Justin H. Min, Sherry Cola, and Ally Maki join the cast of Randall Park's directorial feature debut Shortcomings
The film is an adaptation of Adrian Tomine's graphic novel of the same name
Randall Park’s directorial feature debut has confirmed its cast after shooting earlier this summer. As reported by Variety, Shortcomings is set to star Justin H. Min (The Umbrella Academy), Sherry Cola (I Love Dick), and Ally Maki (Cloak & Dagger). The film is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Adrian Tomine, who became an indie comics stalwart for his work on Optic Nerve, but more recently gained visibility for his New Yorker covers capturing the pandemic era.
Min and Maki will play Ben and Miko, a Japanese-American couple in the San Francisco Bay area who find their relationship strained by their insecurities about white beauty standards. Cola plays Ben’s irreverent friend Alice, whose serial dating offers another perspective on romance. Given that the book came out in 2007, it should be interesting to see if the film is a period piece, or if it addresses how dating apps have exacerbated many of the issues brought up in the story.
Following Min’s run as part of the ensemble of The Umbrella Academy, which just announced its fourth and final season, this is a very different comic adaptation for him. Earlier this year, he portrayed the titular robot in A24's After Yang, opposite Colin Farrell and Jodie Turner-Smith.
Cola is part of the cast of the Freeform series Good Trouble and has appeared in projects including Claws, Transparent, and Endings, Beginnings. Maki has been seen on shows like Dear White People and Hacks and also has an extensive voice acting résumé. Other actors confirmed to appear in Shortcomings are Sonoya Mizuno (Ex Machina), Timothy Simons (Veep), Jacob Batalon (Spider-Man: No Way Home), Debby Ryan (Spin Me Round), and Tavi Gevinson (Gossip Girl).
Veteran comedy actor Park previously stepped behind the camera for Fresh Off The Boat, on which he starred for six seasons. He also directed an episode of Doogie Kamealoha, M.D. Next, he’ll be seen in the Netflix series Blockbuster and heard on Gremlins: Secrets Of The Mogwai.
“It was a joy watching these incredibly talented performers bring these characters to life, flaws and all,” Park tells Variety. “I am extremely proud to helm a movie that will finally show the world that the Asian American experience includes eating various sandwiches in diners.”
Tomine’s work was previously seen on the big screen in Paris, 13th District, directed by Jacques Audiard. The script, written by Audiard and Céline Sciamma, combined several of his short stories into one integrated narrative, as well as shifting them to the titular neighborhood. This time around, Tomine adapted the script himself, and he’s an executive producer on the film.