Starring Jerry as Himself
(USA, 75 min.)
Dir. Law Chen
Jerry Hsu has an extraordinary story to tell his sons and ex-wife. He assembles the family at a restaurant and informs them about a strange call from the Chinese police. Jerry recalls an officer advising him that he’s a suspect in an international money laundering scheme. They have Jerry’s name, address, and social security number. For any question Jerry asks, they have all the answers. The office explains to Jerry that the best way to clear his name is to assist with their investigation. If not, the Taiwanese immigrant may never be able to return to China—at least, that’s what the officer says.
One doesn’t need to be psychic to guess where Jerry’s story is going. Especially on the heels of the comedic phone scam caper Thelma, in which 94-year-old granny June Squibb refused to be a victim, Starring Jerry as Himself mostly follows a predictable story. Jerry does indeed get scammed by men posing as “Officer Wu” and “Inspector Ou.” But what’s obvious to the discerning viewer may be life-saving information to audiences, especially older ones, vulnerable viewers, or anyone who isn’t suspicious each time they answer the phone.
The film walks audiences through the full journey of Jerry’s cooperation. It’s a brisk caper that adopts a conspiratorial tone akin to a spy movie. The “cops” insist that Jerry needs to keep everything a secret. He complies, and it’s fairly easy for him to do the mission solo. They task him with “missions” that begin at a beginner level, like sending a picture of his bank. The missions escalate as Jerry makes initial wire transfers to verify his accounts. Then he sends his life’s savings and stock portfolio. It’s nearly $1 million worth of savings he’s reserved his entire life to enjoy upon retirement and to provide for his family.
As a retiree who lives alone now that he’s separated from his wife and his three adult sons have homes of their own, nobody’s really looking in on Jerry. His son, Jesse, wonders why Jerry takes so many phone calls and acts strangely while helping him find a condo. (For which Jerry promises to make the down payment.) But he just assumes that his dad has a lady friend and is being awkward. Ditto Kathy, Jerry’s ex-wife, with whom he’s still on friendly terms.
Jerry makes an impressive feat by coming clean about being scammed. It turns that one of his sons, Jonathan, makes movies and commercials. Jerry agrees to make a film about his experience to help raise awareness about phone scams that prey on vulnerable people. Moreover, Jerry has excellent recall and serves as co-writer with director Law Chen. They unfold the extensive telephone conversations with Officer Wu and Inspector Ou, played with dramatic flair by Zhuang Cai and Fang Du, respectively, more or less as he remembers them. Chen depicts the scammers’ offices as the police department that Jerry imagines. However, they’re bereft of people, save for the two young men playing tag-team with the phones. Starring Jerry as Himself isn’t building towards a big reveal. Rather, it drops breadcrumbs to alert suspicion.
Jerry’s also a compelling star in his own right. His vulnerability is a brave display of strength here. But he also has a natural screen presence and sense for comedic timing. (The opening sequence offers archive of his stand-up days.) He has a lot of fun with the true-crime caper and injects the film with a few telling pauses that, in retrospect, see him shaking his head with wonder about how he was so easily duped.
Starring Jerry as Himself plays like a straightforward true crime film. It’s, in a sense, scripted non-fiction drama with a hybrid twist as Jerry recreates his own story. But the participatory nature offers something new for true crime in a genre that seemed all but maxed out by formula as it situates Jerry’s story with a hybrid film movement that recognizes the power in letting people play themselves. Chen finds a slick delivery for the caper and makes Jerry akin to an action star hero, rather than a victim. Jerry can’t get his money back, but this film offers an alternative: an act of agency and authority over his own story.
