Rating: 
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: Summary: "The Joy Luck Club", based on the novel by Amy Tan, is the story of four Chinese mothers and their American daughters. In particular, it is the story of their struggles for independence and self-discovery, told in lushly filmed vignettes that bind together the transcendent theme that self-esteem doesn't come cheaply.--- A feather. The feather of a swan. A feather that carries with it all the hopes and dreams of a Chinese woman who left everything behind as she fled to America. Her hopes and dreams of a daughter who would be born in America, speak "perfect American English", and implicitly, live happy and free of the horrors her mother had fled in China. So begins the "Joy Luck Club", a story of four such Chinese mothers, their struggles for self-discovery in China, and their daughters' equally powerful struggles in America. There are eight stories here, but one overarching theme unifies, reinforces, and amplifies the lesson of self-esteem and it's survival value. Lindo (Tsai Chin) was sold as a young girl in China. The sale was cemented when she was four or so. She was delivered at age fifteen, to a pre-pubescent husband who likes to play with lizards and a mother-in-law who sees her as nothing more than a grandson factory. Her brilliant escape from this nightmare grips with the same force as her daughter Waverly's escape from a different sort of prison. An Mei (Lisa Lu) was the daughter of a lowly Fourth Wife, a mere concubine in a patriarchal home. Dealing with her mother's death, and learning the importance of knowing one's worth, sets the stage for her daughter Rose's story. Played brilliantly by Rosalind Chao, Rose finds her voice, and discovers her worth, when coming to grips with a marriage gone sour. Ying-Ying (France Nuyen) wasn't sold. She wasn't born into a hopeless situation. Hers is a story of self-betrayal, and its price. A self-betrayal so horrifying that it left her soul fractured, sometimes paralyzing her into a catatonic state, unconscious of everything in the world except for one unspeakable regret. In her daughter Lina she sees the same weakness of spirit, the same tragic humility, and, most gratifyingly, a way to recapture what she had previously surrendered. In the defining scene of their story, she tells Lina: "Do you know what you want, I mean from him? Then tell him now. Do not come back until he gives you those things. Losing him does not matter. It is you who will be found." In nurturing her daughter's self-affirmation, she makes huge strides in healing herself. The feather is Suyuan's (Kieu Chinh). In her escape from China, she carries nothing but her dreams, and the memory of what she left behind in China. It is that story that closes the film, as her daughter June returns to China to discover her mother's past and to find her own fulfillment of her mother's hopes.
Rating:
Summary: The best movie of all time!
Review: The movie The Joy Luck Club based on the novel of Amy Tan was a simply beautiful and uplifting treasure! The movie follows the origonal story well and doesn't try to add anything new in. This movie shows us both China and the relations between mothers and daughters. The movie is done mostly in flash back memories of a certain part in their life when everything was down hill. In these stories adventually you see how these clever people pulled through this rough period in their lives and survived.
The Joy Luck Club also has a wonderful ending to it. I must say in the movie the ending was done much better than in the book. The movie had many parts better than the book. My reason for saying this is that the movie added more emotions, more strong feelings! It gave me a greater feeling and understanding for these charectors!
So, now you know a little about this spectacular movie. Please don't miss out on owning this remarkable little treasure! Act now and buy it. You'll love it! I guarentee it!
Rating: 
Summary: the joy luck club
Review: there are only a hand full of movies I love and that I can watch over and over ...and still cry over and this is one of them ...from the first time I saw this it still rings true years later about mothers and daughters , how we strive to be different but we still remain the same. I LOVE THIS MOVIE..I just saw it again for the tenth time and I still cried
Rating:
Summary: Where are the extra features
Review: Well I can't really fault the movie because I love it. It is so moving and there are so many messages about changing your life and demanding what is best for you. I was just disappointed that there were no extra features on the DVD.
Rating:
Summary: I'd watch it again.
Review: This movie isn't about man bashing. I don't know how anyone could think so given the equal representation of both positive and negative male and female characters. The movie is, however, very much about cause and effect. It does a fantastic job of illustrating how each of us is the sum of our experiences. Each character is a puzzle that's gradually pieced together via flashbacks. Each strained mother/daughter relationship is amended by the sharing of their own individual histories. All in all, I'd venture to say the audience is given as much insight into their own personal relationships as the characters are. For that, I think it's a wonderful movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Asian women good, Asian men bad
Review: This movie can be summed up in six words: Asian women good, Asian men bad. The positive portrayal of Asian American women in this movie comes mostly at the expense of their male counterparts, which is extremely disappointing. There is no Asian male the same age as the main characters who is portrayed in a positive light - instead they appear prominently as rapists, wife beaters, and simply dorky. And there is also a blatant double standard - in the happy ending one main character divorces her Asian-American husband for his concern for splitting their bills 50/50, whereas another main character stays with her caucasian husband after he openly admits to cheating on her.
Rating:
Summary: A Heartbreaking and Powerful Testament to the Human Spirit
Review: "The Joy Luck Club" is a ground-breaking film with universal themes that anyone can relate to regardless of age, gender or nationality. Truly epic in its scope and haunting vision, the movie is also deeply heartfelt and familial, enhancing its ability to speak to the audience in myriad, boundless ways. This is an intimate portrait of two generations of Asian women - the mothers who risked everything to create a better life for their daughters in the United States. At this juncture in American history, the movie resonates more than ever by reminding the viewer of our fore-mother's immigrant experience. In doing so, "The Joy Luck Club" serves as a vibrant contemporary document on freedom and the pursuit of happiness. Ming-Na Wen (now known to millions as Ming-Na or Deb Chen on NBC's top rated drama "ER") is superb in the central role of June, greiving for her recently deceased mother with the 3 "aunties" who miantain her place at the mah-jon table. Their gatherings continue, with June's presence, and in the process form the backdrop from which these women's personal stories and life-journies are shared. Each auntie - and their now-adult Americanized daughters - explain their often-harrowing attempt to escape Communist China and their difficult transition to an American way of life in the U.S. Tears flow in both generations, not only for what has been lost, but also for what has been found here - a society with different values that challenges these women in unexpected but nearly universal ways. As both generations - and all eight women eventually - share their stories, the viewer literaly steps into each life, aware of where the characters end up, yet fully experiencing the challenges each of them faces. Set against the backdrop of June's trip to China to find her long-lost sisters (whom her mother was forced to leave behind in one of the film's most powerful sub-plots) "The JOy Luck Club" can be ANY family's story, regardless of how long they or their ancestors have lived in this country. In doing so, it succeeds at building bridges to the past, while staunchly looking ahead to the future. This is the sort of film that embraces real life and human themes, but also puts a face on what it means to be a zero-generation immigrant, or an exile in a land far from one's home and culture. Like the current spate of Latin and Soviet block immigrants and the last century's explosion of new Americans from Europe and Africa, we recognize through the characters the meaning and value of freedom, family and peace as well as the unimaginable challenges our elders faced in coming to this land of opportunity. The cast of Asian-American actresses is uniformly superb, straddling a delicate balance for the viewer that requires they be both accessible AND remote at once. Although long seen as a "woman's movie" the film deserves to be widely experienced by all people, including men, who might otherwise reject the film as nothing more than handkerchief fluff. In fact, since few similar films exist with central male characters, "The Joy Luck Club" stands as a film I believe many men would embrace if they give it a chance. The film speaks for our fathers and brothers, not just our sisters, mothers or wives. This is grand, epic storytelling with a heart, beautifully directed by Wayne Wang and amazingly accessible in every way, due to its stellar cast. Had there been a Best Ensemble Oscar designed to honor the contribution of a group of actors at the top of their form, "The Joy Luck Club" cast would have surely been honored. A magnificent film that fully captures what it means to be an American of any descent.
Rating:
Summary: Who cares about the male bashing?
Review: I'm an Asian male and I have no problems whatsoever with the depiction of men in the film. It's really pretty much the same case with Beloved and Color Purple. They're female books written with a feminist slant, but considering how male chauvanistic and polygamistic Confucianism is, you know, the book isn't totally wrong. Certain parts such as the 'tiger crouching in the shadows' were made exotic to suit a foreign audience but I enjoyed it. It's like fortune cookies. I loved the film. (Though some parts were a bit melodramatic). And I know this is going to sound very suprising but the film is much better than the book. The book does not put the stories into the context of a single dinner gathering, so it lacks this overall coherance that the movie provides and the ending of the book is just so draggy, detailing the whole trip from Guangzhou to visit some Aunt and on to see her sisters. The movie cleans it up very well and the pacing is good. (And for those who were wondering, the Mandarin spoken here is proper, understandable and coherent, unlike Crouching Tiger. *Yuck*) The characters in the movie were less real than the characters in the book, but the effect of this allowed for a more emotional response from the audience. I especially liked the scene where Suyuan places her necklace over June towards the end and comments about her having a 'quality heart'. It's very moving, and so too the part when Ying Ying tells Lena, "Losing him does not matter, it is you who will be found." This movie's a real gem.
Rating: 
Summary: Felt REALLY Long. Realistically Annoying Characters.
Review: According to this film, lots of Chinese gals come to America, decorate their apartments in mod décor, and become obsessed with "success". My aunt is from Hong Kong and very into modern design, but I'm assuming this film is over-generalizing. Yes, mothers and daughters tend to hold petty, emotional baggage, grudges, chips on their shoulders, etc, towards each other that can last years. It's amazing how grouchy & melodramatic some of them can be to one another. I'm not talking about male bashing, either. There's no way I'm going to empathize with a woman who drowns her own child just because her husband cheated on her. Is this some sort of warped feminism: just because men rule the world and oppress them gives women the right to murder innocents? I'd have been more comfortable with her murdering him! I also got the impression that Tan thinks the Chinese people (in China) are apathetic towards anyone but family and close friends, which I guess could explain why there will probably never be a mass democratic revolt there: you have a billion people there who just don't care. This film does have a touching ending, but I can't seem to track down any of the cultural stories and symbols it references...
Rating:
Summary: one of the best movies of all time!
Review: I just love this movie!... I love this movie! iT teaches a lot of good lessons! Once you start watching it you can't take your eyes of the screen! It's great for mothers and daughters of all races! and to everyone ofcourse! I don't think this movie is bad! It even shouldn't be rated R! jUST WATCH IT! iT WILL make you cry and it will definitely touch your heart!=)
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