In writer Nic Cha Kim’s amiable sci-fi comedy, a robotics company recruits a slam poet named Peter (Lanny Joon) to invest both art and soul into its latest creation. The robot, AIMEE, a square white cube with a female voice box (voiced by Stephanie Lincoln), develops an unhealthy attachment to the young slammer; newly empowered, it throws a wrench into his personal love life while wreaking violence on the less likable members of the company. The latter include Larry (Charles Kim), the boorish engineer who built AIMEE, and Missy (Elaine Kao), the company’s officious attorney. Directed by Chil Kong, the piece leaves many secondary plot points unexplained but succeeds by virtue of its wry humor and lack of pretentiousness. As the beset-upon artist, Joon handles his character’s absurd circumstances with diffident charm. Kim is appropriately obnoxious as his foil and Alberto Isaac’s self-important CEO strikes just the right ironic note. But Kao’s bossy lawyer comes off as stilted and over-the-top while Peter’s girlfriend, Julia Cho, seems prosaically whiny. Designer Dennis Yen’s sound and music add pacing and style, as does costumer Ivy Y. Chou’s use of color. A more sophisticated lighting plot might also highlight the comedy, but designer Louis Delgado’s resources appeared to be limited.
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