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Amos Lassen wrote on 02/11/2011:

“Under One Roof”
Flawed Sweetness
Amos Lassen
“Under One Roof” is a very sweet little film which is filled with sincerity and charm. The acting may not be perfect and the writing is uneven but it does depict honest pleasures in a very sweet way. There is humor as a result of inter-ethnic and gay situations. There is a great deal of quirkiness and insight that make this film a little better than some of the usual fare that we have seen recently. It is an independent film and made on a low budget but it does show things from the point of view at the Chinese-American. In an attempt to find an answer to why this character does not come out to his parents, we find a series of complications which provide us with a fun movie to watch.
The gay characters are all played by gay actors and the sex and nudity in the film are used to contrast typical Hollywood movies that hide sexual organs and quickly show sex and intimacy so that it is both unnatural and distracting. With gay Asians at the center of the film we get a whole new outlook on what it is like to be a stranger in America. I have read reviews that dismiss the film as a cheap imitation of Ang Lee’s classic “The Wedding Banquet” and I must disagree. This is a hard film to classify and perhaps that is why I succumbed to its boyish charm. It is a soft-core version of the classic love story of boy meets boy. Sure, technically it leaves much to be desired but the story line is so sincere that it is hard not to like the film. The problems can be overlooked in deference to the charm of the film. Here is a movie that gay Asians can identify with as well as have a laugh at the foibles of their own society. Up until “Under One Roof” we did not have gay Asians depicted as being sexy. It is no “The Wedding Banquet’ but neither does it try to be. It is not a great movie but given what there was to work with, I found it satisfying—I surely have seen worse—many times. Some of the movie is very touching and sensitive but if you are looking for a slick production, “Under One Roof” is not the movie for you.

GarlicToe wrote on 12/21/2008:

I just love this movie for its entertainment value. I can watch it over and over again. You know that this is low budget and it shows. The blocking is poorly done, but that was because of limited space; Great story. There really was chemistry between the two leading actors. They both are adorable looking and their acting made the two characters adorable. I bought the movie to see James Marks (playing Richard - the adorable white guy). He was almost the only male actor in the movie that you didn't see in the nude (the director explains why in the commentary). This was my main disappointment and I would have liked this actor to have been part of the commentary. I would have redone some scenes and reworked some of the scripting, but it still tells a cute love story with a bit of innocence. If you don't get hung up on production values and can still enjoy a good young gay love story with the main characters being cute, then this is a must see. I believe the main actors do a well enough acting job to make their character endearing.

Janorm wrote on 03/09/2008:

This film is a significant romantic comdy with certain erotic connotations thrown in for entertainment. Pure enjoyment! This scenerio has been played out by countless generations of all genders of all races of people. People can really identify with ths struggle!! Take your lover to see this one!!

Rich wrote on 12/27/2007:

Knowing it's a low-budget film, there are some lousy production values I can ignore, like bad sound and cinematography (this had both) but this just had bad everything. I can even look past bad acting (which this also had in spades.) But pile on bad directing, really bad writing, painfully slow pacing, and horrible editing, and it's all just too much to bear. I had trouble watching it. The white guy is freaking adorable, though.

gayboy wrote on 05/21/2006:

I'm sorry, but I looked beyond the quite obvious flaws and absolutely loved this film. I would have re-cast the mother, re-written several parts of the script, and directed the actors differently in a couple of scenes, but I still loved this movie! The guys are so cute -- especially Jay Wong (to steal a phrase from the character, 'I'd love to dip my chopsticks in his rice bowl!'). and they had a realistic chemistry going which came across quite nicely. Genuine and fun. That winsome smile of Jay's just grabbed me and I loved the very real way in which the two principle leads played with each other and obviously had fun in some of the more intimate scenes. I have several favourite gay movies which have a much larger budget, better scripts and direction, and better talent, but this one still managed, despite the problems with the film, to take me into the lives of the characters and engage me. I've watched it many times since my initial viewing and still find it a joy. That's more than I can say for other gay films I've purchased, films with impeccable production values. Time for me to go out and find my own Asian boy!