Review: 'Ping Pong Playa'

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

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.)