Wuchak "Smile" is an independent film from 2005 about an American girl and a Chinese girl born on the same day. Kate (Mika Boorem) lives the good life as a typical Southern California good-lookin' blond whereas Lin (Yi Ding) was discarded like trash as an infant by her parents because of a facial deformity. Thankfully, a man rescues the girl and sacrifices all to see to it that she has a quality life (Luoyong Wang). The two girls meet when Kate decides to take part in a program encouraged by her teacher Mr. Matthews (Sean Astin). The story's a cumulative creation based on thousands of true stories, including one of an American teen and Chinese teen. A picture of the two is featured at the end.The cinematography, locations, score/soundtrack, etc. are professional-level filmmaking and there are a few big names in the cast, like Linda Hamilton and Beau Bridges as Kate's parents, not to mention Astin. Although this is one of those tear-jerking inspirational dramas, it's also a coming-of-age flick. To be expected, the story goes back-and-forth between Kate and Lin. The latter's life is quite sad, except for her adoptive father, while the former's life plays out like the usual teenage-babe-in-high-school yarn. I don't mean that in a bad way because Kate's (melo)drama helps hook the viewer into the story and is one of the film's strengths. Another positive is that the filmmakers don't try to play your heart-strings too early. The whole story is a build-up to the revelation at the end and, I have to confess, it brought tears to both my wife and me.Unfortunately, you can tell that this is a low-budget movie in regards to the weak acting in several scenes. When a movie has the funds the filmmakers will take several shots of the same scene until they get it just right; and they'll kick axx if they have to in order to get the best out of the actors. Here you can tell that they set up scenes and shot them very quickly with the attitude of "That's good enough." Why? Because time is money and they didn't have the money to take all day to shoot one or two scenes, so they got the best they could on their limited budget. Another negative is that the story is too by-the-numbers. You're watching a scene and it feels like actors following the contrived words of a script rather than what they would do or say in real life, which ruins the movie's illusion of reality. If you can ignore these flaws, however, this is a worthwhile inspirational drama. Being shot in China, it gives Westerners a good spotlight into the lives of common people in that country.The film runs 107 minutes and was shot in Malibu, California, and Jingxi & Shanghai, China.GRADE: B-

ltlacey One, I am not some employee of any production company related to this movie. Second, I have no ulterior motives in raving about the movie. I just found the story very interesting and moving, even if at times the script was a bit contrived. What we have is well-to-do teenager with her own set of problems (arguing parents, boyfriend pushing her to have sex), and then we get a glimpse of the life of a teenager who has not only cultural issues that make her life totally different, but a physical deformity that causes her a lot of hardships. Sometimes those of us who lead a more privileged life forget that for the majority of those on this planet life is not about what TV program to watch, Facebook, and what to wear on a date. This movie was more than just promoting what is a great program (Doctors Without Borders, etc.), but what it is like to be a teenager, and then realizing that one needs to grow up, then doing so.

Wayne I have just seen this movie on DVD and found it fascinating. The scenes were presented with a good balance of realism and restraint. I found it acted and directed well enough to immerse the viewer in the story. The pace of the movie supported a sense of suspense as hope alternates with anguish, and choices confront a number of characters. The character of the (Chinese) father is one that especially impressed me. The movie provides an opportunity for people like me who are privileged in many ways to reflect on what life and humanity is about, and it does this without sentimentality. It is not a movie to watch for mere entertainment. It provides an opportunity to connect with the world we live in, and to be reminded of the pain, tensions, choices and hope that are often part of the lives of many people in our world.

scorseseisgod-1 Not to be confused with Michael Ritchie's nasty 1975 beauty pageant spoof, this "Smile" is a down-turned example of those good intentions paving the road to hell.The film parallels two stories: an impoverished Chinese father sacrifices his wife and son to raise a facially-deformed orphan named Ling (Yi Ding), and a TV-spawned Malibu family act out "Gidget Get Birth Control." Katie (Mika Booram, the third Olsen twin) plays a spoiled, self-absorbed high schooler distanced from reality. Her teacher (Sean Astin) paves the way for a school trip to China aimed at showing students how to work with deformed children.The film uses deformity as a means of suspense by treating Ling like the Frankenstein monster. Kramer continually masks her deformity through hats, hoods and camera placement. This approach exploits the freak show quality inherent in the material. She may be uncomfortable with the way society views her and Kramer's answer is to cover her up until the big reveal. Why disturb your audience with such unpleasantness? We see her face briefly at the end and only minutes before closing-credit snapshots of her after surgery disclose a swan beneath the harelip. It is not good enough to give the girl a reason to live; what is imperative is Ling being equally as hot and popular as Katie.Funding for the film came from a trust established by the late Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. They envisioned a heritage of quality family films. Give me "Son of Paleface" any day.