Hollywood deals in stereotypes. It's movie shorthand. If you recognize a character "type" quickly, it can save time in setting up a character-driven situation or moment.
But in comedies, some stereotypes are offensive instead of funny, as is the case in a summer hit that's out there now: "Freaky Friday."
Actually, I enjoyed "Freaky Friday." It was a pleasant surprise. The trailer didn't thrill me, and I'm a little weary of Disney remakes. But the opening-day reviews were quite positive and it turned out to be a good choice.
The character in question is a curious one.
Rosalind Chao plays Pei-Pei, who, with her mother (Lucille Soong), runs a Chinese restaurant. The film's main characters, Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her daughter Annabell (Lindsay Lohan), frequent the restaurant, and Pei-Pei pesters them about catering Tess' upcoming wedding. (It is Pei-Pei's mother who causes Tess and Annabelle to switch bodies in the film's central plot device.)
First, it's nice to see Chinese actors in the restaurant owners' roles. Gone are the days of Mickey Rooney adopting fake buck teeth and thick glasses to play a comic Japanese character (in "Breakfast at Tiffany's") or wise Chinese detective Charlie Chan being played by such non-Asians as Warner Oland, Sidney Tolar, Roland Winters and Peter Ustinov. And that's all to the good.
But somewhere along the way in the production of "Freaky Friday," someone had the less-than-bright idea of having Chao affect a fortune-cookie accent — which I found annoying and not at all funny.
Those familiar with Chao's work — as Klinger's wife in "M*A*S*H" and "AfterMASH," as Keiko O'Brien in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," and in the films "The Joy Luck Club" and "Thousand Pieces of Gold," among many others — know that, although she speaks fluent Chinese, she doesn't naturally have an accent.
She did use a Korean accent in the "M*A*S*H" series and has spoken with Asian accents in other shows but nothing nearly as exaggerated and goofy-sounding as the one in "Freaky Friday."
Most of the characters Chao has played have come off as bright, articulate and warm, but Pei-Pei is just another broad stereotype. And there's really no reason for it.
The character's manic pursuit of Tess' business and her exasperation when she discovers that her mother has caused Tess and Annabelle to switch bodies could still be funny without the affectation.
Last month, I wrote about the cable Fox Movie Channel canceling its Charlie Chan film festival after protests from the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium, which objected to the films' racial insensitivities. I suggested that the Chan films deserve to be seen and that they simply need to be taken in historical context.
After that column ran, I received an e-mail from Andrew Rice, the consortium's media-relations manager, defending the action and saying that the organization has no desire to squelch or censor the Chan films but just wants them accompanied by a documentary or Asian-American introduction. Which is fine by me. Just as long as the films are allowed to be in circulation.
Then I go to "Freaky Friday" and see that this sort of "insensitivity" is still happening in the 21st century, and with an Asian actress!
Perhaps the consortium should be protesting more modern productions instead of ancient ones. A 70-year-old creaky black-and-white mystery isn't going to get nearly as much attention as a successful modern youth comedy.
E-MAIL: hicks@desnews.com