Spa Night – Review

It’s hard to bring up this year’s Oscar race without talking about the severe lack of diversity among the nominated actors. Part of this problem stems from the fact that most Academy voters are white. Of course the larger problem is that Hollywood simply isn’t producing a wide variety of culturally or ethically diverse films. The absence of African American actors has been the primary focus of this controversy. When you really think about it, Asian American performers are being overlooked even more.

We rarely see people of Asian descent take center stage in mainstream American movies. Then when an Asian actor is given the chance to shine, they’re usually reduced to playing a stereotype. This isn’t the case with Spa Night, however. In his feature film directorial debut, Korean American Andrew Ahn delivers an effective picture starring a mostly Asian cast and comprised of very little English dialog. No matter what your race or native language is, Ahn’s film is full of universal themes regarding family, sexuality, and becoming a man.

Joe Seo gives a powerful breakthrough performance as David, a young Korean teen living in Los Angeles. His parents want nothing more than to provide David with all the opportunities they didn’t have growing up. They encourage their son to get a good education and marry a nice Asian woman. David is unsure that he can live up to his parent’s hopes, though. For starters, he struggles to pass his SATs and isn’t confident that college is for him. On top of that, David is afraid to admit that he’s a homosexual.

Running away from the pressures of life, David finds sanctuary in a Korean spa where gay men often come for sex. Although the idea of exploring his homosexuality intimidates David, this spa becomes the only place he can truly be himself. David rarely speaks his own mind, but the audience always knows what he’s thinking based on Seo’s subtle performance. We feel all of David’s pain, confusion, and insecurities as he tries to find his place in the world while also doing right by his elders.

While David’s coming of age journey is brutally honest, his parents are equally identifiable. Being first-generation immigrants, it’d be easy for them to come off as one-note caricatures. Yet, Haerry Kim molds David’s mother into an enormously empathetic woman desperately trying to hold her family together. Youn Ho Cho is also heartbreaking as David’s father, who feels like he’s failed his son after losing his job. All of these characters are haunted by the great expectations that befall them, unsure that they’ll ever be good enough.

Spa Night admittedly lags at times and ends on a somewhat abrupt note. On the whole, however, this is an emotionally absorbing film with no shortage of engaging character drama. Ultimately, it’s a film about searching for ones sexual identity, racial identity, and identity in general. Deep down, David knows who he is on the inside. If he can’t even be truthful with himself, though, chances are he’ll never be able to open up to anyone.