Aha! Finally I have you Lady G. Long have I searched... Whoa... Sorry about that, I found myself suddenly trapped in an old cartoon I once saw. Anyway, back to normal. Harry here with Lady G commenting upon a pair of films from up in Chicago. Read on in peace my fellow film fans...
Hi Harry!
This is the first time I've written to you, but I had to after reading the Minority Reporter's reviews for the Chicago International Film Festival. I admit I haven't seen as many movies as him, but I think my opinion is worthy all the same.
The Personals (Taiwan)
The Minority Reporter and I were probably at the same screening last Friday for this movie. I think we were at two different movies, though. The film starts out interestingly enough. An attractive eye doctor quits her job at the hospital and places a personal ad in the paper. She desperately wants a husband. So, predictably, she ends up meeting some very weird people. Some of the men ask her to get married on their first date, others are kinky, others barely know she is there, etc. And this goes on for about 90 minutes.
Now there are some truely amusing parts, like when during the doctor's first date with any man, their vital statistics flash up in the upper left hand corner of the screen. But while that's cute the first few times, it becomes old after about the fourth date. The most mistifying part of the movie comes though when she has a second date with one of the guys and suggests to him that they have sex. Well, they have sex and she just cries uncontrollably in the bathroom afterwards. Now, I realize she had come off a bad relationship and everything, but I had no sympathy for her. During the whole film I felt like she was using the guys just as much as they were using her.
The most interesting part of the movie is when we cut away from the dating action to the doctor speaking to someone's message machine. We don't know whose machine this is at first. We find out as time goes on. And really it is only this part of the movie that is satisfying. When the ending comes, it has to do with whose answering machine it was and why they aren't picking up. The ending was great for that reason alone. But that adds up to about 13 great minutes out of 90. I give it 2 out of 5.
That's the Way I Like It (Singapore)
Think a cross between Saturday Night Fever, The Purple Rose of Cairo and Play It Again, Sam (perhaps I've seen too many Woody Allen movies). Set in 1977 Singapore. It centers on a young man named Hock who is really into Bruce Lee movies. One night he's forced by his friends to see Saturday Night Fever (well, a reasonable facsimile of that film at any rate) and becomes entranced by the disco music and John Travolta. Well, Hock decides to get dancing lessons and takes a girl friend (they're not dating) of his along. The inevitable dance competition must take place as well as Hock having conflicting feelings for his dance partner and this other hot chick who dances well.
The plot itself, as you can tell, is predictable, and the subplots are nothing special. I thought it was a sweet funny movie - not hilarious, but consistantly funny (which is better than a lot films out today). I have a feeling this film however translates the best for people who grew up during the disco era (these two women in these forties told the director they thought it was the best movie they had ever seen - dear God, what movies have they been seeing lately ->Wild, Wild West?)
The film's saving grace is its acting and direction. The director (first-time director Glen Goei - a name you will hear more of: he has a three-picture deal with Miramax) said that save for the star (can't remember his name) this is everyone's first time acting. I wish all first time actors were this good (and some actors always seem like first time actors - case in point: Melanie Griffith). The director kept a quick pace on this movie, which is exactly what it needed. This is definitely the kind of movie you should see on a first date - cute, funny, sweet, light, in English (trust me you can understand it better than the so-called English in Trainspotting) and not long at an hour and a half. By the way, this movie is in limited released (by Miramax of course) at the end of this month, so if it's in you're neighborhood, check it out on a weekend afternoon if you're not busy. I give it three out of five.
I'll be sending you my review on the new director's cut of Wild Side (yes, that Wild Side with Anne Hache) and a few other films. Hope you can use these, Harry.
Lady G.
