the laserman : somehow the title of writer-director-producer peter wang's film conjures up images of superheroes , like ultraman and spiderman . you kind of expect an adventure flick about a crime fighter who can shoot laser beams from his fingertips . as it turns out , the laserman _is_ about crime and about laser beams , but there aren't any superheroes . instead , wang's film is populated by a group of refreshingly off-beat characters living in the ultimate cultural melting pot : new york city . the laserman is a comic brew which celebrates ethnicity , eccentricity , and electricity . the film tells the bizarre story of arthur weiss ( marc hayashi ) , a chinese-american laser scientist whose life becomes incredibly hectic after he accidentally kills his lab assistant in an experiment . he loses his job but finds work with a mysterious company which secretly plans to use laser technology to commit dastardly deeds . arthur's professional life is cluttered with moral dilemmas . his personal life , on the other hand , is cluttered with colorful friends and quirky relatives . in fact , arthur is by far the blandest character in the film , despite a charismatic performance by hayashi ( the san francisco-based actor whose films include chan is missing and the karate kid ii ) . it's the auxiliary characters who give the laserman its unique spark . arthur's not-so-typical jewish mother , ruth , for example , is convinced that a chinese soul is trapped in her jewish body . she has dyed her red hair black , she takes herbal medicine daily , and she is perpetually cooking up strange delicacies , such as matzo balls in soy sauce--the ultimate fusion of jewish and chinese cuisine . veteran stage actress joan copeland takes the part and runs with it , almost stealing the movie in the process . she plays ruth as a driven woman , determined to overcome her genetic heritage by immersing herself in chinese culture . arthur's girlfriend janet ( maryann urbano ) is a kooky free-spirit who would rather meditate than copulate ; her ultimate goal is orgasm through zen meditation . arthur's best friend , joey ( tony leung ) , is a small time thief who hustles everything from microwave ovens to machine guns . joey is married to arthur's jewish sister , but he is also having an affair with a chinese immigrant who works in a whore house . arthur's 11-year-old son , jimmy , played by the amazingly adorable david chan , is--horror of horrors--bad at math ! he finds it impossible to meet his father's lofty expectations . the various people in arthur's life come together to form a rich tapestry of humanity . like wang's earlier film , a great wall ( about a san francisco family visiting relatives in china ) , the laserman revolves around cultural differences . every character in the film is , in some way or another , trying to find his identity--struggling to negotiate a balance between his native culture and the american way . the movie also offers a provocative look at technology . wang appears in the movie as lieutenant lu , a detective who is fed up with machines , even though he relies on them to do his job . the film views technology with a wary eye , acknowledging its necessity while at the same time realizing its potential dangers . wang raises the time-honored question of whether scientists should be held responsible for their inventions . was einstein responsible for the a-bomb ? is arthur weiss responsible for his lasers ? the movie pits spirituality against technology , man against machine , and the result is a draw . according to the film , technology has its place , but we must employ it with great forethought and caution . ironically , by its very nature , the laserman is a triumph of technology--the technology of filmmaking . wang's direction is exquisite , especially during the tense finale in which the director frantically cross-cuts between the various subplots , perhaps in homage to d . w . griffith . cinematographer ernest dickerson , who has worked on all of spike lee's films , gives the laserman a distinctive , artistic look . mason daring's score , which includes a send-up of bach , is right on target . the laserman is an ambitious endeavor , which is to be applauded , but it's sometimes ambitious to a fault . wang serves up so many slices of life in the film that it's hard to digest them all . for instance , one character ( arthur's sister ) has negligible screen time , and consequently we just don't care about her marital problems . in weaving his web , wang has included a few too many strands . overall , however , the laserman is a charmingly eclectic concoction . on the surface , the film is a light and bouncy comedy-thriller , overflowing with whimsical humor and visual style . the heavier issues emerge only when you take a deeper look at the film . you can ponder the moral questions or you can just sit back and enjoy the absurdity of life in china town .
