Rice Girl

I was very entertained watching "Rice Girl"--I smiled or laughed all the way through. Cheryl Monk's facial expressions were precious--so much fun to watch. Fairly impressive cast for an Indy film with Pat Morita and Dean Haglund. Eddie's character was a clever use of anthropomorphism in switching between animal, human, AND guardian angel--quite cute.

My only concern: to enjoy this movie, one must appreciate the occasional sideline comedy "shorts" spread throughout the movie. It will probably be hard to find them all funny, but still clever nonetheless.

Cheryl Monk's first film,"Rice Girl" is a lighthearted spoof of the standard Hollywood newbie starlet cliche. The film follows the outrageous misadventures of Windy Yee (played by Cheryl Monk), who has managed to squander the money her family sent for her education on acting lessons and is trying desperately to land a role in any film to prove to her family that her dream is worth following.

When she reads that Director Martini (Dean Haglund) is looking for the perfect actor for his new move, "Hooker X," Windy decides that this part will be the perfect opportunity for her. She hands her savings over to the worst method acting coach in the world (played by film veteran Yevgeni Lazarev), to learn the magic technique that will make her perfect for the lead in the movie. His bad advice sends her off to learn the art of acting like a hooker from a real hooker (played by the outrageously hip and sassy Kay Billings) -- and straight into the vice squad investigation being run by Detectives Tom Monk (Ian Lithgow) and Alan Long (Joe Estevez.)

The silliness continues as Windy's outrageously uptight and extremely religious roommate starts praying for her "lost sister" and turns Windy's pet goldfish, Eddie, into a guardian angel, played with gleeful panache by newcomer Bryan Frank.

This is a film that never takes itself seriously. The zany, Chuck Jones style of the physical comedy heightens the absurdity of the plot.

Featured guest appearances by veteran actors added sparkle to the movie. Pat Morita turns in one of the funniest scenes as a shopkeeper confronting Hollywood's mot incompetent bandit (newcomer Mario Gallegos,) while Martin Kove as Captain Ron Williams seemed to have a wonderful time chewing up the scenery. Lone Gunmen actor Dean Haglund closes the movie with a first-rate improved rant scene that will have you in stitches.

Enjoyable and fast-paced. Recommended for all ages.

Man, movie is a little quirky but hilarious. I watched it 3 times in two days. It was a little hard to follow at first but I got it. Very funny. Very quirk. Cheryl Ling looks good and the movie is original. 3 stars out of 4

The movie has a very good film quality not usually found in many indy productions... then again, this film obviously had some small budget. Being involved in the indy scene, though, it was nice to see something NOT filmed on a shaky digital camera and overexposed.

Not terribly well acted but definitely not the worst I've seen, the movie is a satire that pokes fun at Asian and Hollywood stereotypes, though not very convincingly. Instead of coming off as a satire, it comes off as simply over-the-top and cartoony, especially with the ANNOYING acting of the man who plays Eddy. This guy has a rubber face Jim Carrey would be envious of if it were not used to such poor effect.

Extras were in short supply here and the backdrops were very poor-man's-props, to the point that a donut shop looked like a tent. As I said, very indy, but the magic if indy film is using what you have on hand and making it look half-way plausible, so we'll overlook that. Characterization was shaky but not sure that was part of the 'satire' thing or not. The Christian overtones were unexpected but very welcome for their rarity. All in all, a cute film and worth checking out if you have some time to kill and appreciate independent cinema.

Rice Girl, a 2003 production directed by Michael Fischa with Cheryl Ling in her starring and writing debut as Windy Yee. This is the story of a struggling actress and her misadventures in trying to win the starring role of Hooker X a fictional major motion picture production.

Windy is told by her acting teacher Mr. Roulette that in order to get the part of Hooker X she must learn how to turn tricks, eat, breath, think, live and become like a hooker, none of which sits well with Windy's best friend and roommate Darla, a devout Christian. Windy dismisses her friends concerns and proceeds on her mission of obtaining her life long quest of movie stardom. While researching the role as Hooker X Windy is befriended by a real hooker, played by Jacqueline Jetter as Jaundra Rolle, meets a rouges gallery of characters along the way and after a prayerful intervention by her friend Darla, is blessed with the assistance of a guardian angel.

Rice Girl is an interesting mixture of physical comedy, slapstick humor, sex, and religion. Ms. Ling is a delight to behold, her physical presence, charm and over-the-top portrayal lends itself nicely to the role as the naïve and guileless Windy Yee who struggles to learn the part of Hooker X without actually letting it becoming part of her.

Rice Girl also stars many well known actors such as Ian Lithgow (Third Rock from the Sun), Martin Kove (Cagney and Lacy, The Karate Kid), Dean Haglund (The X Files), Joe Estevez and the late Noriyuki "Pat" Morita (Midway, Happy Days, Karate Kid).

Rice Girl is most definitely a guilty pleasure to watch and experience, slightly risqué, and a gentle and fun prod to those struggling to reach for the stars and determined enough not to give up.