The incredible popularity of Sex and the City has spawned a series of imitations, most recently Hong Kong's Sex and the Beauties, which opened last week.
But, as reporter Michelle Qiao finds out, the Hong Kong film is a pale wannabe of the lusty original When the HBO hit series Sex and the City bowed out on February 22, Shanghai fans didn't have long to mourn. On February 26, Sex and the Beauties, a Hong Kong film version of the series, opened.
There's no denying the similarities. Selina (played by Carina Lau) is a psychologist, a rare eligible single in fast-paced Hong Kong. She forms a Ladies' Club for single women, who often gather to talk about their loves and lives. Selina's psychology background and mature mind make her the unofficial love consultant to a group that includes a famous columnist, Guan Dexian (Athena Chu), and a bar owner, Ni Xian (Yoyo Mong). But despite her facility at dispensing love advice, her own experiences with men have made her fearful of taking the plunge herself. At a banquet held by her mother, Selina runs into her first love, Ken (Kenny Bee) and gets acquainted with his daughter, Yuki (Cecilia Cheung) who has an explosive personality. Ken asks Selina to be Yuki's guardian, to treat her as a patient and to guide her back on the right road. Four beauties, with highly paid jobs, trendy clothes, bittersweet love stories who tell their tales against a backdrop of dazzling restaurants and bars -- every effort seems to be directed to imitate its American counterpart.
"Yes, I admit that this movie has influences from Sex and the City. I designed the four characters after the American series," says Wong Jing, the film's director, with apparently no irony intended. "But the stories center on fashionable Hong Kong yuppies -- you could call it a Hong Kong version of Sex and the City. I'm confident that Chinese audiences will find it easier to relate to my movie." It might be easier to relate to -- but that doesn't make it a better show.
Introducing the four women and telling their stories in 101 minutes feel rushed, not to mention confusing. Four women, five men, plus their parents and other assorted friends -- this is a film filled with so many characters and shallow, banal discussion. Part of what made Sex and the City such a hit was the introduction of a trivial, yet interesting, love topic each episode, topics that offered insight into sex and the single woman. Sex and the Beauties, however, leaves audiences with no idea what the characters are talking about -- and what Hong Kong's single 30-something women's feelings about love are. Instead, what we get is a hackneyed fairytale ending, with lovers all living happily-ever-after.
Clearly Wong, the Hong Kong director known for box-office hits like God of Gamblers series, is not good at describing the sensitive emotions of women. He showcases four women, their sexy dresses and pretty faces, but not their hearts and souls. They appear like cartoon images, instead of real, flesh and blood women. Chu, for example, is no Sarah Jessica Parker. Her short hair, exaggerated expression and unnatural postures made her come across like an uneducated Hong Kong woman rather than a renowned columnist. But it's interesting that Chu's proclaimed attitude to love shares some similarities with her onscreen self. The columnist she plays proclaims, "I don't want marriage, or a 20-year-old son. Everything is up to me." The actress announces, "I feel that it's my golden time now, and I don't lack money or opportunities. Marriage should appear at another stage of my life. See how free I am? Marriage is a burden, after which you can never only think of yourself."
Chu admits that neither she nor Hong Kong is as open as the movie might have you believe. "I'm open in the movie, someone who seeks exciting moments. But in reality, I'm very conservative," she reveals. "Hong Kong people may seem liberal, but we have a conservative heart, reflected in our attitudes towards love, dress and attitude towards others. "I love reading articles and novels about men and women," she adds. "I especially like Japanese writer Junichi Watanabe, author of Lost Paradise, from which I came to understand more about men and became more tolerant of them."
The women in this movie are all star beauties, considered dream lovers by many Chinese young men. But despite the feast of dazzling beauty, this is just not a sexy movie. "I think it would be odd to turn the series into a Hong Kong movie," says Li Xiaojun, a producer and fan of the American series. "Sex and the City is a series that captures a particular place and culture, one that is very different from our own. Unlike Western countries, China is a reserved nation, and it's odd to talk about sex freely on the screen. Moreover, I think it would also be very difficult to compress the American series into an American movie -- you'd need a very skillful scriptwriter." Even worse, the China Film Bureau has censored some of the sex scenes and words, making the movie even odder.
In the end, it is just a sex comedy, with the emphasis on the comedy. As supporting actor Andy Hui says: "It's just a comedy. I love this movie myself because I feel happy after watching it." Not to be left out of the Sex and the City sweepstakes, a Chinese mainland version of Sex and the City will finish shooting soon. Starring China's not-sexy-at-all pop singer Na Ying and actress Jiang Wenli, this 40-episode TV series covers the love stories of four Beijing women. It doesn't bode well. Can't we ask just let Sex and the City rest in peace? Apparently not.
(eastday.com March 5, 2004)
