The Achievers (2006)

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Chinese-American director Abraham Lim's ensemble comedy-drama The Achievers) hones in on five San Franciscan roommates in their mid-twenties, each one something of a misfit. The domino-like story commences when out-of-work resident and general ne'er-do-well Shingo (Akie Kotabe) forgets to pay the rent, spelling misery for everyone; this draws a notice-of-eviction (effective within one month) for all of the roommates. Shingo thus cooks up a plan to raise the monies by manufacturing thousands of Ecstasy pills, but that scheme turns into a debacle when another resident, the mousy Murphy (Dave Lee) mistakes them for allergy medication. Meanwhile, Ellen (Samantha Quan, the flat's third roommate, claims that she's attempting to save the day by arranging a new residence for everyone, but quietly plans to strike out on her own - realizing, on some level, that the end of her shaky interracial romance with a WASP (Troy Hauschild) and/or her tenuous office job, could spell personal misery. In another corner of the apartment sit. The picture's fourth and fifth roommates consist of Akira (Jennifer Willson), a young woman plagued by self-hatred who manifests it in a series of increasingly dangerous acts, and Indian-American technophile Trent (Bahldeep Parihar). Lim and Michael Golamco co-adapted Golamco's stage play of the same name. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi