Pang Ho-cheung heads for the Mainland with a romantic comedy that unsurprisingly might not please fans of his earlier works…
Women Who Flirt has also been reviewed by Andrew Daley.
Having been responsible for some of the best Hong Kong cinema of the last decade in Vulgaria, Dream Home and other incisive works, writer director Pang Ho-cheung takes another stab at the lucrative Mainland audience with romantic comedy Women Who Flirt. A glossy production headlined by top stars Zhou Xun (Overheard 3) and Huang Xiaoming (The White-Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom), the film inevitably seems him watering down and broadening his trademark style, though thankfully without losing too much of what made him so popular in the first place – at least for those of a more forgiving nature.
Zhou Xun takes the lead as Angie, a corporate executive who gave up her former dreams of becoming a sculptor in order to stay close to best friend and college almost-sweetheart Marco (Huang Xiaoming). Sadly, her plans of finally making good on years of possibly mutual unrequited affection are ruined when he introduces her to his new girlfriend Hailey (Sonia Sui, The Fierce Wife). With Hailey being a gorgeous stereotypical vision of male desire, Angie enlists the help of her flirtatious friends to learn the tricks of the trade and make Marco her own.
Clearly, originality is not really a strength here, and it’s fitting that Women Who Flirt was actually based on a bestselling relationship guide, as it does frequently feel like Pang Ho-cheung is gently poking fun via an instantly recognisable checklist of clichés and supposedly real life love problems. As a romantic comedy, the film sticks very close to delivering what its target audience is likely to expect, and there’s very little in the way of tension, there being no question as to how things will turn out between Angie and Marco. For a filmmaker known for his wit and his willingness to wander from the beaten path, it’s hard not to feel at least a little disappointed to see Pang keeping his claws mostly sheathed, especially during the entirely formulaic final act. Matters aren’t helped by the fact that both Angie and Marco are conventional figures to a fault, and that Hailey never comes across as anything other than a horrendously vacuous and manipulative monster, and one who it’d be difficult to imagine any right-minded and intelligent man falling for so hopelessly.
At the same time though, if viewed from another angle, and with knowledge of Pang’s past films and scripts in mind, the character of Hailey, and indeed much of its adherence to the rom com routine, does smack of a certain playful cynicism. The film undeniably does have its share of sharp moments here and there, including some observational humour which successfully jabs at Mainland culture, if in a quiet and non-threatening manner. Women Who Flirt is funnier than most films of its type in this respect as a result, not to mention far more likely to be palatable to those who don’t generally enjoy the form, and there’s definite fun to be had in its shenanigans.
Still, it’s indicative of Pang’s milder approach here that the film generally belongs to Zhou Xun rather than anything in his script, the actress putting in an immensely charismatic performance. This is just as well, since she appears in nearly every scene, and the film is clearly far more focused on its female characters, Huang Xiaoming never having much to do as the vaguely decent though unremarkable Marco. Way more centred on her pursuit of him than on their actual relationship and bond, the film is considerably more effective during its earlier stages and before the dreaded melodrama sets in.
There’s two ways to look at Women Who Flirt – as a bit of a let-down from one of Hong Kong’s best and brightest filmmakers, or as a Mainland-centric genre film that stands several notches above the vast majority of its peers. Even when only firing on half his cylinders Pang Ho-cheung has plenty to offer, and boosted by the always appealing Zhou Xun and a general air of amiability, the film still manages to stand as a more than worthwhile popcorn friendly piece of genre cinema.
