Vancouver, CANADA – Whether it be rides to the airport, relationship advice or a place to crash, whenever anyone in her family needs ‘saving’, Vanessa (Kelly Hu) is the one they rely on.

But as things get complicated with her almost perfect new boyfriend, family problems arise that become too much for Vanessa to handle.

The 30-something career woman must try to find a balance between her demanding family and her new found love as Vanessa realizes she is the one who needs to be saved from it all.

Director Bertha Bay-Sa Pan’s film, Almost Perfect, shows how difficult it can sometimes be to juggle love, commitment and family.

The film gives a realistic portrayal of Asian-American siblings and tells a story that many Asian-Americans and other cultures alike can relate to.

Almost Perfect features good solid performances by the actors such as Tina Chen who played a very convincing mother. And in a rare English speaking role, Edison Chen also gave a decent performance as Vanessa’s rebellious AWOL younger brother.

A departure from the usual characters Kelly Hu plays, the role of Vanessa in Almost Perfect was a good opportunity for her to show her acting range and she did a wonderful job as the lead character in the film.

Roger Rees who played the father and the only caucasian in the family, did raise some questions during Q&A as confused audience members asked the director whether it was her intent to cast him in the role. The director had originally written the story to be a Mexican-French family, but later changed it and wrote the role specifically with Roger Rees in mind.

The addition of humorous characters, such as the two older aunts who love to gossip about other family members, made the story even more relatable.

With relatable characters and universal themes of love and family,  Bertha Bay-Sa Pan’s second feature film, Almost Perfect, is an overall enjoyable film that was worth checking out.

Almost Perfect was the Opening Night Presentation at the Vancouver Asian Film Festival that ran from November 3-6.

[Rating:3/5]