Maids Of Passion (1995)

Directed by: Wong Yau-Sing
Written by: ?
Producers: Choi Chi-Laam
Starring: Dennis Tang, Otomo Rena, Chan Pooi-Kei, Charlie Cho, Suen Tong, Stuart Ong & Tong Chit


 

Not as arty as the cover above suggests or in any way about maids as the TITLE suggests, what's in Maids Of Passion are a lot of recognizable elements such as flat rooms used as sets, lots of graphic sex, Charlie Cho, comedy and it's the latter aspect that adds energy to an otherwise stale, sometimes melodramatic product with no true, deeper purpose.

Dennis Tang (Yu Pui Tsuen II) is Kwan, a triad in debt so he flees Hong Kong and starts working as a teacher for the prostitutes at Sister Chi's. Apparently Kwan has a few techniques worth passing on as some of the girls have resorted to standardized, boring behaviour with customers. Some cling to him, some like Otomo Rena's (Picking Up Girls) character Kwan brings into the world of prostitution to get her out of addictive behaviour such as gambling. A little triangle drama starts developing...

As flat as matters are and as forced it is to see Dennis Tang ham it up in order to try and pass doing nonsense comedy in the Stephen Chow vein, the actor is injecting a needed, out there energy to Wong Yau-Sing's (Long Hot Summer) film. He's an annoying loud mouth for sure but creating a storm within a stationary frame shot at a rather bland looking house (most scenes are), the energy is commendable and Tang's Kwan even turns to the camera for some updates. Teaching girls that are currently only "moaning in a pleasurable way" with customers sucking techniques (not through their mouths but through their private parts), the film seems to aim for way out there, eye brow raising moments on an embarrassing budget and that's something to be totally on board with.

Things do get rather stale and increasingly indistinct however. Kwan's clownish ways are largely kept in the background as he mainly concerns himself with the clingy girl from the stable and Otomo Rena's troubled character (the actress looks absolutely gorgeous despite the visual flatness). Rejecting sex from one before she's fully trained and acting rather harshly against Rena's emotional character, as long as there's some kind of payback at the end for Kwan's conflicted ways, we're STILL on board.

Mixing melodrama and the odd sights (such as a fantasy involving a baseball bat that goes in from the bottom and out the top in a surreal, cartoon moment), Kwan gets increasingly harder to side with as he is pretty much a prick and the turnaround for Rena's character may not happen with him but rather with Charlie Cho (in a small role) who promises to erase HER debt. And ultimately matters seems very unresolved for all and ends rather cartoony so the inspired behaviour from Dennis Tang fizzles out into something indistinct. Truly a shame because the flattest looking Category III sex movie could add inspired spark via the point and shoot technique as long as the performer being pointed at and shot brought something WHOLE. Dennis Tang doesn't or rather doesn't seem to be allowed to.

 

reviewed by Kenneth Brorsson