The People I’ve Slept With

(USA, 2009, 89 mins, Video)

Exec. Producers: Tien Lee, Sam Kwok, Brian Yang
Producers: Koji Steven Sakai, Quentin Lee, Stanley Yung
Writer: Sakai
Cinematographer: Quyen Tran
Editor: Aldo Velasco
Music: Steven Pranoto
Cast: Karin Anna Cheung, Wilson Cruz, Archie Kao, James Shigeta

In Person: Quentin Lee, Karin Anna Cheung, Stanley Yung, Koji Steven Sakai

The co-director of the groundbreaking Asian American feature SHOPPING FOR FANGS (SFIAAFF ’97) returns to the festival with this similarly game-changing new comedy about sex in the city, Asian American style. Thankfully updating Hollywood’s usual concept of the romantic comedy (mostly white, sometimes black, and, um, that’s about it) with the kind of racial (and sexual) diversity that truly reflects urban life today, THE PEOPLE I’VE SLEPT WITH is the BETTER LUCK TOMORROW of this era: slickly told, eye-opening, unashamedly commercial and proudly Asian American. Angela yang (the fabulous Karin Anna Cheung, BETTER LUCK TOMORROW) knows what she wants—SEX—and doesn’t mind who knows it; after all, “a slut is just a woman with the morals of a man,” she notes. Her nightly crawls through the city’s bars have given her enough partners to make Hugh Hefner blush: Asian, Caucasian, Latino and Black; men and women, anyone will do. (She even takes and collects pictures of each lover, like mementos, or baseball cards.) All things change, however, when she suddenly discovers that she’s pregnant. Armed only with those photos and some drunken memories, Angela starts tracking down each of the many “father” possibilities. The man she’d secretly like it to be, though, is the elegant, cultured (and ultra hot) “Mystery Man” (Archie Kao, CSI), who indeed turns out to have a few secrets of his own. “This script is unique because it empowers Asian American female sexuality,” notes Cheung. “Women should be able do whatever they want in this postmodern society, and she does.”
Director Quentin Lee and scriptwriter Koji Steven Sakai keep things moving with a refreshing blend of modern urban situations, well-drawn supporting characters and old-fashioned romantic comedy conventions; even the typical “gay best friend” role is given a far more nuanced, believable tweak here, especially thanks to a winning performance by Wilson Cruz (My SO-CALLED LIFE). Comedian Randall Park (AMERICAN FUSION) adds extra charm as the clueless-but-willing “Nice-But-Boring Guy,” while none other than acting legend James Shigeta (subject of a prior festival retrospective, and Asian America’s first romantic lead) completes the circle as Mystery Man’s open-minded father. All romantic comedies are judged on their stars, however, and few films can boast as radiant a lead duo as Cheung and Kao, who bring a sizzling chemistry and screen presence that not only match, but also overshadow, the casts of any current Hollywood romance. It’s their performances that will truly turn heads here, and make THE PEOPLE I’VE SLEPT WITH a proud new example of the romantic comedy tradition, and of powerhouse Asian American cinema.

-- Jason Sanders

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