The setup is outrageous: Benson, the boyfriend of four years Mike may or may not remain with, gets stuck with Mike’s mother, Mitsuko, whom he just met when they picked her up at the airport in Houston, when Mike unceremoniously leaves for Osaka to care of his dying father, Eiju. Mitsuko and Eiju are estranged. Benson is barely surviving his own baggage when the difficult, angry stranger is dumped in his space. Racial tensions (Benson is Black), hilariously hostile parents, and questions about what we really mean to each other. The personalities of Houston and Osaka as cities are palpable and transportive.
Rob Beck 