Shortcomings
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: August 4, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
The PlaylistPoulomi DasJan 28, 2023
Park proves to be a director with style and wit to spare, staging revelatory sequences that walk the narrow line between comedy and provocation. Read full review
83
Original-CinLiam LaceyAug 2, 2023
Wryly funny, and just a little more complicated than its familiar indie film tropes suggest, the dramedy Shortcomings marks the directorial debut of comic actor Randall Park (Fresh of the Boat, Blockbuster, The Interview). Read full review
83
ConsequenceMary SirokyJan 28, 2023
Shortcomings might have felt like more standard Sundance fare — an inoffensive slice-of-life portrait with an imperfect lead — were it not for its self-awareness and vibrant characters. While worth watching for Justin H. Min’s performance alone, Shortcomings will leave the viewer excited to see what Randall Park might do next as a director. Read full review
80
Rolling StoneDavid FearAug 3, 2023
How much self-inquiry Park himself has put into Shortcomings is pure speculation, but you can’t deny he’s put his soul into bringing his vision of a movie that explores everyday identity politics — but isn’t just about identity politics — to life. Read full review
75
IndieWireProma KhoslaAug 4, 2023
Shortcomings isn’t revolutionary, but it’s authentic, resonant, and laugh-out-loud funny. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Cliff LeeAug 4, 2023
With the framing of doorways and windows, walk and talks and medium shots that let the streetscapes seep in, Park’s thoughtful direction helps to evoke the panels and pacing of Tomine’s work. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comRobert DanielsAug 4, 2023
Shortcomings is a wickedly funny, absorbing character study and solo feature directorial debut by actor Randall Park (“Fresh off the Boat”). In the hands of Park, Adrian Tomine's graphic novel (adapted here by Tomine) finds cutting new dimensions in the miserabilism of an unabashed assh*le. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldAug 3, 2023
The cast is a delight — Cola, between this film and “Joy Ride,” is officially the funniest best friend of summer 2023 — and the film has some thoughtful things to say about identity, attraction, ambition and moving on. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeOdie HendersonAug 3, 2023
Though it delves into some dark territory, Shortcomings has a light touch and is at times very funny. The hilarious Cola is easily the film’s MVP, but Mizuno and Maki are also quite good. The film’s self-awareness and humor about its protagonist are its greatest assets. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliAug 2, 2023
It appears custom-made for a streaming service and will lose nothing from a home viewing. Regardless, with its smart and irreverent screenplay and trio of strong performances, the movie is a winner in whatever circumstances a viewer discovers it. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineChris BarsantiJan 26, 2023
Shortcomings is a mostly comedic but fitfully insightful examination of a character type familiar to indie cinema: the solipsistic guy who fills the gap left by emotional underdevelopment with intense opinions delivered at bad times. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzAug 2, 2023
Randall Park, the actor (“Fresh Off the Boat”) making his feature-directing debut with a script Adrian Tomine adapted from his graphic novel, displays a confidence here that is infectious. Read full review
70
Paste MagazineJesse HassengerJan 30, 2023
It’s a piercing portrayal of culturally specific nerd rage in Tomine’s comics; on film, it’s a little talky, and could’ve used more Ghost World-style moments of caricature, like that savaging of Crazy Rich Asians at the opening. But while Shortcomings doesn’t turn Ben into a misanthropic hero or excuse his often-terrible behavior, it does stick to the ethos he espouses early in the picture: This is a movie full of people who are flawed, and real. Read full review
70
SlashfilmErin BradyJan 28, 2023
Shortcomings is a charming debut with plenty of fast-cracking jokes. Read full review
70
VarietyJessica KiangJan 28, 2023
For all the film’s chatty insights into modern dating mores and its casually pointed discussions of racial identity, the formula to which Shortcomings mostly adheres is a familiar one, as though someone has given one of the Apatow-esque man-child comedies of the aughts an Asian makeover. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleTrace SauveurAug 2, 2023
All of these characters’ supposed “shortcomings” are more often relationship-ending defects. Ironically, this steadfast depiction of noxious people is what makes the movie appealing. Read full review
67
The Film StageMichael FrankFeb 1, 2023
Park’s debut comedy leans on its cast and a smart screenplay to offer up a social commentary both bitter enough to make a point and agreeable enough to make people laugh, even leave with a smile on their faces. While it’s a tricky line to balance, Park (barely) pulls it off. Read full review
63
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanAug 1, 2023
If Shortcomings falls short in any way — hackneyed plot, halfhearted themes of assimilation and identity — it isn’t due to the two actors who carry the story across the finish line. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangAug 4, 2023
As a director, Park stages his scenes with an unadorned flatness that strives to approximate the humdrum workaday poetry of Tomine’s comic-book frames but sometimes allows too much dead air to coalesce around the jokes and arguments. Read full review
60
The New York TimesDevika GirishAug 3, 2023
The movie is funny and touching, with a star-making performance by Min and a script full of lovely, self-aware little touches . . . But it’s shot like a sitcom — flat, shiny, perfunctory — and structured like one, too, with quip-heavy vignettes that resolve in pat conclusions. Read full review
60
Screen RantTatiana HullenderFeb 3, 2023
With the help of a fantastic ensemble, including a short but impactful appearance by Veep's Timothy Simons, Shortcomings will have audiences thinking as well as laughing after the credits roll. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleBrandon YuAug 4, 2023
The film, written by Tomine, remains largely faithful to the book, which was already filled with caustic dialogue primed for a slacker movie. Yet there’s a sense that Tomine’s world has become sanitized in translation. Read full review
50
ColliderTherese LacsonFeb 9, 2023
While Park injects his own joie de vivre to his on-screen performances as an actor, there is a distinct lackluster quality to Shortcomings in its biggest moments. It feels, at times, generic. The story, penned by Tomine, still holds the same feelings for me as the graphic novel, which is to say that at least they provoke thought, but Park’s own style feels far from refined. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerJan 28, 2023
It’s more like the kind of standard Sundance-bound dramedy we’ve seen lots of times before, albeit with a charming cast and some sharp bits of commentary on race, identity and gender that come courtesy of screenwriter Adrian Tomine, who adapted his 2007 graphic novel of the same title. Read full review
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