The film we went and saw on Friday night, Saving Face, is a rom-com with a twist given that the protagonists are Chinese-American lesbians. And it is a sweet and entertaining piece of movie-making - as well as being something more besides.
The reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are interesting in that they are overwhelmingly positive, and yet many describe the film as 'light', 'fluffy' or 'breezy'. All those epithets are valid - and there were certainly moments where the film frustrated me with its relentless drive toward acceptance, happy families and glowing faces - and yet there was a deeper kernel of satisfaction contained within the movie as well. Something that stops you from walking out and thinking, 'hmm, that was okay ... but sorta inconsequential.'
I guess it came down to the fact that the characters and situations portrayed seemed lively and new and well worth speaking about. Don't get me wrong - I am rather sickeningly devoted to the rom-com genre. But still, there is a limit to how many times we need to see Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Kate Hudson or Jennifer Aniston (again) portray the same limited number of characters that seem to swill around Hollywood.
Any film with a bevy of bitchy Chinese aunties, an out Chinese lesbian, and a heavily pregnant mother who moves in with her daughter and precedes to watch back-to-back sessions of Mando-soaps all day and night makes a nice change indeed.
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