BETTER LUCK TOMORROW (2002)

A Sundance sensation that became a sleeper hit for MTV Films and an unofficial prequel to the Fast and the Furious franchise, Justin Lin’s BETTER LUCK TOMORROW is also a landmark in the history of Asian-American cinema and turns the “model minority” stereotype on its head. Ben (Parry Shen) is a 16-year-old high school student who is the living embodiment of the stereotypical overachiever who teams up with a handful of friends — including Hong Kong gangster wannabe Han (Sung Kang) and rich-kid Steve (John Cho) — to build an empire selling cheat sheets.