The "Extremely Unique Dynamic" of Harrison Xu and Ivan Leung

Poster provided by the “Extremely Unique Dynamic” team

by Yvonne Phan

“Extremely Unique Dynamic,” an eccentric meta-comedy about two guys making a movie about making a movie, explores the bittersweet moments of friendship and farewell. Best friends Ryan (Harrison Xu) and Daniel (Ivan Leung) figure out how to capture their extremely unique friendship on camera over the course of a day by playing characters Gregg and Tim. 

As Ryan prepares to move to Canada to be with his fiancé and start a family as his logical next step in life, he convinces Daniel to go on a final creative adventure during their last weekend together in Los Angeles. What starts as a vlog of them visiting their favorite places in LA to say goodbye turns into intense disagreements and the unveiling of secrets. In the trailer, Daniel proposes that his character [Gregg] has a secret, ‘What if I was secretly gay all my life…?’ to which Ryan takes advantage of as a plot point in their movie. This detail jump-starts an internal conflict for Daniel.

The pair not only acted in the film but also directed and independently produced it along with Katherine Dudas (director/writer) and Noel Do-Murakami (producer). The idea of making a movie came to them less than a year before the film was shot, while they were high and eating Thai food on the floor. Xu and Leung are primarily actors, and finding work was slow during the Writer’s Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes, so they decided to make their own movie. They aimed to explore themes such as Asian stereotypes, coming to terms with a best friend moving away, and empowering men to talk about their feelings. 

From the early 2000s to now, the roles of Asians in film have shifted from stereotypical roles such as martial artists and nerds to heroes and attractive, capable male leads. 

However, Xu felt like there was still a gap—there was no space for an Asian man, queer or not, to just exist and act in a slice-of-life role. Xu and Leung celebrate friendship and show that Asian men on screen can also be “just a guy.” 

Their friendship felt relatable, as shown through scenes of Ryan and Daniel playing in their backyard as children; their home videos were filled with smiles and laughter. The pair’s dynamic as adults is marked by funny and absurd moments, like when the pair brainstormed “Four Steps to Creating the Perfect Movie” on a whiteboard in a bedroom or Daniel rejecting homemade cookies from “Fresh Off the Boat” star Hudson Yang because he didn’t know who he was.

This is what catches audiences off guard and makes the movie so entertaining. The pair’s yin-yang dynamic truly feels like that of best friends. Ryan is ambitious and uses his marketing and film knowledge to propel them towards their goal, whereas Daniel brings the perspective of just wanting to have fun in the process.

Throughout the movie, they lean on filmmaking itself and playing a character to carry out their storyline, which enables Ryan and Daniel to confront the pains of their forthcoming long-distance friendship. Leung feels like this made way for their characters to express how they truly felt. 

“We made a film where the characters [Ryan and Daniel]—under the guise of playing other characters [Gregg and Tim] — are able to express how they feel without societal pressures,” Leung said. 

Many parts of Xu and Leung’s script were only outlined so that they could improvise much of their dialogue on set. Every scene was planned so that they knew how it would start and how it would end. Then, they listed out the potential topics they would talk about in between. Thanks to their 10-year friendship that started in acting class, they were comfortable with on-the-fly banter. 

Leung even incorporated some real-life beef he had with Xu in the final cut, where Daniel complains about how Ryan failed to help him with his taxes. 

“Improvisation was not only fun for us, but it also created a more realistic and believable friendship that doesn’t feel so structured,” Xu said. “We drew a lot of inspiration from the styles of the Duplass brothers and Pen15.” 

The film was well-received during its screening at CAAMFest last month, as the theater was filled with laughter in reaction to Xu and Leung’s on-screen moments. The Q&A session was just as entertaining, as the pair shared behind-the-scenes anecdotes and engaged with the audience.

In short, “Extremely Unique Dynamic” is a refreshing and heartwarming comedy that makes you laugh without dampening the more emotional parts, evoking gratitude for the best friends in your own life. 

“Extremely Unique Dynamic'' is set to make more audiences laugh at their upcoming screening at Frameline Film Festival (San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival), but they intend to distribute it more widely in theaters and digitally. You can watch the trailer here and find Harrison, Ivan, and Extremely Unique Dynamic on Instagram for updates.