Shanghai Calling – a Romantic Comedy

By Keen Hung Lee

On Saturday, July 28, Shanghai Calling had me laughing from beginning to the end. Smart, handsome, funny and charismatic Sam kept my eyes glued to the screen. I simply loved the storyline of Shanghai Calling!

Sam (Daniel Henny), a young Chinese-American lawyer, enters an unfamiliar land when he is appointed to be the head of the firm’s new Shanghai office. As Sam learns to assimilate, he does not forget where he came from. In the midst of such a transition in his life, Sam encounters a group of intriguing characters of Shanghai’s “Americatown”, a community of expat businessmen professionals.

Sam arrives to Shanghai, meets and falls in love with Amanda (Eliza Coupe), the blonde Mandarin-speaking relocation specialist. Proving capable at his new job, Sam lands a huge deal only after hours of his arrival in the new “land of opportunity”. However, as Sam makes his life into the city of Shanghai, it becomes more difficult for him to navigate smoothly through his new career. As a result, Sam must learn to trust both the expats and the Chinese to lead him through this difficult time.

“Shanghai is a beautiful woman”. One doesn’t know how beautiful something is until h/she learns to appreciate it. Sam, a young, successful Chinese-American lawyer who had never stepped past 76th in Manhattan, New York before did not imagine living anywhere else until he gave Shanghai a chance.

I enjoyed watching Sam’s character unfold into someone who changed from thinking he knew the solutions to every problem to relying on the expats of Americatown to help guide him through a rocky journey in the “new land of opportunity”. I loved every part of Shanghai Calling because the supporting characters who helped Sam develop into something great had unique personality and fresh perspectives to share with Sam.

 

The movie felt short so I had to watch it twice!

Visit the link for more info about Shanghai Calling: shanghaicalling.com

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