GIRLS, BE AMBITIOUS! (女優, 摔吧!) (2022)

Genre: Comedy
Director: Julian Chou
Cast: Kimi Hsia, Gemma Wu, Tiara Huang
Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scenes)
Released By: mm2 Entertainment
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/mm2taiwan/

Opening Day: 29 December 2022

Synopsis: With the decline of the AV industry, Liz Ai Ai and Berry are forced to their wit’s end and join a wrestling club, where its owner sees their potential and decides to form a pro wrestling group together with Icy. Though the three initially do not get along, their team starts gaining great popularity. But all that is put to test with rivalries, injuries, and more financial issues. Can their team bounce back successfully?

Movie Review:

The first scene of this comedy takes place in a Japanese movie studio. Our female protagonists Liz Ai Ai (Kimi Hsia) and Berry(Gemma Wu) are in the midst of the filming a sequence from an AV movie. They are spouting Japanese dialogue and making moaning noises. They are scantily clad and in compromising positions. With two other men, the ladies attempt to pull off a human centipede style.

Yup, you read that right. You get to see the above ‘action’ scenes within the first 10 minutes of the Taiwanese movie. Before you start wondering what you actually agreed to watch in the cinema, you’ll be glad (or unsatisfied for some, maybe?) that this is the most outrageous sequence you’d get from the 107 minute movie. These opening scenes (which end hilariously, of course) are also probably what got the comedy a M18 rating, because the rest of the movie is actually rather heartwarming.

After things end on a funny but disastrous note for Liz Ai Ai and Berry, they head back home to Taiwanand find themselves joining a female wrestling club. No surprises for guessing how they used their AV actress personalities in the ring, much to the displeasure of their teammates. But hey, would you blame the two of them considering the miserable audiences in the crowd are all men? As expected, words spread and the female wrestling club becomes a popular hangout spot for the guys.

Along the way, we are introduced to other characters in the team. There is the headstrong member (Tiara Huang) who is taking the sport very seriously because she wants to turn pro, the oversized girl who is responsible for bringing the laughs, the high achiever who hustles in the stock market, the foreign bride who advocates peace, and the cheerful one who tries her best to unite the group. As the movie progresses, we find out their reasons for joining the club. They are led by a gungho woman played by famous TV host Tsao Lan.

The men are taking a step back in this female oriented movie. Charles Tu has a minor role as a fishmonger who fancies Hsia’s Liz Ai Ai, while Ray Chang plays her ex boyfriend. Another familiar face in Taiwanese showbiz Jack Na portrays a woman stuck in a man’s body – and it’s a sub plot where you can’t be sure whether it’s appropriate to laugh so loudly at.

The ensemble cast led by Hsia, Wu and Huang is game, and it sure feels like the girls had a fun time on set, bonding over the wrestling scenes that probably left them with countless bruises. The movie is directed by Julian Chou, who is known for managing Taiwanese celebrities like Austin Lin and Ariel Lin - and that probably explains their cameo appearances.

There are plenty of gags which you’ll enjoy if you are in the mood to be entertained. Some of them may be pure slapstick, but you have to give credit to the filmmakers for catching the moment to tickle your funny bones. Ultimately, this is a movie that has a positive message to share – one that reminds you how dreams are often achieved after several rounds of struggles and tears.  

Movie Rating:

(A very entertaining movie that will bring on the laughs)

Review by John Li