All About Women
From Hong Kong director and co-writer Hark Tsui comes All About Women (Nu ren bu huai), a romantic comedy about the modern love of three very different women.The setting is Beijing, China.
The first of the three we meet is Ou Fanfan (Xun Zhou), an introvert scientist who has trouble attracting men. Besides that, whenever she’s touched by a man, her body stiffens comically.
Second comes Tang Lu (Kitty Zhang Yuqi), a cold-hearted yet highly attractive business woman,
more concerned with her company’s growth than choosing a mate.
When she enters the office, every man is so mesmerized that his work is immediately halted, computers start smoking, and objects slide off desks.
And lastly is Tie Ling (Lunmei Kwai), a free spirited yet tough writer/musician/boxer who has delusions of an imaginary pop star boyfriend. She rides a big motorcycle, dresses in a punk rock style, and can punch your lights out too.
Now while each character is intriguing enough on their own, where they intertwine is when the film really starts getting interesting. The main theme of the story is attraction, which is the scientific obsession of Fanfan who develops a pheromone patch that can attract any man. This attracts Tang Lu who has the ambition to market it, and Tie Ling is tied in through a secondary character.
The first thing I noticed about the film was the beautiful menu cards and credit sequence which was very well choreographed and designed, and this sort of choreography followed throughout the film, especially with Fanfan. Secondly, the movie is extremely comedic and laugh-out-loud fun to watch. And third, the music is amazingly catchy, and leads the film along in most cases.
Now on the fault side, the story becomes convoluted towards the climax when all the women meet head-to-head. For they all have their own agendas and eccentricities and a lot of action and important information gets lost in the mix. And this is yet another film with multiple endings. You think you’ve finished the story and they tack on two more. Even while the credits roll, the story is still going. This lack of a satisfying and ultimate ending hurt my overall feeling for the film and it left me in need of closure.