December 2

On the days that happen to fall on a friend's birthday, I like to offer my column as a birthday gift - not just because I'm cheap, but because I hope they find somebody that they connect with. See, this blog is an informal litmus test to me, a chance to see if people born under the same day (and, therefore, the same horoscope sign) share any similar characteristics.
So, I called my friend, who shall remain nameless, and we went through the list of today's candidates, which feature a lot of crazy divas and hip rock bassists (which is a reason that my friend's remaining nameless; she doesn't play bass.)
Our choice for today: Lucy Liu, an actress whose roles come to her. For example, her "Ally McBeal" audition was for the role that went to Portia DeRossi; the producers created a role specifically for her. Same thing when she talked with the producers of "Sexy Dirty Money"; she said she was interested in the show, and they wrote a part for her. She's been set to produce and star in a relaunch of the Charlie Chan franchise, but her choices in recent films to star in (Code Name: The Cleaner, Rise: Blood Hunter, Ballistic: Ecks vs Sever) seems to have stalled those plans. (If a movie title has a colon in it, Lucy - don't do it!) Until then, she's keeping busy with UNICEF and voice-over work, in the animated franchises for Kung-Fu Panda (as Viper) and Tinkerbell (as Silvermist).

I'm an Asian-American who tried his hand at acting, so I got nothing but props for Lucy Liu, who's managed to play roles beyond her race (GridLock'd, Chicago), along with the roles that depend on her ethnicity (Kill Bill, Shanghai Noon) yet allow her to surpass stereotypes. She's not simply the go-to gal when you need to fill the role of a geisha, or balance the whiteness of a cast; she's a draw in her own right. Now if she could just pick better scripts...
And is it a step backward if I show movie clips of her using kung fu? Here's a fight montage, featuring Charlie's Angels and more Ecks vs Sever than you ever wanted to see...


It was either this, or that scene when she kissed Callista Flockhart...