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Even though the American Dream for any immigrant family can become a reality, at times, it doesn’t always end up that way. As a result, many of them have to give up on their idealized life, and scramble to find other ways to survive. That’s the story Jebby Productions, headed by Julian Kim, Peter S. Lee, and Kat Kim, brings forth with Happy Cleaners, about a family struggling to make ends meet, only to have their dreams dashed in a moment.
Meet the Chois, a mixed first and second-generation Korean family led by the hard-working parents (Charles Ryu and Hyang-hwa Lim) in their dry cleaning business in Flushing, NYC for nearly 20 years, bringing in a modest income to support their family and two kids. Except they’ve been straining to make rent which Hyunny (Yeena Sung), their daughter, supplements from her job as a doctor – the perfect example of a Korean child. On the other hand, their son Kevin (Yun Jeong), the oldest, refuses to follow in their conventional footsteps; instead, he wants to move out to LA to pursue his dreams.
As any immigrant parent will tell you, they’ve made sacrifices to move to an entirely new country so their children could have a better life. But that also means living out their parents’ dream instead of their own. The Chois’ day-to-day consists of arguments about whether they can spare the money for a new boiler at the dry cleaners, swallowing snappy comebacks for certain customers, and balancing frustration at their daughter’s choice of a boyfriend with their son’s lack of motivation to get a real job.
It’s remarkable that even though the Chois have been in America for more than 20 years, they still feel like outsiders. Kevin is happily ignorant of this fact until he forgoes his plans to move to LA and helps out at the shop instead. And it doesn’t matter if the customer is wrong, the Chois aren’t willing to upset the precarious balance they’ve created for themselves. As the mom says to Kevin: “You try running a business. See if the law takes your side or not.”
Not only do the Chois have to handle their customers, they’re reminded of how foreign they are when their new landlord comes in to inspect the shop. They’re told to wear a suit when working (at a dry cleaners), to clean up the shop’s smell, and update their packaging and design. And even if they manage to implement those changes, their American dream is yanked out from underneath their feet.
Food is the incredible thread throughout the movie that brings everything and everyone together. Every night at dinnertime, the Chois gather around their tiny table to dine on mouthwatering dak dori tang and acorn jelly to name a few Korean delights. Even when there’s tension in the family, food will always bring them together to express what cannot be said. The simple act of cooking a dish – in one case, the dad makes breakfast for Hyunny as she’s rushing out the door, only to have an unexpected chat about their feelings.
Happy Cleaners isn’t the fantasy many immigrant families envision when they move to a new country, but for many, it’s the reality. There are so many unseen battles immigrants have to go through just to survive in their host countries, something the natives can take for granted. Though the Chois may find themselves losing their beloved business, they’re still able to reunite as a family, stronger and more resilient than before. And in the end, that could be the best dream any American could have.