Jason Schwartsman, Olympia Dukakis
“7 Chinese Brothers” My rating: C+
76 minutes | No MPAA rating
When we first meet Larry, the main character (one is loathe to call him a protagonist) of “7 Chinese Brothers,” he’s being fired from his bottom-scraping job in the kitchen of a trendy Austin restaurant for stealing from the tip jar and siphoning off liquor from the bar.
Caught red handed, his response is basically a shrug and a wise-guy remark. Out in the parking lot he keys the car of his chief accuser.
Larry is, not to put too fine a point on it, a slacker asshole. A jerk. he should be intolerable.
Except that Larry is portrayed by Jason Schwartzman, one of those actors who manages to bring to every role a modicum of empathy and insight.
In Bob Byington’s shambling comedy Schwartzman walks a fine line between creepy and compelling.
This is one of those movies that goes nowhere fast. There’s not a whole lot of plot.
Butler's Cinema Scene 