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Review: 'Ping Pong Playa'

Comedy about a basketball star who gets roped into the family table tennis business is fitfully amusing.

By Peter Rainer

from the September 5, 2008 edition

In Jessica Yu's aptly named "Ping Pong Playa," Christopher "C-Dub" Wang (Jimmy Tsai) wants to be a basketball star but comes from a family where table tennis rules. His brother is reigning champion of the National Golden Cock tournament, his mother teaches at a ping-pong clinic, and the family runs a store catering to ping-pong enthusiasts. His best friend, JP Money (Khary Payton), is African-American, which also seems like something C-Dub wants to be. He's a mishmash of cultural opposites, and his motormouth swagger is fitfully amusing. So is his backhand. Grade: C+ (Rated PG-13 for language, including some sexual remarks and drug references.)

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