Front Cover Explained

Front Cover
Director:Ray Yeung
Producer:Kaer Vanice, Chowee Leow, Stan Guingon
Screenplay:Ray Yeung
Starring:Jake Choi, James Chen, Elizabeth Sung, Jennifer Neals Page, Sonia Villani, Li Jun Li, Ming Lee, Benjamin Thys, Tom Ligon
Music:Paul Turner, Darren Morze, Chad Mica, Nick Christian
Cinematography:Eun-ah Lee
Editing:Joseph Gutowski
Distributor:Strand Releasing
Runtime:92 minutes
Country:United States

Front Cover is a 2015 American drama romance film written and directed by Ray Yeung. The story follows Ryan Fu, a gay Chinese American fashion stylist (Jake Choi), who rejects his ethnic heritage, who is assigned to style Ning (James Chen), an ostensibly heterosexual patriotic actor from Beijing. Front Cover received mostly positive critical reception and received awards from festivals such as San Diego Outfest, Boston Asian American Film Festival, and Outflix Film Festival.[1]

Plot

Front Cover tells the story of Ryan Fu, a gay Chinese American who rejects his Asian heritage and has learned to suppress it to climb up the social ladder. Through talent and hard work he attains his dream job as an assistant to Francesca, a celebrity fashion stylist. One day Francesca assigns Ryan to style Ning, an actor who has just arrived from Beijing, for a top magazine photo shoot. Ning dismisses Ryan's initial Western styling and demands Ryan create an image for him that represents the power of the new China. Their opinions clash, resulting in a strained working relationship.

Over the following days, they socialize while working together and discover not only do they have a lot in common, a mutual attraction begins to develop. As they get closer, Ryan reveals that he detests his Chinese heritage because he is ashamed of his impoverished upbringing. Ning also opens up and confesses that he is closeted. As they fall in love, a Chinese tabloid magazine exposes Ning as gay. Terrified of the impact it will have on his career, Ning begs Ryan to lie for him at a press conference. Ryan must now decide whether to help Ning or stay true to himself.[2]

Cast

Release

Front Cover premiered in 2015 at the Seattle International Film Festival.

Strand Releasing[3] and Edko Films Ltd.[4] [5] acquired USA and Hong Kong distribution rights. It was released in the US in August 2016 and in Hong Kong in October 2016.

The film was showcased in 'LGBTQ+ Visions & Horizon: Queer Unbound at NYAFF' at the 23rd New York Asian Film Festival on July 18, 2024.[6]

Reception

Front Cover holds an 82% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Godfrey Cheshire of RogerEbert.com described it as, "A skillfully written and acted gay love story about two young men of Chinese ancestry...The transition from distrust to wary friendship to something more passionate in a movie like this depends a lot on the writing, and Yeung’s is subtle and assured, tracing an emotional arc that’s believably nuanced."[7] Robyn Bahr of the Village Voice described it as a "sexy, ambitious queer rom-com(ish) drama."[8] Jeannette Catsoulis reviewed the movie for the New York Times, calling it "sensitive, decorous and buffed by Eun-ah Lee’s warm photography."[9]

Accolades

Awards

Nominations

Notes and References

  1. Web site: FRONT COVER WILL COMPETE AT THE CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. 2019-11-09. en-US.
  2. Web site: Front Cover movie review & film summary (2016) . Cheshire . Godfrey . RogerEbert.com . en . 2019-11-09.
  3. Web site: TIFF: Ray Yeung's 'Front Cover' Goes to Strand Releasing. The Hollywood Reporter. 12 September 2015 . en. 2019-11-09.
  4. Web site: Wong2015-09-23T11:03:00+01:00 . Silvia . Edko to open 'Front Cover' in Hong Kong . 2023-11-24 . Screen . en.
  5. Web site: Busan: Edko Films Snags 'Cover' Rights. Frater. Patrick. 2015-10-03. Variety. en. 2019-11-09.
  6. Web site: 23rd New York Asian Film Festival: Schedule & Tickets. NYAFF . June 18, 2024 . July 22, 2024.
  7. Web site: Front Cover movie review & film summary (2016) Roger Ebert. Cheshire. Godfrey. rogerebert.com. en. 2019-11-09.
  8. Web site: Queer Rom-Com(ish) Drama 'Front Cover' Is an Ambitious Breakthrough . The Village Voice . 2 August 2016 . 2019-11-07.
  9. News: Review: In 'Front Cover,' Struggling for Self-Acceptance. Catsoulis. Jeannette. 2016-08-04. The New York Times. 2019-03-29. en-US. 0362-4331.
  10. Web site: FilmOut San Diego Sponsors. filmoutsandiego.com. 2019-11-09. 2021-11-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20211120162214/http://www.filmoutsandiego.com/2016-festival-awards.htm. dead.
  11. Web site: Outflix 2016 Award Winners!. OUTMemphis. 2016-09-16. OUTMemphis. en-US. 2019-11-09.
  12. Web site: Boston Asian American Film Festival (2016). IMDb. 2019-11-09.
  13. Web site: Serile Filmului Gay International Film Festival, Romania (2016). IMDb. 2019-11-09.
  14. News: Golden Koala Chinese Film Festival 2017. Concrete Playground. 2018-12-04. en-US.
  15. Web site: SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES AUDIENCE & COMPETITION AWARDS. 2019-11-09. siff.net. en.