Under One Roof (film)
Encyclopedia
Under One Roof is a 2002
independent
gay
-themed romantic
comedy-drama
directed by Todd Wilson
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/09/BAGL1EKTB61.DTL. Shot on digital video
, the film tells the story of a young gay Chinese-American man's search for true love and family acceptance within a framework of traditional norms.
Under One Roof played worldwide at LGBTQ film festival
s following its release.
Besides the extra money Mrs. Chang makes playing Mahjong
, she also rents out the basement illegally. Daniel relates how he was quite happy to leave the previous female tenant alone. Daniel expects his mother to replace the previous tenant with another woman and is astounded when the new tenant turns out to be Robert, a young attractive white man from Indiana
. Daniel immediately has a crush on him. Following a plumbing mishap that floods the basement with raw sewage, Mrs. Chang apologetically moves Robert into the only other bedroom that is not hers—Daniel's room. Even though reality has merged with Daniel's deepest fantasies, he bows to the paranoia that his mother will find out he is gay and decides to sleep on the living room sofa. Mrs. Chang eventually kicks Daniel off the couch so she can watch her late-night TV programs, and he is forced to share his bed with Robert. Daniel manages to be prudish for a few nights but eventually the two become lovers.
Daniel's fear of being caught making out with a man constantly gets in between his relationship with Robert, and Daniel begins to wish that the basement repairs would finish soon so they could move their lovemaking to a safer area. However, one day Mrs. Chang and Grandma return home earlier than expected right in the middle of one of Daniel and Robert's trysts. Grandma walks in on them during copulation to offer them mooncakes, one of the few English words she knows. She sheepishly leaves the mooncakes on the nightstand and exits, giving them enough time to roll apart to opposite sides of the bed just as Mrs. Chang walks in. Daniel quickly chastizes her for not knocking and makes up the excuse that he was napping. Mrs. Chang does not seem to notice that both he and Robert are naked, but she bluntly tells Robert to move his belongings back into the basement that night.
With the basement repaired, Daniel imagines he can finally spend time with Robert away from his mother's prying eyes, but the very next day a San Francisco building inspector stops by. Daniel suspects his own mother called the inspector, who gives the Chang's a list of expensive home improvements that would be needed to legally rent the room. Mrs. Chang jumps at the chance, arguing with Daniel that she has no choice but to make Robert move out. Their argument echoes in the basement and Robert hears Daniel give in without too much of a fight. Heartbroken, Robert moves away to a friend's place in Pasadena
.
Daniel reaches his breaking point. Miserable and determined not to be alone forever, he comes out
to his mother the very next time she starts talking about available young women. This time he is direct and asserts that he wants to be with Robert. Mrs. Chang reacts angrily, lecturing Daniel in her native tongue and storming away from him. In her confusion, disappointment and fear of losing Daniel (who threatened to move out), she turns to the only other woman she knows with a gay son, Robert's mother. Robert's mother asks Mrs. Chang if it wouldn't be so bad to have another son, a clever way of getting around the cultural taboo of same-sex love. Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Chang calls Daniel back home to meet another potential date. Daniel flips out and races back home to stand up to his mother for the last time. He opens the door bellowing out, "Mother!" but almost chokes from surprise when Robert walks toward him instead. Mrs. Chang had invited Robert to be part of their family.
2002 in film
The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...
independent
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
-themed romantic
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
directed by Todd Wilson
Todd Wilson (director)
Todd Chadwick Wilson was a film director who made several gay films. Wilson's two feature films highlight gay male Asian-White relationships....
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/09/BAGL1EKTB61.DTL. Shot on digital video
Digital video
Digital video is a type of digital recording system that works by using a digital rather than an analog video signal.The terms camera, video camera, and camcorder are used interchangeably in this article.- History :...
, the film tells the story of a young gay Chinese-American man's search for true love and family acceptance within a framework of traditional norms.
Under One Roof played worldwide at LGBTQ film festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
s following its release.
Plot summary
Daniel Chang (Wong) is a twenty-something second-generation Chinese-American living at home in San Francisco with his widowed mother, who can speak broken English, and his grandmother (his father's mother), who cannot speak English. Ever since his father died, he has fulfilled his patriarchal duty as first and only son by managing the family business and looking after his mother. Being gay, he avoids the second major responsibility of carrying on the family line through heterosexual marriage and reproduction. Out of respect for his mother's values, he tries to keep, as he puts it, his home life and his "homo life" separate. By not directly telling his mother that he is gay, he has unwittingly found himself in a tense but hilarious situation where his mother continually pressures him to marry women of her choosing. Luckily, Daniel's female friend, Michelle, graciously rescues him from the constant onslaught of potential dates by pretending to be his steady girlfriend (for a price), which deflects his need to come out to his mother.Besides the extra money Mrs. Chang makes playing Mahjong
Mahjong
Mahjong, sometimes spelled Mah Jongg, is a game that originated in China, commonly played by four players...
, she also rents out the basement illegally. Daniel relates how he was quite happy to leave the previous female tenant alone. Daniel expects his mother to replace the previous tenant with another woman and is astounded when the new tenant turns out to be Robert, a young attractive white man from Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. Daniel immediately has a crush on him. Following a plumbing mishap that floods the basement with raw sewage, Mrs. Chang apologetically moves Robert into the only other bedroom that is not hers—Daniel's room. Even though reality has merged with Daniel's deepest fantasies, he bows to the paranoia that his mother will find out he is gay and decides to sleep on the living room sofa. Mrs. Chang eventually kicks Daniel off the couch so she can watch her late-night TV programs, and he is forced to share his bed with Robert. Daniel manages to be prudish for a few nights but eventually the two become lovers.
Daniel's fear of being caught making out with a man constantly gets in between his relationship with Robert, and Daniel begins to wish that the basement repairs would finish soon so they could move their lovemaking to a safer area. However, one day Mrs. Chang and Grandma return home earlier than expected right in the middle of one of Daniel and Robert's trysts. Grandma walks in on them during copulation to offer them mooncakes, one of the few English words she knows. She sheepishly leaves the mooncakes on the nightstand and exits, giving them enough time to roll apart to opposite sides of the bed just as Mrs. Chang walks in. Daniel quickly chastizes her for not knocking and makes up the excuse that he was napping. Mrs. Chang does not seem to notice that both he and Robert are naked, but she bluntly tells Robert to move his belongings back into the basement that night.
With the basement repaired, Daniel imagines he can finally spend time with Robert away from his mother's prying eyes, but the very next day a San Francisco building inspector stops by. Daniel suspects his own mother called the inspector, who gives the Chang's a list of expensive home improvements that would be needed to legally rent the room. Mrs. Chang jumps at the chance, arguing with Daniel that she has no choice but to make Robert move out. Their argument echoes in the basement and Robert hears Daniel give in without too much of a fight. Heartbroken, Robert moves away to a friend's place in Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
.
Daniel reaches his breaking point. Miserable and determined not to be alone forever, he comes out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
to his mother the very next time she starts talking about available young women. This time he is direct and asserts that he wants to be with Robert. Mrs. Chang reacts angrily, lecturing Daniel in her native tongue and storming away from him. In her confusion, disappointment and fear of losing Daniel (who threatened to move out), she turns to the only other woman she knows with a gay son, Robert's mother. Robert's mother asks Mrs. Chang if it wouldn't be so bad to have another son, a clever way of getting around the cultural taboo of same-sex love. Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Chang calls Daniel back home to meet another potential date. Daniel flips out and races back home to stand up to his mother for the last time. He opens the door bellowing out, "Mother!" but almost chokes from surprise when Robert walks toward him instead. Mrs. Chang had invited Robert to be part of their family.
External links
- Variety Review Oct 28 2002
- David Lewis interview, Under One Roof, at SFGAM