This is a movie about movies, as well as a love triangle. In making a film that takes on film as one of its subjects, it would be
possible to make a postmodern movie about movies (see Tom DiCillo's Living in Oblivion). It would also be easy to make a
film lambasting the film industry (see Robert Altman's The Player). Golden Girls does a bit of both of these while focusing on
its dramatic storyline at the same time, interweaving its observations of the film industry with its observations of the
characters' lives.

The movie follows the lives of screenwriter Chun Wai (Lau Ching-Wan) and two actresses who are best friends, glamorous
Lulu (Ada Choi Siu-Fun) and the "plain" Mei Ball (Anita Yuen). Of course, only in the film world could someone as gorgeous
as Anita Yuen be considered plain (see The Truth About Cats and Dogs). It begins with the two actresses as extras in a film
written by Lau Ching-Wan and follows the three of them through increasing success, spanning the mid 60s to the mid 70s.
Lau Ching-Wan is in love with Mei but ends up with Lulu instead. Mei, not finding success in the film industry at first,
leaves to marry her cousin but soon comes back, only to find success playing male roles (is Anita Yuen going to be the next
Brigitte Lin?).

Golden Girls is about the relationships between these characters. The drama comes from Chun Wai's continued pursuit of
Mei, even as he is with Lulu. The film is far from all serious. It uses its inside view of the film industry to make numerous
jokes about film, producers, directors, and actors. One of the best of these is a hilarious spoof of action film conventions. It
also has great moments where the world of film (the world the characters live in) intersects with their lives, as when Chun
Wai writes a screenplay based on his love for Mei Ball, in which Lulu stars! This is postmodern, but gracefully so, without
the pretentiousness sometimes associated with this concept.

This film is graced by gorgeous sets (after all, this is the movies) and wonderful colors. The film is shot in a way that
somehow feels very 60s, particularly in the colors of the film (as opposed to the sets). There are also some hilarious costumes
and hairdos that make us wonder just what they were thinking in the 70s (see Boogie Nights).

Golden Girls is also graced by two very talented actors at their best. Anita Yuen and Lau Ching-Wan are fantastic in their
roles, particularly Anita Yuen. She is so expressive at dispalying the emotions her character is feeling. Ada Choi is not quite
in the same league as these two, but is good in her supporting role. I loved Francis Ng's humrous role as a handsome, vain,
and untalented leading man. He has several of the funniest moments in the film.

While it may poke fun, Golden Girls ultimately celebrates the romance of film, especially in its wonderful self-referential
ending, where it recalls romantic films from a less cynical past. Golden Girls is entirely charming throughout. This is a hard
thing to do in the acutely cinema-aware late 20th century. I give credit to the two leads and the excellent script for creating
such a wonderful film.