Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong

Plot

Outside a bar Ruby (Jamie Chung), an American children's toy designer temporarily in Hong Kong makes plans over her phone to meet her friends at another bar. Overhearing that her phone doesn't have GPS and she is lost, American expat Josh (Bryan Greenberg) offers to walk her to her destination. As they walk and talk they find a connection sparking between them. Josh tells Ruby that he works in finance but longs to be a writer and she encourages him to quit his job to write a novel. Once they reach the location where Ruby is supposed to meet her friends Ruby offers to blow them off to get a drink with Josh. At the bar he confesses to Ruby that he has a girlfriend and the reason he was outside the bar and overheard Ruby's conversation was because he had left his girlfriend inside doing birthday shots and flirting with other men. Ruby is infuriated and leaves Josh.

A year later on a ferry ride Josh spots Ruby and re-introduces himself hoping to apologize to her. He tells her that their conversation affected him profoundly and he has quit his job in finance to work as a writer over the past year. Ruby tells him that she has been living in Hong Kong for the past year due to a promotion that temporarily relocated her there. In the spirit of honesty Josh tells Ruby he and his girlfriend are still together while Ruby tells Josh she also has a long-distance boyfriend. The two spend the night reconnecting and gradually feel themselves drifting together romantically once more. While slow dancing Josh is spotted by a friend of his girlfriend's and Ruby is upset, feeling that they have been emotionally cheating with one another. She admits to Josh that her boyfriend is actually her fiancé and she is actually leaving Hong Kong within the week. Josh and Ruby split a cab to go home and Josh confesses that while he does not want to cheat on his girlfriend he does have feelings for Ruby.

The two sit in the cab outside Ruby's apartment trying to decide whether Josh should leave to go home or whether he should go up to Ruby's apartment.

Cast

Production

Writer-director Emily Ting an American of Asian descent based the script on her own experiences as an ex-pat in Hong Kong. Ting was also inspired by Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise.

Ting cast real-life couple Jamie Chung and Bryan Greenberg to play the couple in her movie after working with Greenberg on The Kitchen.

Reception

The film received generally positive reviews. Andrew Barker for Variety called it "a simple valentine to Hong Kong’s expat nightlife".