It's so rare that American movies give us hot and sexy Asians who sleep with other hot and sexy Asians that The People I've Slept With (out on DVD this week from Maya Entertainment) often feels like something of a revelation. Add to that two lead characters -- a woman and a gay man -- who are promiscuous without feeling guilty about it, and the film feels refreshingly distinct from most of the rom-coms being churned out these days.
[Full disclosure: I've known director Quentin Lee since screening his debut film Shopping for Fangs, co-directed with Justin Lin, at the USA Film Festival/Dallas in 1997.]
Karin Anna Cheung stars as Angela, a woman with an unapologetic appetite for sex. ("A slut," she explains, "is a woman with the morals of a man.") Perhaps not surprisingly, she winds up getting pregnant, and she and her equally carnally-minded gay best pal Gabriel (Wilson Cruz) try to winnow out the many candidates who could be the babydaddy. And while Angela has managed to avoid relationships her whole life, she can't help hoping that the winner of the DNA sweepstakes is the mystery man (Archie Kao) whom she can't get out of her mind.
I don't want to oversell the charms of The People I've Slept With -- it's a low-budget movie with a very low-key sensibility. But the performances are charming, its attitude is engaging (the script is by Koji Steven Sakai), and Lee does a terrific job with his talented cast. It's certainly a movie for audiences starved to see non-buffoonish portrayals of contemporary people of color, but anyone who's game for a sweet little indie might find it to be the perfect prelude to a date night to remember.
[Photo via The People I've Slept With]