Screenwriter

Jimmy Tsai

Screenwriter

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Ping Pong Playa

Khary Payton as JP Money in PING PONG PLAYA directed by Jessica Yu PING PONG PLAYA Jimmy Tsai as Christopher "C-Dub" Wang in PING PONG PLAYA directed by Jessica Yu Smith Cho as Jennifer and Roger Fan as Michael Wang in PING PONG PLAYA directed by Jessica Yu Director Jessica Yu A scene from the film "Ping Pong Playa." Scott Lowell as Tom and Peter Paige as Gerald Harcourt in PING PONG PLAYA directed by Jessica Yu Smith Cho as Jennifer in PING PONG PLAYA directed by Jessica Yu Jimmy Tsai as Christopher "C-Dub" Wang in PING PONG PLAYA directed by Jessica Yu Jimmy Tsai as Christopher "C-Dub" Wang in PING PONG PLAYA directed by Jessica Yu View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis A slacker (Jimmy Tsai) must preserve his family's honor by winning a table tennis tournament.
Director
Jessica Yu
Producer
Joan Huang, Anne Clements
Screenwriter
Jessica Yu, Jimmy Tsai
Distributor
IFC Films
Production Co
Cherry Sky Films
Rating
PG-13 (Drug References|Some Sexual Remarks|Language)
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 5, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 5, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$77.8K
Runtime
1h 36m
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