Like any number of films that have come before it -- Home for the Holidays and even Sally Field's tearjerker Two Weeks come to mind -- Dim Sum Funeral brings together a bunch of grown siblings to work through decades of family dysfunction, to reveal secrets, and to come to terms with each other and their life decisions. Other than a fairly heavy dose of Chinese atmosphere, including a few tai chi breaks, there isn't much originality here, but at least it moves along at a good clip.

When housekeeper Viola (Talia Shire) alerts the four children of her widowed employer that the old lady, a woman even her children call "The Dragon Lady," has died, they assemble reluctantly to engage in seven days of traditional Chinese funeral proceedings, even though they are all fully Americanized and don't have a kind word to say about the old battleaxe.

Victoria (Francoise Yip) is a real estate agent who bore a child with a black man, a big no-no in Mom's eyes. Alexander (Russell Wong) is a plastic surgeon married to a former beauty queen, but he's cheating on her, following a pattern set by his father. Elizabeth (Julia Nickson-Soul) is a Hong Kong-based magazine editor whose marriage dissolved when her son died. And Mei Mei (Steph Song) is a lesbian chopsocky actress whose girlfriend (Bai Ling) accompanies her back to Seattle for the funeral.

The damage Mom has done to this quartet is evident in their antipathy not only towards her but towards each other, since it's made clear that she played them against each other throughout their childhoods. They're a cranky, grudge-holding, and basically unpleasant bunch, and none of them likes the idea of hanging around for a week, picking out a tombstone, kneeling at the living-room shrine, and greeting guests. One big revelation: Mother actually had friends. They can't believe it.

A little excitement arrives in the form of Chow Lin (Chang Tseng), a mysterious old visitor from Beijing who knew Mom back in the day. Why did she request his presence? And why did he come? That secret, along with one particularly big revelation at the climax of the film, are telegraphed quite clearly and may lead you to engage in a bit of eye-rolling. There were plenty of opportunities for originality here, but other than toying with a layer of Asian exoticism, writer Donald Martin doesn't stray far from convention. A few bonus points, however, for the part where Bai Ling tries to convince a Buddhist monk to become her sperm donor... and succeeds!



Baby time!