Monday, April 20, 2009

Who's the Woman, Who's the Man (1996)


Following up on his wildly popular gender bending comedy He's a Woman, She's a Man, Peter Chan Ho-sun picks up immediately where the original left off. Chi-wing (Anita Yuen Wing-yee) -- a young lass who dressed like a man to grab the attention of songwriter Sam (Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing) -- has attained fame as a male pop singer and the undying love of Sam, who had a little trouble with his attraction to Chi-wing until he learned she was she. Their life seems perfect until Chi-wing wins a major award for best new male singer. While at the podium, she gushes "Sam, I love you" which fuels all sorts of rumors that Sam and Chi-wing are gay lovers. Meanwhile, androgynous pop star Yim-mui (played by androgynous pop star Anita Mui Yim-fong) returns to Canto-pop scene after a ten year absence and inserts herself into the lives of both Sam and Chi-wing. Soon, Chi-wing finds herself attracted to the charismatic star. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
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This sequel to the immensely popular He’s a Woman, She’s a Man is entertaining but problematic. Picking up where we left off, Sam (Leslie Cheung) and Wing (Anita Yuen) move in together, but the problems start right after that. Once Wing becomes a hit (she pretended to be a male pop singer in the first flick), the public perception is that Sam and Wing are gay. This bothers Sam, who’s grousing about lack of space, freedom, and your usual single guy blessings. More problems arrive when androgynous star Fan-Fan (Anita Mui) shows up and romantically distracts the two of them. This hitch is worse for Wing ´cause she starts thinking she’s a switch hitter. Meanwhile, Wing’s pal Fish (Jordan Chan) tries to get Fan-Fan’s personal assistant O (Theresa Lee) in the sack, but to no avail. It turns out she’s a lesbian, bringing the whole film full circle in plot and theme.

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