THE GIGOLO 2 (鸭王2) (2016)

Genre: Drama/Romance
Director: Venus Keung
Cast: Dominic Ho, Connie Man, Leslie Lam, Iris Chung, Alex Lam, Teresa Mak, Hazel Tong, Winnie Leung, Tony Ho, Samuel Leung
Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins
Rating: R21 (Sexual Content)
Released By: Shaw 
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 25 February 2016

Synopsis: The King of Gigolos, Fung (Dominic Ho), has taken an apprentice, Dick (Alex Lam). Fung meets Monica (Connie Man), whose mother is seriously ill and needs money for surgery and treatment. Monica takes Sushi’s (Iris Chung) advice to become a prostitute. Monica becomes Fung’s apprentice but falls in love with Fung. Eventually, Monica and Fung become lovers…

Movie Review:

‘The Gigolo 2’ is a film made for titillation – anyone who pretends otherwise is either foolish or deluded – so it is probably pointless to debate about the film’s strengths and flaws by conventional movie-going standards. After all, were you expecting more than a threadbare plot to string together a series of sexual gags and gigs? Or that the characters will be anything more than their skin-deep qualities? If you were, this soft-porn romance/ drama/ unintentional comedy from Wong Jing’s pleasure factory is probably not for you; as for those who know exactly what you are in for, you'll likely find this Category III film passably entertaining.

Continuing from where its predecessor left off, this sequel finds Dominic Ho’s titular male prostitute semi-retired and running his own nightclub at Lan Kwai Fong. On occasion though, the ‘King of Gigolos’ still offers his services to female clients to teach them the pleasures that sex can bring. One example is the soon-to-be-married female lawyer Isabel (Leslie Lam), who is worried that her extra thick hymen will get in the way of sex with her future husband. Yet another example is Monica (Connie Man), a wannabe actress and part-time social escort who wants to pick up some professional tricks of the trade.

Now as much as the title implies that this movie is about Fung, ‘The Gigolo 2’ is really about Connie and her ‘coming-of-age’ as a prostitute. Initially a shy soft-spoken girl devoted to her good-for-nothing boyfriend of three years, Monica has a change of heart when she catches him cheating on her with a ‘sex partner’. Saddled too with her mother’s medical bills, Monica abandons her initial inhibitions and agrees to have sex with a rich client. Because of her inexperience, she is quickly labelled a ‘dead fish’, so in order to erase her bad name, Monica reaches out to Fung to teach her how to give men a good time in bed.

Fung’s method of instruction includes getting her to watch AV films to learn the art of moaning sensually and sucking on a cigar with two ball-shaped objects (whether walnuts or fish balls or even two scoops of ice cream) hung around it to learn how to perform a good blowjob.  Proving to be a fast learner, Connie soon goes from pariah to icon – though her success comes at the expense of that of her best friend Sushi (Iris Chung). This isn’t the sort of movie about the ups and downs of their friendship – indeed, just as Sushi had supported her when she was a newbie to the trade, Connie repays the favour by telling their ‘pimp’ (Teresa Mak) to invite Sushi along for any business opportunities.

Despite that, a late third-act twist has Sushi and her fellow gigolo boyfriend Dick (Lam Tsz-sin) accept a pair of sadistic clients in the form of Tony Ho’s perverted mob boss Big Dog and his wife Mona (Winnie Leung), so as to earn enough money for the down payment on an expensive condominium apartment they hope to settle down in. That turn of events is no more than excuse to insert a couple of S&M scenes to (yes) titillate its audience, but those looking to be turned on will likely be underwhelmed; rather than sexual, the gratification from these scenes comes from admiring their sheer ludicrousness, almost like a modern-day ‘Sex and Zen’ with whips, restraints and ball gags.

Oh yes, the fun in any Category III film is not from getting a ‘rise’ out of its sex scenes – especially not in today’s era of Internet porn – but rather in appreciating its sheer fakery, especially a bunch of largely unknown actresses trying to look like they are having a pleasurable time and/ or sounding like they are about to have an orgasm anytime soon. That is certainly not lost on its director Venus Keung, who turns up the volume and lets his camera linger on the actresses as they gently sway their naked bodies while moaning out loud with their eyes closed. Why bother pretending that it is real when everyone knows that it is simulated?

Therein lies the pleasure of ‘The Gigolo 2’ – by not trying to be something more than it is, it manages to be both fun and corny at the same time. There is nothing in this day and age particularly exciting about its display of skin or depiction of sex, but there is still pleasure to be had watching a bunch of young, nubile actresses ham it up for the big screen. That is the niche that Category III Hong Kong films still have, and ‘The Gigolo 2’ proves that such films still can – for the lack of a better word – hit the G-spot. 

Movie Rating:

(Trashy, slapdash and clichéd, ‘The Gigolo 2’ embraces its lowbrow nature with self-aware glee – and manages to be both fun and corny at the same time)

Review by Gabriel Chong