PREVIEW: THE PEOPLE I'VE SLEPT WITH
The People I've Slept With Trailer from People Pictures on Vimeo.
The People I've Slept With
This is Quentin Lee's new film - a rather interesting departure from this melodramatic last flick, "Ethan Mao" and returning more to the quirky, comedic ground he and Justin Lin established 12 years ago with "Shopping For Fangs." The premise is "Mama Mia" minus the ABBA songs - a woman with multiple sex partners gets pregnant but doesn't know who the dad is. On the surface, that probably doesn't sound groundbreaking but let's just be blunt: when's the last time you saw a good Asian Am rom-com? Actually, when's the last time you saw ANY Asian Am rom-com? Exactly.
Let's also put this out there - there's not exactly a massive catalog of AA films focused on a sexually self-possessed (but not self-destructive) woman as the protagonist, let alone one where the majority of her lovers (at least based on the trailer) seem to be Asian American too (listen! A thousand indignant AA male voices go silent...mine included). Interestingly - but not surprisingly - I think AA queer filmmakers have been way ahead of the curve on this one but on the hetero-tip, the examples are far sparser. Eat a Bowl of Tea comes to mind but that's very much male-centric. (One of my favorite AA films of the '00s, In Between Days sort of fits in here but it's not really a film about sexuality, though it includes aspects of it).
Suffice to say, TPISW seems poised to break some new, interesting and frankly, long overdue ground. I'm down for it but I do have to ask - a Black Gay best friend? Is that like a Token Two-Fer?
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