Ping Pong Playa

PG-13

Released Sep 5, 2008

1h 36m

Comedy

List

64%

Tomatometer

33 Reviews

52%

Audience Score

5,000+ Ratings

A slacker (Jimmy Tsai) must preserve his family's honor by winning a table tennis tournament.

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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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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

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Michael Esposito

Chicago Tribune

Charming despite requisite training sequences and a cartoonishly evil opponent.

Rated: 3/4

Oct 18, 2008

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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

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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

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David Cornelius

DVDTalk.com

An endless stream of near-misses.

Rated: 2/5

Jan 16, 2009

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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

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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

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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

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Audience Member

With open expectations, it's a great movie.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

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carlos alberto g

52% from audience??!! What's wrong with people? Theyre probably fans of Adam Sandler's latest. Why isn't Jimmy Tsai acting more or a huge star? He was awesome! Funny, lovable, decent to good acting. I want to buy several copies of the DVD and donate them to assorted libraries. Seriously, watch it. A great feel-good movie if there ever was one, at least headed by a Chinese American actor/producer.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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

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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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Synopsis

A slacker (Jimmy Tsai) must preserve his family's honor by winning a table tennis tournament.

Director: Jessica Yu
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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