Nan nan

Similar to the issues raised in Japanese film My Rainy Days starring Nozomi Sasaki, Kenneth Bi's Girl$ tackles teenage prostitution in Hong Kong which proliferated with the internet chat rooms, affording materialistic girls to live a lifestyle of luxury if they decide to trade their bodies for it. But unlike its Japanese counterpart, this one is without the fairy tale romance, and rooted itself to the common issues that girls in the trade face, much like what Herman Yau tackled in his Whispers and Moans (which got credited with a direct reference), only with a lot more grit, gloom and in more laissez-faire structure. Think of it like a companion piece to Yau's film, only that it involves teenagers and outside of the brothel/karaoke system.

Girl$ serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of the flesh trade outside a regulated structure, where girls on paid dates make themselves susceptible to various crime and threats, ranging from psycho killers to that of unseen diseases. Like My Rainy Days, the modus operandi of these girls are to pimp themselves on the internet as dates for lonely men, where the usual shopping, dining and outings could make way for more intimate pleasures, only if the price for everything is right. You don't need a lot of talent to ply in a sub-genre of the world's oldest profession, and with youth as an advantage, each make quite a bit to fulfill that materialistic lifestyle and urge, without doing much work (ok, that's subjective).

Bi's film, written by no less than four scribes, puts the four leading characters through the paces, having each personality deal with a certain aspect and area of their chosen lifestyle and profession, while having them group together only solely for protection, companionship and to hang out and do girlie things when not busy with their schedules. Their friendship is really superficial, as toward the end you'd notice that they're more individuals than a group of tightly-knitted BFFs, where only one consoled the other who will be facing an eventuality, while the other two were celebrating with glee behind their backs, because they're joyful to have averted short term disaster.

Frankly I'm interested to know if such a film can be done without any pretty lass in it. Una Lin stars as Lin the nymphomaniac out for physical pleasure in the hope of finding true love, whose gratuitous nudity in the film is what made this R21 (though passed with cuts) here. Bonnie Xian plays Ronnie the bored rich girl who is extremely selective in her dates because she can afford to, and crafts a notorious reputation for herself when she rejects payment but instead pays for what she gets. Michelle Wai tackles Icy, the unofficial leader of the group who's their online agent and broker, who herself for some strange reason is keeping and sustaining a lifestyle for her good for nothing gamer boyfriend in her dingy apartment room. Then there's Gucci (Venus Wong), the schoolgirl whose interest in branded goods led her to decide to pop her cherry for cash, in order to pay for a limited edition bag she haggled online for.

Draped with plenty of shots of urban Hong Kong and Kowloon in both day and night time (play spot the landmarks, people!), the film peppers itself with cautionary statements at every opportunity against what the girls are doing, most times with newsreels. Scenes involving rape, romantic love gone awry, and even a psycho killer on the loose all play a part in padding the film, with the killer being introduced very early during the opening credits when he dismembers a teenage paid date, but sadly served no other purpose other than to have that threat hanging around each time the girls go about their business.

Ultimately Girl$ offer little depth into the issues it raised, serving only as a very broad narrative and offers little insights into this phenomenon. Take some plot points already touched upon by various films through the times, set it into today's context and the problems with young girls knowingly entering into such a trade, and you get a film that could have potentially done a lot more to raise awareness, rather than to be easily dismissed as another exploitative flick.

"Icy" (Michelle Wai ) is a former prostitute turned "agent" who uses the internet to find clients for her associates in Hong Kong. Because she only has two of them her financial situation is somewhat affected when one of them suddenly disappears without a trace. Fortunately, she acquires a new associate by the name of "Ronnie" (Seli Xian) who happens to be rich but extremely bored. Not long afterward another young woman named "Gucci" (Venus Wong) joins the group with the intent of selling her virginity in order to pay for a Gucci bag she bought in an on-line auction. What transpires next is a story which details the risks and rewards for these women as they engage in the world's oldest profession. Now, rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that, although some scenes were a bit risqué, they tended to support the overall atmosphere and made the film more realistic. However, one particular problem was that there were a few subplots which were left undeveloped which gave this movie an overall feel of being unfinished. But other than that it managed to keep my attention and having two attractive women like the aforementioned Michelle Wai and Seli Xian certainly didn't hurt the movie in any way. On a side note, I should probably add that although the movie is listed on IMDb as being 105 minutes long, the particular film I saw was only 88 minutes in length. So it's quite possible that I may have missed something along the way. At any rate, as far as this specific movie is concerned I rate it as about average.

"Together we did a test, but with immerse consequences…"

In many ways this is a controversial film for mainstream Hong Kong cinema, not only does it deals with the 21st century sex industry, but it shows the actual sexual act in some form of details. Sometimes in the mist of life, people tend to forget about relationships and in the process; everyone is so busy that there is no time to develop feelings beyond a day. It is the harsh reality of an extremely commercial and business world, where the dogs eat dogs. Director Kenneth Bi succeeds in delivering an issue not dealt with by the usual Hong Kong fair, but falls short of its lofty ambitions, by looking at the surface of the online industry sex industry and never dealing with the more complicate themes.

There is no question that Michelle Wai is the pick of the actresses on display. Her ability to be vulnerable is amazing, but it is her natural screen persona that enables her to deliver a character and something the audience can somewhat identify with. In addition, the film possesses an extremely daring display by Taiwanese actress (played by Una Lin) not only bares for all to see, but created life within her character and the reasons behind her becoming. However the same cannot be said for Bonnie Xian and high schooler (Venus Wong) as both pale away in comparison.

All in all, Girl$ is a fun film to watch and most certainly a film filled with potential, but by the hour mark, all the build-up went into the waste bin. In a way this is disappointing as director Kenneth Bi is a talented director who is capable in delivering the tough issues. Still, there is a lot to like about this film and not unlike fast food, it is fast, cheap, entertaining, and sexy and it is very much Hong Kong flavour. Girl$ will probably never win any awards, but in depicting the vibrant sex industry of Hong Kong, it is at the very least starting a trend. Next we will probably see Wong Jing following suit. A decent film that falls short of its lofty ambition…

Neo rates it 6.75/10

Story just girl making money thing.

Making love in the everyday.

Although story telling we can this is life.

But I think people don't will this is makes.

This just is very sad story,With love and money,Just real life is stuff,We can look there just countryside persons.

Chinese just 'Chicken',Listening like is very sad act,But I look there very happy,Share her Sex,And 'Sex money'.

I don't know why will this is make. But big think is her very bored and SB.

Although story just telling we is it,Look just with story support.

Okay,Just is it.