The new film, The Social Network, is proving to be a critical and box office success, but that hasn’t prevented it from being called out for its not so flattering portrayal of Asian women as over-sexed, white boy-loving crazies (see different takes on this issue here, here and here).

But this isn’t the first time Hollywood has produced an otherwise decent film that has raised the ire of the community. Following are my choice for five quality films (in no particular order) that would have otherwise been indisputably greater if not for their problematic Asian characters.

1. BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S (1961)

Based on a novella by Truman Capote, many consider this film about a New York prostitute named Holly Golightly (the luminous Audrey Hepburn) and her search for love to be a bona-fide romantic classic. And what’s not to like? This is Hepburn at her most charming (I dare you not to fall in love with her after seeing this movie), director Blake Edwards brings a firm but still lighter-than-air touch to the proceedings and Henry Mancini introduced the great love song “Moon River” on the soundtrack.

It would have been absolutely perfect if not for Mickey Rooney’s yellow face performance as the Japanese Mr. Yunioshi. It’s not just that this is arguably the most offensive Asian character in an American movie (every stereotype from the buck teeth to the accent is represented here), but the character is so broadly drawn that it belongs in another movie altogether; only serving to pull the audience out of the story every time he appears.

See how charming this scene from the film is:

Then, compare it to this scene:

2. SIXTEEN CANDLES (1984)

The first of John Hughes’ high school films is also arguably the best. Molly Ringwald stars as a typical suburban teen who is disheartened that nobody has remembered her sweet 16th birthday. Sixteen Candles is a tender, perceptive look at the high school years, but if you were an Asian growing up in America during the 1980s, you probably hated the movie! Why? Three words: Long Duk Dong. Played by Gedde Watanabe, the “Donger” was an Asian exchange student with a keen interest in big-breasted American girls and partying. Like Rooney in Breakfast At Tiffany’s, the broadly stereotypical Donger (the sound of a gong can be heard whenever his name is uttered) feels out of place here and I know I wasn’t the only Asian kid who had to suffer schoolyard taunts after this movie’s release (“The Donger need food?”).

But looking back at the film now, I have to admit that the saving grace of that character is Watanabe’s deft comedic performance. The Donger may be a cringe-inducing stereotype, but if you put aside that aspect of it, Watanabe’s take on the character is as skilled as John Belushi in Animal House or Sean Penn in Fast Times At Ridgemont High. For better or worse, there’s a reason why that character has become a comedic icon.

3. THE DEER HUNTER (1978)

Michael Cimino directed this epic about a group of small town friends who go to fight in Vietnam and see their friendship and lives change forever. Boasting a high-powered cast that included Robert DeNiro, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep and the late John Cazale, the film won five Academy Awards including Best Picture and was hailed as one of the first Hollywood movies to look honestly and unflinchingly at the Vietnam War. Too bad what it showed us was a lie.

Most films about Vietnam relegate the Asians to the background as nameless VC soldiers or whores, but The Deer Hunter passes off a completely made-up and fictional “Vietnamese” as the real thing (Cimino described the film as an accurate depiction of the Vietnam experience); hinging its plot on the notion that the Vietcong forced their American captives to play deadly games of Russian Roulette. Soldiers on both sides of the conflict have said they had never experienced or even heard of such a thing and watching those scenes now makes the otherwise powerful film feel forced and manipulative. Read veteran screenwriter William Goldman’s classic Hollywood memoir Adventures In The Screen Trade where he compares The Deer Hunter to the Disney animated classic Bambi and concludes that The Deer Hunter is the more cartoon-ish and unrealistic work of the two for the very reason cited above.

The russian roulette – The Deer hunter
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4. THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962)

Made during the height of the Cold War and shelved by producer/star Frank Sinatra after John F. Kennedy’s assassination, The Manchurian Candidate was rediscovered and celebrated years later as the classic thriller it is. Laurence Harvey is the favorite son of a powerful right-wing political family who is kidnapped and brainwashed to become an assassin by the Communists while serving a tour of duty during the Korean War. Sinatra is the platoon’s commander who begins to uncover the conspiracy at the heart of the film. This is still a chilling and effective thriller that resonates even more powerfully in today’s political climate.

Unfortunately, Henry Silva’s unconvincing yellow face turn as a North Korean spy throws a wrench in an otherwise tense story. Especially ridiculous is the mano-a-mano fight between Silva and Sinatra where we’re to believe that both are experts in karate. To be fair, this is one of the first times that the martial arts had ever appeared in an American movie, but yeah, it’s still pretty ridiculous.

5. SHORT CIRCUIT (1986)

I know this film about a robot named Number 5 who gets struck by lightning and thinks it’s alive is not the first title that pops into your head when you think of the words “classic cinema,” but as a child of the 1980s, I will go on record to say that I loved this movie. Steve Guttenberg and Ally Sheedy have great chemistry as the humans who must protect Number 5 from the evil military complex (this is the ‘80s after all) that comes after it. It’s just too bad they are accompanied on their adventure by comedic sidekick Ben Jabituya who is supposed to be of Indian descent, but played (once again very broadly and stereotypically) by the non-Indian Fisher Stevens.

Even at that young age, I had mixed feelings about liking the movie because of the offensiveness of that character, but I was still willing to embrace Short Circuit because it won me over in every other way. However, when Short Circuit 2 was released a couple of years later with Ben Jabituya (now renamed Jahrvi) as the main character, well, let’s just say my love for Number 5 short-circuited.

Here’s the trailer for Short Circuit 2: