GenQ - For the not so straight individual

Red doors is the feature directorial debut of Georgia Lee, and a more than worthy addition to the MQFF feature film schedule. As part of Chinese belief, painting one’s front doors red is said to bring good luck, fortune, and harmony to the household. It is somewhat ironic then, that The Wongs, a Chinese-American family living in New York would display red doors on their house.

Our first impression of The Wongs is a seemingly normal one. The father is successfully retired from his job, the mother is happy in her role, and their 3 daughters are successful. When we look closer however we see that things are far from perfect.

Father, Ed Wong (Tzi Ma) is finding it hard to adjust to life after the workplace, and accepting the women his daughters have become, and takes to watching old family videos of the girls dance concerts and ice skating. Mother May Li (Freda Foh Shen) is overbearing and controlling, and lives a life oblivious to her own family member’s concerns. 



Eldest daughter Samantha (Xena actress Jacqueline Kim) is stressed from a high-demand career and unsure about her impending marriage to Mark, and her father’s declining mental health. Middle Sister Julie (Elaine Kao) is a reserved, sheltered medical student struggling with familial pressures to find a male partner, all the while trying to hide the fact that she is a lesbian. She meets sexy actress Mia Scarlet and falls in love, but is she ready to commit her heart to a celebrity in the lime-light? 

Katie (Kathy Shao-Lin Lee), the youngest of the three is a somewhat ‘different’ high school senior in constant battle with a fellow classmate involving convoluted and hazardous pranks as a sign of affection.

It is through miscommunication, denial and various neuroses that the family begins to crumble. Will Ed awaken from his nostalgia? Will May Li stop trying to control her daughter’s every move? Will Sam go through with the wedding? Will Julie find happiness in her new love? And most importantly, will Katie escape her practical joke ridden existence with both her arms?