I've always had kind of a love hate relationship with Chinese historical BLs. Some are genuinely excellent, but then there are others that cram in so much plot that keeping track of all the layers of betrayal and scheming gets exhausting, and I end up checking out mentally. Part of the issue is also just how much content is out there in this space, so something really has to stand out to keep me hooked. In this case, the production value is genuinely impressive, top tier stuff, but story wise, I just couldn't bring myself to actually care about these characters. There's a ton of political scheming and backstage manipulation running throughout. Somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, a hostage ends up falling for his own Prince Charming. The show runs eight episodes, each around 50 to 60 minutes long. After spending three years guarding the border, Fifth Prince Yin Qi gets called back to the capital because of a secret letter, only to end up walking straight into a deadly...
Chow Chee Beng gets sacked from the company on ew years eve and the same night his wife tells him that she is pregnant again. He desperately looks for a job through his recruitment agent but nothing comes through. Eventually he gets hired for a night club Number 1. Its only later Chow Chee realizes that this is a drag club and there are 5 drag queens there. But when it is revealed that one of them was a runaway soldier, Chow Chee unwillingly has to take up the fifth position. When he sees tips coming in, he decides to continue performing to pay off his housing and car loans. Over a period of time and gradually, Chow Chee gets to know all of them personally and his outlook starts changing, In the meantime, when one night the sound system doesn't work, Chow Chee ends up singing in his own voice and before you know he becomes a viral sensation. His secret soon gets revealed to his family, who as expected don't take kindly to it. He leaves the job, sells his car and home to try to make peace. But his fans and drag queens ask him to join one last time to raise funds to save old age home. Of course, the wife finds out again, drama happens but eventually everything is happy happy. In the end credits we see a possibility of a sequel too.
I am very surprised by the number of drag films I have seen in last 6 months. Call it the Ru Paul effect (whose shows I have never seen) or something else, but in conservative Singapore, the idea of a man dressing up as a woman continues to be seen as a thing to be shunned, and a source of shame for most families. So taking up a subject like that was indeed risky. The film tries to balance humour with the everyday struggles and discrimination that drag performers face. There are many plot lines undeveloped which is ok, since the focus was mostly on Chow Chee and Pearl , the main drag performer who is initially the arc nemesis turned friend. My biggest issue is with the same song been used like 15 different times in the film. I mean, come on. There is only so much that anyone can take of a single song in a 100 minute duration film. Of course, the performance of the lead actor stands up everywhere (despite him being one of the ugliest drag queens I have seen). He stands out in comic and emotional scenes both.
The film definitely falters in how it doesn’t offer any deep, meaningful insights into the issues faced by the community and how it comes dangerously close in victimizing them. But besides that, it is truly the film’s sensitivity and evident love for queer culture that makes it feel sincere and heartfelt in its message of acceptance with a graceful handling of the subject and the actors. (6/10)
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