Review: ‘Ktown Cowboys’ is a clumsy, misguided tour of Koreatown

“Ktown Cowboys,” which follows the misadventures of five best pals and Asian American archetypes, often comes off as a guided tour of Koreatown rather than an immersive, lived-in residency.

With appearances by Ken Jeong and Daniel Dae Kim called in as favors, the film doesn’t seem to reciprocate that community support. A Greek chorus sporadically breaks the fourth wall to guide viewers as it trails the KoreAm frat pack navigating such cultural oddities as Korean saunas, after-hours hangouts, “booking clubs” and “host bars.” It’s true that Ang Lee has also served up Oriental exoticism in pandering to non-Asian audiences (most notably with “Eat Drink Man Woman”), but never to the extent that Daniel Park does in his first feature.

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Recycling punch lines from the eponymous 2010 Web series that serves as its basis, the film persistently misses the mark as a raunchy comedy amid all the side commentaries and Park’s earnest tone. Yet it’s equally clumsy at making sense of its portrayals of the indignities that Asian Americans routinely endure.

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‘Ktown Cowboys’

MPAA rating: R, for language throughout, sexual content and brief graphic nudity.

Running time: 1 hour, 23 minutes.

Playing: CGV Cinemas, Koreatown, Los Angeles.