The star of Fresh Off the Boat has made an occasionally mortifying coming-of-age film,Always Be My Maybe, inspired by his own life.
THIS IS THE MALL I lost my virginity at,” Randall Park says as he eases his aqua RAV4 into a spot near the J.C. Penney at the Westfield Culver City. We’re discreetly in the shadow of the Marina Freeway. He leans back and gazes into the distance: It was 1993, and his high-school girlfriend had returned from college just as he was beginning his first year at UCLA. He doesn’t remember if they had planned to do it right there, in the back of his Corolla in a parking lot—just that it would be the first time for both of them and that they had been anticipating this moment for months with the intensity and sincerity of, well, virgins.
“I have letters that we sent to each other building it up, like, ‘This is gonna be so special, and it’s gonna be great,’ ” he says. “And it was just horrible. It didn’t last long. It was clumsy. I remember afterward thinking, It was supposed to be so much more than that. We went to McDonald’s, and the moment that I remember is us just standing there, staring at the menu, and me feeling, Oh my God, I’m a piece of shit.”
Casually offering up personal mortification is just part of Park’s style. That unforgettable moment in his life gets replayed and remixed in Always Be My Maybe, a romantic comedy he co-wrote and stars in with his friend Ali Wong. They play childhood friends Marcus and Sasha, who upset the delicate balance of heterosexual friendship with an awkward, fumbling, pre- college hurrah in the back of Marcus’s—yes— Corolla. After they fight at a Burger King, their relationship goes into a freeze that lasts into adulthood.
Denne historien er fra May 27 - June 9, 2019-utgaven av New York magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra May 27 - June 9, 2019-utgaven av New York magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
A Wonk in Full- Ezra Klein, glowed-up and post-coup, was almost a celebrity at the convention.
Ezra Klein, glowed-up and post-coup, was almost a celebrity at the convention. Ezra Klein, who is known to keep his passions in check, did not have the right credentials to get into the arena. The Secret Service didn't recognize the New York Times' star "Opinion" writer and podcaster, but eventually he was able to figure out how to get in to where he belonged. This was, after all, as much his convention as any journalist's, since its high-energy optimism turned on the fact that President Joe Biden was no longer leading the ticket and, starting early this year, Klein had led the coup drumbeat.
The Afterlife of Donald Trump - The presidential hopeful contemplates his campaign, his formidable new opponent, and the miracle of his continued existence.
Donald Trump raised his right hand and grabbed hold of it. He bent it backward and forward. I asked if I could take a closer look. These days, the former president and current triple threat-convicted felon, Republican presidential nominee, and recent survivor of an assassination attempt-comes from a place of yes. He waved me over to where he sat on this August afternoon, in a low-to-the-ground chair upholstered in cream brocade fabric in the grand living room at Mar-a-Lago.
Danzy Senna Can't Stop Thinking in Black and White
Her latest novel holds diminishing returns.
Live, Laugh, Love
Dick jokes meet sentimentality in a wily Sandler-Safdie collab.
Tim Burton Is Great Again
A long-awaited sequel revels in gore and nostalgia.
In the Shack With Robert Caro
The Power Broker is turning 50. The final LBJ book is almostwell, he won't say exactly, but he's trying for 900 words a day.
24 Comedians You Should Know RIGHT NOW
THE COMEDY industry is undergoing a metamorphosis in 2024. Name-brand venues like the Second City and UCB are opening or reopening in New York, beloved local spots are being bought out by megacorporations, and streaming-service-helmed comedy festivals are usurping the old-fashioned ones. Post-WGA strike, TV-development execs are growing green-light-shy, Hulu is entering the stand-up fray, and YouTube specials are becoming just as worthy of watching as Netflix specials, if not more so.
Leading Lady
Anna Sawai could take home the Emmy for her performance in Shogun. But she's keeping her cool.
RESTAURANT REVIEW: Le Même Veau
The Frenchette crew has taken over the 87-year-old restaurant, and the snails are as garlicky and the duck as pink as ever.
DESIGN HUNTING: A LOFT WITH A HIGHER PURPOSE
Ali Richmond, co-founder of the nonprofit Fashion for All Foundation, has lived in this Brooklyn loft for almost 20 years with his archive of designer clothing.
