Ip updates the American road movie by giving it a multinational twist. The family trekking across the desert from L.A. to the Grand Canyon consists of grown sisters Maggie (Jo Chim) and Jen (Yvonne Teoh), who have immigrated to California, and their parents, who are visiting from Hong Kong. When Maggie's un-air-conditioned beater breaks down en route, they're joined by her Internet boyfriend who's originally from Indonesia.
Family tensions surface quickly. Crabby Jen is a workaholic who only manages to pull herself away from her cell phone long enough to bitch about the heat and traffic. When Maggie reveals her plans to move to Indonesia with her boyfriend, her control-freak Mom (K.K. Wong) puts a crimp in the fun by refusing to stop for photo ops ("Buy a postcard."). But Maggie is nonplussed -- even when she gets sick from eating a foul taco. Meanwhile, Dad (Zhu Xi Juan) maintains a strained, superficial optimism.
The western landscape of Edge of Town is not the picture-postcard kind. This is America at its ticky-tackiest, distinguished by roadside motels, oscillating fans, infomercials, tag sales, dilapidated trailers and grim watering holes where bartenders resemble bored housewives. Underscoring the film's multiculti scope is a propulsive soundtrack that ranges from Mexican laments to Asian rap.
In true road movie form, the trip proves cathartic for the family. Secrets are revealed. New light is cast on some of the characters' behaviors. Lives are altered forever. But despite the familiar formula, Ip develops a quartet of intriguing multi-dimensional characters and leads them to some unpredictable revelations. Better yet, he reminds us why we continue to endure those nerve-wracking family vacations. 
See You Off to the Edge of Town screens Thursday, June 12, at noon at the Rialto Center for the Performing Arts.