OxfordPress.com

The grade part is a breeze. Ben's the kind of smart kid who's never had a B. And that straight-A record is what gives him the freedom to do whatever he wants. "Anything" used to be some petty shoplifting with his Asian-American pals. But thanks to a few coincidental friendships, their sphere of misbehavior expands. First, they're scamming cheat sheets. Next, they're selling drugs. Pretty soon, they're waving guns.

Ben and his friends become the go-to guys if you want something shady done. Notes Ben, "The more notorious we became, the more [party] invitations we got." (Translation: their peers are more fascinated by them as bad guys than as studious, well-behaved Asian-Americans.)

Aside from the occasional teacher and the school's basketball coach, there's nary a grown-up in sight. When Ben picks up his vivacious lab partner/cheerleader (Karin Anna Cheung) for the prom, her folks don't even come to the door to say hello.

"Better Luck Tomorrow" was produced by MTV Films, and director Justin Lin carries out the implied mandate that his film be as visually hot-wired as any music video (weird angles, slo-mo jetting into fast forward, etc.). Fortunately, he's written some rich characters for his fine cast. Shen makes an extremely empathetic protagonist. When things start going wrong for him, we feel as badly as he does; we're that invested in the character. Almost as good are Jason Tobin, Sung Kang, Roger Fan, and John Cho, who bring a welcome individuality to his assorted friends.

The plot fizzles out and the teen alienation is as familiar as J. Lo's belly button. But the movie has a good sense of humor and a better sense of dysfunctional high-school dynamics. Best of all, it comes from a perspective we rarely see in movies. These boys' ethnic identity, as perceived by others and by themselves, underlines almost every move they make -- from the stereotype of the bespectacled honor student to the allure of Asian-American gangstas.

Savvier than "The River's Edge," more meaningful than "The Breakfast Club," "Better Luck Tomorrow" is a coming-of-age film that takes the cliché of wanting to be cool and gives it a very particularized spin. It's a chance to get inside an outsider's skin, for an hour or so.