Let’s get real here, I don’t think I (as well as everybody else) could catch my breathe while watching this play. Word after word was just hysterical. Whether it was from the lighting of Justin Bartha’s first joint to Jesse Eisenberg’s sketchy explaination of his $169 journey to Africa, I could not stop laughing. I really enjoyed Zombieland but I did not think Eisenberg had it in him to be this funny…or awkward.
I won’t lie, before I went to see the show I looked up what exactly it was supposed to be. I read something along the lines of “two room mates have their liberal views tested as they take in an immigrant…” It’s safe to say I didn’t really get what was expected based off of that review. Yes, they both obviously had liberal views, but I don’t see how they were tested. I don’t think the play really touched on the topic of immigration, per se. To me, the more prominent issue was judgement. Does that judgement come from the fact that Asuncion is an immigrant? Maaaaybe. Eisenberg judged Asuncion because she came from the Philippines. His older brother judged him because he lived with his previous TA. His TA judged him because he was writing a story about Asuncion when she didn’t even know it. The whole play came to a screeching halt when everyone came to reality with their judgements. It was no longer funny that Eisenberg was a creepy brother-in-law, or that Bartha suggested something more from Eisenberg. It was just awkward…which might be Eisenberg’s speciality besides comedy.
Do I think this play was effective? I guess I depends on what terms you’re asking. I agree with Eric entirely. While the play was beyond hysterical, the political messages just weren’t there. Was I supposed to be leaving the theater chasing Jesse Eisenberg to tell him he’s ridiculously amusing and can I get a picture or asking just where he stands on illegal immigration and who I should consider voting for as president? As much as I love this play and would recommend it to anybody, it would be for comical reason only not to have your political stance tested.
(Ps. Jesse Eisenberg is adorable and Justin Bartha’s butt is fiiiiine, even though he gained some weight)
No offense to Reinard! But that was one of the funniest lines of the entire play (it’s not directly quoted, but it was what I could scribble down while he babbled on). Not that I wasn’t laughing the entire time anyway. Who knew Jesse Eisenberg could be so funny! I didn’t. I loved the entire thing, from beginning to end and thoroughly enjoyed it though I thought I wouldn’t.
Back to the quote! The reason it caught my eye (or ear, rather) was because it showed the complete clashing of cultures as well as a bit of ignorance on the part of others who feel the need to categorize everything even if the categories don’t quite fit. This particular line combines different cultures of the world as well as our connotations of where each one comes from with such ignorance that it’s funny. It is to some extent a little true, but this mixture of cultures is in most every country. We tend to forget that cultural diffusion is a large part of the world and that we greet and interact with it all the time.
Was this play effective? Well, it was effective in entertaining me, that’s for sure. I could also see the point Eisenberg was trying to make. We have a lot of preconceived notions of who people are based on where they are from. Sometimes it occurs when it comes to what people look like. I am Egyptian but I may “look” something else. Where are people basing this “look” from? On a majority? Well, let me tell you, Egyptians range from the whitest of whites (my cousin) to full on black (my uncle), so skin color should not be a deciding factor. Edgar’s mistake in the play was not that he judged Asuncíon by her color, but by her origin. He believes he knows all about her because he visited Cambodia, once, by accident. Cambodia and the Philippines are approximately 1,000 miles apart, that’s why the joke was so funny: not just because they’re entirely different countries, but because there’s an entire sea between them, so it shouldn’t be confusing. He thinks that because there are so many stories about immigrants coming to America because of the sex trade, Asuncíon must immediately be a part of that group.
This innocent youth, blinded by the stereotypes and prejudices of the world, wanting to be politically correct and helpful in all ways possible, doesn’t know the first thing about any of these things. Edgar does not know how to serve without being overbearing, he does not know how to separate fact from opinion, and when he tries so hard to treat people well, he cannot help but offend, as he did to poor Asuncíon. His goal in writing this story or article was because he genuinely wanted to help her. He wanted the same success others got when they wrote about these types of things and be able to help others relate to her enough to get help. In the process of these supposed good intentions, he ends of offending Asuncíon, angering his brother, and frustrating his roommate.
This play as a whole brought to the surface a lot of the prejudice we can have as a people who don’t live in a country where there is unison in ethnicity. It definitely brought out the ignorance some people can have and showed how people can be completely convinced with their opinion that they completely miss the truth, sometimes even ignoring the truth.
NYTimes Arts
