Despite her relatively affluent position, she has difficulty sustaining a lifestyle that will ensure her daughter, Jules, a solid education and future.
When she is abruptly fired from her job, Gwen's optimism quickly dissolves as she realizes that the only offer she has for employment is an egg donor position, due to women rapidly becoming infertile.
The firing comes at a critical juncture in Gwen's life as she needs money to secure Jules's position at an elite school.
Feeling desperate, Gwen reaches out to her old employer, Fisher, to volunteer as one of the first subjects for a procedure that will transfer her consciousness into a new body, allowing her to keep her old job by becoming more youthful and racially ambiguous.
Fisher assures her that if she agrees to the body transfer, the center will do everything it can to ensure Jules's future and protect Gwen as the face of the company.
He also warns her that the procedure is still in its infancy; for a year, Gwen will have to take shots every two hours to help her breathe, otherwise she will face enduring pain.
Produced by Robert Chang, Jennifer Phang, Jacqueline Kim, Theresa Navarro, Moon Molson, and Ken Jeong.
Co-producers, James Y. Shih, Qi Luo, Sean Gillane, Liz Ortiz-Mackes, Bogdan George Apetri, Clifton Lewis.
Phang wanted to create a city that was not recognizable, so they filmed in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
Phang worked with VFX Art Director, Jean Elston, and a design team to create a concept for buildings.
The Orator has smoke coming from its mouth to express the struggle women have when they speak their minds to the world and dissipate into the sky.
The buildings were designed by Elston and Phang and executed by Catherine Tate, Ricardo Marmolejo, and Jason Patnode, working with experienced groups of VFX and CG artists.
Phang intentionally chose most of the songs for being about Jesus Christ to focus on the theme of patriarchy and following the leadership of men in the world.
Chen used a variety of different mechanisms to achieve Phang's sound goals, including a toothbrush, vibrator, and a professional violinist.
The website's consensus reads: "Advantageous transcends obvious budgetary limitations to pose thought-provoking questions about gender roles and family dynamics.
[13] Dennis Harvey of Variety called it a "thinking person's sci-fi tale" whose methodical pacing eventually slows down to a near-crawl.
[14] Leslie Felperin wrote, "Perhaps the perfect film for geeky women's studies majors, this is bursting with interesting ideas and details but has some significant flaws".
[15] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times wrote, "It's a kick to see how effectively Ms. Phang has created the future on a shoestring even if she hasn't yet figured out how to turn all her smart ideas into a fully realized feature.
"[16] G. Allen Johnson of the San Francisco Chronicle rated it 3/4 stars and wrote that "the last half hour is so irresistibly creepy that it's sure to invoke discussion after the screening".
[19] Mike D'Angelo of The Dissolve rated it 3/5 stars and wrote that despite the feature film adaptation's filler, fans of intelligent science fiction may be interested.
[20] Diego Costa of Slant Magazine rated it 1.5/4 stars and wrote, "Advantageous's visual effects are sophisticated for a low-budget film, and the acting is pleasantly realistic, but filmmaker Jennifer Phang portrays this very near future like a universe of such quietness and sterility that it's difficult to care about its inhabitants.
The lead, Jacqueline Kim, also won a jury award for her Renaissance Artist accomplishments for co-writing and starring in the feature.
[4] VC FilmFest - Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival 2015 Ageism and workplace discrimination are both conveyed throughout Advantageous.
In one scene of the film, it was established that Gwen was more competent in terms of experience and intellect with her age being the primary reason of her abrupt discharge.
In a social climate where the competition is fierce, Gwen has to make great sacrifices as a single mother to provide Jules with a good life.