5/5 Great script, well acted, and very funny
  by T. Luong (Washington DC)
I liked this movie so much, I bought the DVD. The movie is hilarious with a great happy ending. It also hits home because I am an Asian lesbian with a very old fashion mother who pretty much gave me the same reaction as Ma did to Wil. Luckily for Wil, Ma has a change of heart unlike mine.

Stereotype or not, it's very real, the messages that it Alice Wu is trying to portray that is. However, the way it was directed and acted, makes it light-hearted and easy to watch.

Most of my Asian lesbian friends are very attractive and pretty. It's refreshing to see a number of Asian lesbian movies(Butterfly, Spider Lilies, The Bontanist's Daughter, Love My Life) where the actresses are very beautiful and cute, unlike some of the American lesbian movies I've seen which sets a different tone for lesbians.

It is also nice that the ending isn't tragic. I think we've seen enough of that already.

I am very impressed with Alice Wu and all the cast in this movie.


5/5 I saw a remarkable humanistic illumination into women's right to love
  by Julien Kujo (Palo Alto, California)
I saw a remarkable humanistic illumination into women's right to love and of course am grateful not to witness violence and intimidation against the female couple. In fact this is a film exceptionally well written and carefully directed to bring illumination to women's right to love - Recommend anyone above 16 years old to increase awareness of modern world

Love between women is simply so pure and graceful, and it may not always be appropriate nor impartial to call them lesbians as the Occidental cultures have been labelling them. Man's love may include a portfolio of materialistic prosperity but there always be some area left out such as basis for a perfect equality which is essential for their sense of mutual belonging and a higher sense of harmony ultimately leading to spiritual unity that women vow to each other. I personally can not deny venerance of any mentioned qualities
that we men can not compete that of women. It is invalid to deny that they have innate ability to embellish one another with sublime grace. I would certainly encourage if your own daughter fell in love with another woman, why can't you accept that woman as a member of extended family? Reward and contribution to the humanity is immense!

Cruelty against women is cruelty against mankind itself! We all need woman for their purity of love and depth of compassion. Throughout civilisation, women have never been valued equal as men . . . . But why? In some culture, they even have discarded new born female infants as trash or even traded for money or abandoned in favour of male infants. What a shame! Females are more pleasing to look at because their love and compassion are finer and deeper . . . bringing a priceless enlightenment through their innate sensitivity to our lives. Pope Clementius V enacted ecclesiastical law citing that females were inferior subjects not suitable to appear in any place of human assembly such as Theatres and Schools nor to voice their opinions. Except Japan and Sweden, Female homosexuals were almost always executed, imprisoned, institutionalised, slayed, raped and burnt alive whereas male counterparts had survived.

I have always wondered why the majority of films about woman's love had to end in tragedy unless there is a motivation to depict and criticise the cruelty of political agenda of the nation in effect during a period where scenario was written to criticise a dictator such as Chairman Mao, or worse yet when director is affiliated with the conservative financiers or with a political party where he or she belonged to, to supplant the idea on audience that it is wrong for any woman to love another woman hence the punishment is inevitable. When such scheme is in effect, how true and natural women's right to love can be accomplished free from delusion or deception?

Chinese films from main land have always showed us the singled out attack only against women's rights throughout Chinese history, and how these women were ill-reputed in China. I view such favouritism practiced for also constitute a serious crime against humanity in contrast to men's rights (including same-sex relationship practiced between ancient emperors and his knights or lord chamberlains or lord regents) and its outcome as early as 1600 B.C. during Liu dynasty, Wei dynasty and Han dynasty are all well documented They even have had the most bizarre custom procuring catamite (pederastic relationship) for sovereign prince. The economic impact resulting from the emperor willing to compromise the estate and wealth to sustain such extravagant relationship could be so large that could not be compared with any minimal impact that the relationship between women can likely to had caused to the community has always remained negligibly modest if not been none. What about for women's rights? Shamefully poor in comparison with other neighbouring nations in Far East, with Japan in particular? I grew up in Kyoto, Japan. Contrarily to common belief, before the paternalistic authoritarianism ever had any chance to come in effect in Japan, there were four contiguous centuries, a long historic period called the Heï An Era (794 - 1185 A.D. meaning the time for peace and tranquillity) where contemporary feminist scholars including art, poetry, and literature flourished in Japanese Imperial Court. It is often considered the peak of the Japanese culture particularly in women scholars. I have actually seen a 900 years old priceless byobu (silk panel folding screen) with two young lovely court ladies in waiting (resembling Li Ming except wearing summer Kimono attires) holding their hands on Great Gojo Bridge watching fireworks together on a mid-summer evening. I have always been a straight male but I could not help but so impressed by its poetry like beauty. There exist a court diary written by a high ranking court lady in waiting of noble birth referencing her adoration on sovereign princess whom she served with explicit words like "moist lips", 'full figure", "beautiful breasts", "silky skin", "perfect complexion" time after times in her diary. Li Ming and Chen An would have had an affluent life with perfect respectable positions in the Court. Traditionally those positions were monopolised by the daughters of Fujiwara, Taira, Konoye or Kujo Families. Let's just pray so that at least one of sovereign princesses would make a merciful exception for them to work together at her palace. Women were allowed to sleep in the same bedroom, to bath together and to enjoy themselves much more openly in Japan before the dark age. The pathetic repression caused upon young adults by The Chinese Cultural Revolution was devastating and totally absurd in the context of humanity. Sadly in term of humanity, 1980's China was 900 years behind from it's neighbouring country Japan in term of woman's rights.


Since the beginning of civilisation, philosophers, psychologists, many scholars and like had debated against the superiority of love that a woman can offer to all of man kinds (to both men and to women). I strongly believe that of women are definitely superior to the others. Since the majority of us do not experience temporary loss of vision or complete loss of consciousness due to deep sedation for major surgery such as open heart or open skull procedures. Using artificial Heart and Lung machine, often the heart is removed outside the sternum whilst surgeon can work on. Such a procedures can cause tremendous trauma to your psyche. It is not unusual for patient and nurse to develop an almost like loving attachment to each other from the moment the nurse transfers you from a rolling bed to a recovery bed, then calling your name and caressing you as if rescuing you from desolated realm of unconscious. If you had compared it with the same task performed by male surgical assistants at operating room , you will become quite impressed with the fact that a woman's love is a priceless enlightenment. The tenderness of woman's expression of love is inexplicable beyond any words. It is highly likely that someone like Wil already had intuitively known the enlightenment that only a woman can bring to her soul.

Every female child has dreams of being swept up into a great adventure, of being the beautiful princess. Lamentably, when women grow up, they are often swept up into a life filled merely with demands, duty and responsibility. Many women are tired, struggling under the merciless pressure to be of a faithful servant, or a caregiver for children, husband or authoritarian father and like. I have known an award winning blind female writer back in Japan and her nurse companion who helped her publishing her novels until the end of writer's life at age 72. The nurse companion died next summer found afloat on River Kamo during Gion Festival (Buddhist's Ancester Revisiting season) leaving a will to be buried next to the writer. In fact I have seen them twice together on the stone bridge across a pond within the property of an ancient 10th century Buddhist temple in 1970's. Nurse were eyes to the writer and describing everything that the nurse can see. The both women looked very beautiful radiating the glory of love between them. They both were descendant of ancient noble families go back to 11th century and their presence seemed to enhance the tranquillity of the mid-autumn setting. I could not help but wishing their happy union forever from the moment I saw the strength and intensity of woman's love.
Pinecloud, a straight male, Palo Alto, California, USA


5/5 Great Movie
  by Cheng Liu (New York, NY USA)
I loved this movie and I thought it was made very well. The one quibble I have with it is that I though the subtitling could have been better. I would have loved it if they could have had an option for English subtitles when there is Mandarin being spoken and Chinese subtitles preferably Traditional when there is English being spoken. I know it's possible because I once saw a documentary on The Rasmus and there was English subtitles when there was Finnish spoken and vice versa. Other than that it was a great movie, it was only rather annoying that being a straight guy I get flak for enjoying the movie. Most of my friends think that I only like the movie for the action if you know what I mean and not because it was a well made movie.

4/5 Too Optimistic, But Enjoyable
  by Daniel Raphael
I give this four stars because it is ostensibly about "real people" and centrally focuses on (American-) Chinese culture...but I have to say, based on my own life's experiences with Chinese both here and on the mainland, that this film is not very realistic. Does that mean I'm sorry to have viewed this, or don't recommend it? Not at all! There is plenty of light humor, plenty of pathos (a rather *involved* plot, when you consider all the interpersonal and intracultural "stuff" that's going on), and there are many interesting, sympathetic, and amusing characters. The two women--both in their twenties, I'd guess--are appealing without being quite model-perfect...which is nice. If the film had gone on longer, there would have been more opportunity for character development, but the main "driver" in this fairly lighthearted tear-jerker is, after all, the quite taboo reality of being gay and Chinese. I guarantee you, more than a few people would have left the last scene where the two young ladies dance together and kiss--if it had been allowed at all!

I should mention that there is no sex at all in this, though there is some nudity, embracing and kissing. It's really pretty tame, by today's standards. If you want to see something hopeful and kind of fun--while at times intense, if you're empathetic--then I think you'll like this DVD.

4/5 Interesting and poignant..
  by G. Torres (New York, New York)
I love this film, it is not only funny but breaks away from the typical stereotypes about Asians and minorities in general. I highly recommend this film.