There have been plenty of movies about characters making movies. There’s even a term, meta-cinema, for films that inform audiences that they are watching a work of fiction. However, it’s hard to think of anyone who has taken meta-cinema to the extent of Harrison Xu, Ivan Leung, and Katherine Dudas.
Their new comedy is about two young filmmakers making a movie about two young filmmakers making a buddy movie. Hence, the title: Extremely Unique Dynamic. It will open the Vancouver Asian Film Festival, which runs from November 7 to 17.
“I would describe it as an Asian, meta, queer, coming-of-age, stoner, bromantic comedy,” Xu tells Pancouver over Zoom. “I think it touches a little bit on all of those aspects.”
Xu plays Ryan, a heterosexual actor who works in film marketing in Los Angeles. He’s planning to move to Edmonton but wants to make a movie with his best buddy on his final weekend in the city. Leung plays a rapper and actor named Daniel. This character is afraid of revealing to Ryan that he’s gay for fear of ruining their friendship.
“A lot of these conversations that Ivan and I were having in the movie were very real and came from a real place,” Xu reveals.
The two characters, Ryan and Daniel, play themselves in their film. Daniel’s inner dialogues are zany, unpredictable, and, at times, tender and heartbreaking. Hudson Yang (Fresh Off the Boat, Honour Student) appears in a cameo role, adding some levity.
Xu says film emerged from friendship
In many respects, Extremely Unique Dynamic demonstrates how art can reflect everyday existence for actors of Asian ancestry.
“A lot of it is based on our true lives,” Xu discloses. “We were in Ivan’s room brainstorming and we had just come off of working for the first time. I, like my character in the movie, work in film marketing. And I had Ivan help me with this movie called Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.
“We ran the entire social campaign for it,” Xu continues. “It was our first time working together and we really got along well. That inspired us to actually make a film because we had both been in the industry as actors for 10-plus years.”
Xu grew up in Vancouver and has recently moved back. The meta aspect of the film ties back to his hometown. At the age of 16, Xu watched a musical on Granville Island about people making a musical. He mused to himself that on one had ever done a film about people making a movie about people making a movie.
“So, that’s how that idea really came to fruition.”
In the midst of all the fun, Extremely Unique Dynamic delivers trenchant observations about how Hollywood treats actors of Asian ancestry. Xu is happy to elaborate on this in his interview with Pancouver. His first acting role came as a teenager playing a character named Chinese Boy Number One in a TV show about aliens.
“When I first started, Asian roles were very one-dimensional and stereotypical,” Xu recalls. “Typically, it was like you were a nerd or you were a martial artist.”
Taking representation to the next level
Xu and Leung had been actors for a long time but never had a chance to play opposite one another in a film or TV show. Part of the reason, according to Xu, is that casting directors would only put one Asian male in a project. Then they could check off the diversity box.
“Unless it’s an Asian movie where it’s an all-Asian cast, it’s really rare to see two Asian males in the same film,” Xu says. “So, that’s why we created [Extremely Unique Dynamic]—so that we can be in it together and we could be two very different people within the movie, as well.”
Fresh Off the Boat, a sitcom on ABC from 2015 to 2020, marked a watershed event in showing a family of Asian Americans on network television. Then, things went in the complete opposite direction after the release of the hit film Crazy Rich Asians in 2018. According to Xu, that led to the rise of hot leading Asian men, such as Simu Liu, the star of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
Watch Pancouver editor Charlie Smith’s interview with Harrison Xu.
Xu was happy to see how Asian characters have evolved on-screen. But he still feels like there was a huge gap in the middle where there weren’t many roles for Asian people to exist as they are. In Extremely Unique Dynamic, the two leading actors can showcase themselves in all of their dimensions.
“That’s a big reason why we made this film, so that we can play these characters that we typically don’t get to play,” he explains.
Ivan Leung’s “Taco Loving Asian Guy” is featured in the film.
“Taco Loving Asian Guy”
Xu also hopes that their movie encourages people to allow themselves to live authentically. This is also manifested in the soundtrack, which includes Leung’s memorable “Taco Loving Asian Guy” rap. It captures the sunny spirit of living in Southern California, setting the tone for the entire film.
Leung’s character, Daniel, also blurts out an expletive in Cantonese.
So, would Xu and Leung ever consider making a comedy in Cantonese?
“Our Cantonese isn’t good enough right now, as it is,” Xu replies, “but it would be really fun to do that, for sure.”
Watch the trailer (above) for Extremely Unique Dynamic.
The Vancouver Asian Film Festival will present Extremely Unique Dynamic at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday (November 7) at the International Village Cineplex Theatre. Co-directors Harrison Xu and Ivan Leung will be in attendance. The Vancouver Asian Film Festival runs from November 7 to 17. For more information, visit the website. Follow Pancouver on Twitter @PancouverMedia and on Instagram @PancouverMedia.
This article is part of “Beyond Chinese”, a joint initiative of Pancouver and the Asian-Canadian Special Events Association. Through interviews with artists and cultural workers, Beyond Chinese offers a nuanced view of people with Chinese ancestry. Pancouver and the Asian-Canadian Special Events Association gratefully acknowledge the support of Canadian Heritage.
