Why Wild Girls (1994)



	Why Wild Girls		Return to Review Archive - W
	Year:	1994	Loletta Lee and Ekin Cheng
	Director:	Andy Chin Wing-Keung
	Writer:	Cheung Cho-Yi
	Cast:	Ellen Chan Ar-Lun, Loletta Lee Lai-Chun, Ivy Leung Si-Man, Ekin Cheng Yee-Kin, Chan Kwok-Bong, Kenneth Chan Kai-Tai, Fan Yik-Man, Yuen King-Tan, Jamie Luk Kin-Ming
	The Skinny:	Entertaining but annoyingly disjointed comedy-drama about three female roommates and their (mis)adventures with love in the nineties. Featuring a young version of Ekin Cheng.
	Review by Kozo:	Single women get equal time in this comedy-drama that can only be described as a female version of UFO's Tom, Dick and Hairy. Gigi (Ellen Chan) is a wannabe actress who denies the affection of likable schmo Hung (Chan Kwok-Bong). Hung ends up spending time with Gigi's lower-maintenance roomate Bobo (Ivy Leung), but Bobo isn't sure that Hung is over Gigi yet. Meanwhile Gigi meets a successful, eligible bachelor (Kenneth Chan) whose only drawback is that he's probably too nice to her. Finally, Jane (Loletta Lee) schemes to rob the boyfriend of her bitchy neighbor (Fan Yik-Man). Said boyfriend is named Mike (played by a younger version of Ekin Cheng), who loves video games and Dragonball cards. Jane spies on Mike using a telescope and hidden microphones, and exploits his interests to accomplish her morally questionable goal. The film has some entertaining concepts, and some of the situations work well. The Loletta Lee-Ekin Cheng plotline is entertaining despite its questionable content. This is partly due to Lee, who manages to handle both the cuteness and the crying with equal ability. Cheng is likable in a pre-superstar performance, as are Ivy Leung and Chan Kwok-Bong. Ellen Chan, however, destroys the screen with her shrill performance and absolutely unlikable character. She's not necessarily a bad person, but her self-absorbed attitude and annoying behavior make her a prime candidate for a future episode of Jerry Springer. The film's lack of development could be the biggest problem here. The plot seems to contain gaps which might have explicated certain character decisions. When did Gigi suddenly decide to marry her new boyfriend? Where did Mike go after fighting with his girlfriend? And what happens at the end of the film? Things are left unexplained, and some of the girls don't even seem to get anywhere. Only Jane seems to grow in any way, and Gigi actually becomes even more unlikable by the end of the picture. Is this how movies should end? Well...possibly. In leaving certain conflicts and situations open-ended, the filmmakers were likely aiming for a sort of "realism". However, the lack of resolution just makes the film seem unfinished. Director Andy Chin's colorless direction doesn't leave much room for ambiguity, and is ambiguity even something that Why Wild Girls should try for? Aside from the obvious fan service (all three actresses were Category III stars at one time), the film possesses an incredibly light feel which is only cemented by the use of Barry Manilow's "Copacabana" on the soundtrack. The film is too unfulfilling to make it prime entertainment, and too superficial to be a telling exploration of the times. Compared to Why Wild Girls, the Feel 100% movies look like award-winning material. (Kozo 2002)
	Availability:	DVD (Hong Kong) Region 0 NTSC Ocean Shores Widescreen Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks English and Chinese subtitles
		image courtesy of Ocean Shores Home Video
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