7/10
Is promiscuous, unprotected sex the basis for comedy?
12 November 2010
The People I've Slept With (2009) was directed by Quentin Lee. This low-budget film has its moments, but it's not a winner. Angela is a Asian woman who has decided that a "slut is just a woman with the morals of a man." OK--let's accept that.

The next question is, "Does a slut mean having less judgment than a seven-year-old?" My point is that it's your business if you want to be a slut, but no one with any intelligence has unprotected sex with multiple unknown sexual partners in today's world.

We are supposed to find it charming that Angela has one-night stands with anyone with a Y chromosome, and is very casual about protection against STD's and pregnancy. Just doesn't work for me.

OK, so now Angela is pregnant, and she has narrowed down the field of fathers to five guys whose names she doesn't know. She has to learn who the men are, then decide who the father is, then decide what to do with that information, and then decide what to do with the rest of her life. Not the basis for a great movie, although I have to admit that the film has its positive aspects.

Karin Anna Cheung, who plays Angela, is extremely beautiful, and has the timing and skills of a fine comic actor. Every beautiful woman in a film needs a gay friend, and Angela's gay friend, Gabriel, is played by Wilson Cruz. I've admired Cruz's work since he played Ricky in "My So-Called Life," and he's gotten more handsome and more accomplished since then. He's the same kind of confidant to Angela as he was to Claire Danes (also named Angela) in the TV series. He's really good in that role.

So, with attractive actors and some clever comic lines, the movie is good enough to keep you in your seat for 90 minutes. If you're looking for sophisticated wit or intense drama, this isn't the film for you.

We saw this movie at the Little Theatre as part of the fabulous ImageOut: Rochester Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. It will work well on DVD.
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