Xiaoming is dumped by his girlfriend. He hastily joins a package tour called “Hollywood Adventures” as the quickest means of going to L.A. to get her back. On the flight, he’s saddled with fellow tour member Dawei, a film buff who wears him out with his encyclopedic knowledge. Upon landing, Xiaoming is detained at customs and narrowly escapes unendurable probing thanks to tour guide Weiwei, who manages to dupe federal officers with a bluff so implausible it couldn’t fool a 3-year-old. This marks the first of a succession of blanket representations of Americans as racist, thuggish, loud-mouthed, pea-brained egomaniacs, while the Chinese leads are indulgently portrayed as innocents with hearts of gold, a choice that’s sure to alienate more objective audiences.
