'Soap Girl' a candid, honest drama

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

'Soap Girl' Not rated (contains adult situations, frank language, female and male nudity) 86 minutes

Its makers, from Hawai'i, contend that life in the massage parlors parallel the pulse in hostess bars here, where young women provide a particular service to eager and willing men.

"Soap Girl" proceeds to imply that women get into this kind of work for a variety of reasons, with a multitude of expectations and, yes, different outcomes.

Maya (Kerry Liu), the principal character, walks into a massage parlor with emotional baggage. We're not sure at the outset why, but it becomes evident: She has no means of support, she has undergone a bad relationship, she has lost a child. She is alone, she needs a family to tide her over.

A massage parlor is hardly the logical place a lost soul would wind up at, but "Soap Girl" maintains that its slice-of-life depiction, where desperation can result in dignity, is the stuff of dreams.

Mama-san (Tomiko Lee) suspects Maya is a decent girl, behind the tragic facade, so Maya finds her place in the gallery of workers. It turns out that she is a quick study, becomes popular, but succumbs to something that's an in-house no-no: She falls in love with a thirtysomething writer (Luciano Saber), a virgin who cannot understand why there is a cloud in her skies.

With candor and honesty, director Young Man Kang has assembled a stylish ensemble that predictably includes stereotypes: the somewhat flippant and bitchy pro who has a soft heart, a voice of reason and sensibility, a hip chick whose big question is whether to remain blond or brunette, a victim of physical abuse. And yes, a geeky nice guy who also is a knight without the shining armor.

There is a dark side to the operation, too, with an extortionist (Dennis James Lee, one of the film's producers and the real-life son of Tomiko Lee, a one-time Korean hostess bar worker and club owner) who expects more than money in lording over the operations.

Essentially a melodrama, "Soap Girl" has moments of sweetness, instances of titillation, attempts at redemption, and, yes, ripples of liberation. The film dwells on the stereotypical view of Asian women working to please men, but also depicts these women as challengers who won't let a hothead get his way, brandishing pots and pans to halt the extortionist.

It's also a love story — soap opera, even — wherein the leading lady ultimately finds her way to happiness, however contrived. She to him: "You have a girlfriend?" He to her: "No." It's not exactly a dynamic story with crisp lines, but it does get beneath the skin and into the heartbeat of a cultural milieu.

There is nudity, mostly focusing on bare butts, and lots of suds. Acceptance of the film may depend on the generation — younger and hip audiences will find some enlightenment; older viewers may find offense in the subject matter.

For nostalgia fans, the main theme song, "You Are Beginning to Grow on Me," provides a nice surprise. It was composed by Teddy Randazzo, who has Island ties; he's penned a lion's share of golden oldies in his time, including "Goin' Out of My Head," "Hurt So Bad," and "The Way of a Clown."