Gigolo and Whore (1991)
Reviewed by: STSH on 2000-01-02
Summary: Booooooorrrrrrrring !
Simon Yam made a number of "gigolo" movies in the early 90s, and I've made a mental note, after this film, to avoid the rest !
No woman can resist Sam (Simon Yam, who looks totally bored), who follows the gigolo creed of no love and no feeling for clients. But he didn't count on meeting Chung Siu Hung (Carina Lau). Hung arrives from the mainland (which marks her out as an extremely dumb country bumpkin) to visit her cousin KiKi To (Angile Leung), only to discover KiKi is a "chicken" (whore). At a club, Hung is noticed by Sam, who helps her out of a few difficult situations. This is where the film starts to copy (the US) Pretty Woman. Hung is snubbed in an upper class boutique, but earns respect later when she comes equipped with a credit card. For reasons unexplained, Hung asks Sam to teach her the art of whoring, which fills most of the rest of the film. After a few false starts, Hung does quite well, then snares the big prize : $300,000 to spend a month with a rich man. From then on, no attempt is made to hide the similarities to Pretty Woman (two characters even discuss the film). Dr Oi Chung (actress unknown) and Dr Sophia Jones (Sophie Crawford) have failed to help Dickson Lee (Alex Fong) get over the death of his adored wife, and his uncle engages Hung to loosen him up. It takes time, but she does quite a good job. Too good. Dickson proposes to Hung, but her feelings for Sam are still less than professional, and Sam reluctantly finds he loves her too. Who will end up winning Hung ?
You really won't care. The story lacks focus and wanders all over the place. The Cat 3 rating is earned, but only just. Apart from a very brief breast flash, there is no nudity at all, though lots of enthusiastic and noisy simulated sex, and frank instruction on the skills of prostitution. Minor interest at best.
Reviewer Score: 3