Surprisingly incoherent and boring

not horrible nor great

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

You could say a film proves itself by whether you give it a second thought. Another proof is how the film plays on second viewing. "Red Doors" plays very well on first viewing and lodges itself in your memory. On second viewing, it inspires awe.This film does not give up its secrets in bursts of action or plot-twists. Its strengths are symphonic, and it builds to a conclusion that will remain in your thoughts for a long time afterward. I especially appreciate the way it leaves its audience; "Red Doors" honors its viewers without ever pandering to them.Everything about the film seems natural and easygoing until you see things that leave you wondering: How did they know? Ordinary things--the angle of a girl's hair, a home-video montage--grab you by the throat. The music craftily draws the viewer into the situations without ever drawing attention to itself. The performances, without obvious star-turns, have a cumulative impact that's just overwhelming. To see "Red Doors" is to form an attachment to it. To see it again is to immerse yourself and love it.

I really enjoyed this movie. The characters were fun and the end left you in a good place. I just wish that you could have seen more of the mother. There that is the worst I have to say about this film. Everything else is just wonderful. The characters (except mom) are well rounded, the pilot believable and well paced, and the filming style a joy to watch. When you laugh out loud when you're by yourself you know you have a winner. Not to mention...Mia Riverton is very easy on the eyes.I was upset when I couldn't see this film in theaters. I was overjoyed when the producers decided to make it available for renting online. This is going to be a big step for independent films. So go do your part to support this film. I promise you won't to sorry.

I saw Georgia Lee's "Red Doors" at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival in New York, and was really moved by this film.I connected with the experience of being a part of a family that is in transition -- what seems to have once been a tight-knit family unit is now diverging into different directions. The parents are getting older...the children are entering into adulthood...and basically the dynamics have changed, and they are having to relearn how to be a family in their new lives.There's emotion, there's humor, there's rawness and sincerity, there's good writing, acting, and music, and a window into a Chinese-American family -- what's not to love?!And I can't wait to see what Georgia Lee does next.

"Red Doors" starts out looking like a re-tread of early Ang Lee movies, but quickly adds a charmingly unique cross-generational element as three sisters and their father are at crossroads in their lives from retirement to career and romantic choices to literally explosive teen rebellion.Each of the Chinese-American daughters has a relationship with a Caucasian, but inter-ethnic issues are less of a concern than human issues of self-realization, as the characters end up drawing strength from their cultural context as they deal with the pressures of being "the model minority." While the writing is stronger than the directing as there's some drag, particularly during the middle daughter's seemingly endless and petty travails, writer/director Georgia Lee makes the best use of actual home movies - her family's -- since "Capturing the Friedmans," for bringing memories to life. We are actually seeing her sister's, lively co-star Kathy Shao-Lin Lee's, childhood as the family members take turns digitizing home movies.As is usual in first timer's ethnic coming-of-age movies there's a bit of a stereotyped emphasis on art vs. commerce career choices and high school memories that are doubtless a filmmaker's autobiographical resonances. But each character is very much an individual, including having their own musical themes, from hip hop to mopey singer-songwriter tunes. The teen ager is an original spark plug of comic relief even as the family members' relationships aren't all resolved sit com style.I particularly liked how the acculturated oldest sister pushes the depressed dad (a marvelous Tzi Ma) to see a shrink but he wisely finds a more traditional healing process that's the opposite of talk therapy and a touching contrast to the similar emotional crisis in "About Schmidt." The title was explained in an off-hand remark at the end, a reference to the tradition of painting one's front doors red to bring good luck, and not all the audience caught the meaning, though we all appreciated the red doors pins that were distributed after the screening at the Tribeca Film Festival. It was also nice of the director to give up some of her allotment of tickets to people on the long line hoping to get in, which included many Chinese-American women from around the New York metropolitan area who had heard about the film through word of mouth.The potential audience may be confused by the time this film is generally released with "Saving Face" that is being distributed earlier, as they share a few plot points, including parental conflict and a lesbian daughter, but on its own it is a lovely, sweet film.