Having just moved from Beijing, elderly tai chi master Mr. Chu struggles to adjust to life in New York, living with his Americanized son Alex. Chu immediately butts heads with his put-upon white daughter-in-law, Martha, a writer who seems to blame him for her paralyzing inability to focus. But when Chu begins teaching tai chi at a local school, his desire to make a meaningful connection comes to fruition in the most unexpected of ways.

Chinese-American adolescent Ernest works after school cleaning rooms at the dingy motel owned by his bossy mother. A Korean-American playboy drifter helps Ernest come out of his shell, encouraging him to pursue an older girl he has a crush on. Ernest absorbes life lessons about girls, bullies, baseball and success.