No event is more synonymous with the teenage American experience than prom.
And the film industry, Satan bless it, has never lost sight of that fact.
Getting on that prom court is a must and becoming prom queen is the holy grail.
It certainly is for Joan Huang (Shirley Chen), the second-generation Chinese American protagonist of satirical comedy-dramaSlanted.
And, of course, we started with the obvious question.
I went to three proms.
I snuck into them, star Mckenna Grace says.
I was actually prom queen!
Gotta flex on em.
Theater prom, queen of the nerds.
I got all the prom I need here.
There had just been a shooting in Atlanta with six Asian American spa workers murdered, she remembers.
Later on that day I went out for a walk and it brought back a lot of emotions.
It certainly spoke to the films star.
But theres a kernel of that scared and vulnerable girl in me.
It was definitely an interesting breakdown of a character to get.
I was like Who?
You want me to do what?'
I really connected with that when reading it.
[Chen and I] came up with a bunch of mannerisms to tie the two characters together.
We wanted to ensure it translated.
Mckennas an ABG, cant you tell?
Chen jokes of her counterpart, before clarifying for a baffled interviewer:Asian Baby Girl!
Thats been really great.
From the get-go I wanted the movie to be satire and I wanted her face to fall apart.
Through it all, however, lingers the most timeless of cinematic themes: teenagers and their problems.
Despite the tonal shifts between the two projects, she sees the universality in teenage insecurity.
Theyre so different in tone and character, Ramakrishnan says.
The high school experience of friendships breaking down is heartbreaking.
And I think thats a universal experience.
Lets hope thats the only part ofSlantedthat remains a universal experience.
Slanted premiered at the SXSW Film Festival on March 8.
