Honestly, it was really, really tricky finding this film, which is a bit of a shame because it really wasn't too bad. Actually, the main reason that I spent a heap of time looking for it was because I recently saw the second one and it was really, really bad, but I wanted to see the original because I needed something to compare it with. Mind you, the bar that the second one set was so low that it wasn't hard to find something that was actually better than it. Oh, and the other thing I liked was that it was about a couple of kids that get into some shady business and make a bucket load out of it.
Yeah, these two guys happen to work at a publishing house, but end up being sacked in a round of layoffs. So, using their publishing knowledge, they decide to set out on their own. The problem is that there are only two types of books that make money - text books and porn. Unfortunately, they don't have the qualifications to write text books. As for porn, well, that tends to be pretty expensive when it comes to looking for models, so they needed something slightly different.
That was when they hit upon the idea of using prostitutes. More so, they would use the magazine as a means of sending customers to the prostitutes, and not surprisingly it was an instant hit. In fact, the prostitutes liked it as well because it meant that they got heaps and heaps of business. Mind you, this also brings them to the attention of some rather unsavoury individuals, and also starts to put them at odds with their girlfriends. However, since prostitution is technically legal in Hong Kong, they were able to get away with it, to an extent.
I guess the problem with this film was that I had to find the minutae of the story from other places since it sort of seemed to be going all over the place. Okay, the subtitles were pretty bad, but you sort of expect that with some of these Hong Kong films. However, unlike the second film, this one does tend to focus much more upon the relationships with the characters, and how they go through the highs and lows of the porn, and prostitution, industry.
There have been some suggestions that it explores the nature of prostitution in Hong Kong, and while it does touch on it, it doesn't delve too deeply into the subject. The thing is that it does exist, but generally exists behind closed doors. Another thing is that the film is actually based on a true story, and the guy that created the original magazine helped write the script.
In the end the film was okay, nothing too great, and it could have actually been a lot better, but in the end it is interesting, just not great. Oh, and there are some rather amusing aspects to it as well as touching on some serious issues.
Yeah, these two guys happen to work at a publishing house, but end up being sacked in a round of layoffs. So, using their publishing knowledge, they decide to set out on their own. The problem is that there are only two types of books that make money - text books and porn. Unfortunately, they don't have the qualifications to write text books. As for porn, well, that tends to be pretty expensive when it comes to looking for models, so they needed something slightly different.
That was when they hit upon the idea of using prostitutes. More so, they would use the magazine as a means of sending customers to the prostitutes, and not surprisingly it was an instant hit. In fact, the prostitutes liked it as well because it meant that they got heaps and heaps of business. Mind you, this also brings them to the attention of some rather unsavoury individuals, and also starts to put them at odds with their girlfriends. However, since prostitution is technically legal in Hong Kong, they were able to get away with it, to an extent.
I guess the problem with this film was that I had to find the minutae of the story from other places since it sort of seemed to be going all over the place. Okay, the subtitles were pretty bad, but you sort of expect that with some of these Hong Kong films. However, unlike the second film, this one does tend to focus much more upon the relationships with the characters, and how they go through the highs and lows of the porn, and prostitution, industry.
There have been some suggestions that it explores the nature of prostitution in Hong Kong, and while it does touch on it, it doesn't delve too deeply into the subject. The thing is that it does exist, but generally exists behind closed doors. Another thing is that the film is actually based on a true story, and the guy that created the original magazine helped write the script.
In the end the film was okay, nothing too great, and it could have actually been a lot better, but in the end it is interesting, just not great. Oh, and there are some rather amusing aspects to it as well as touching on some serious issues.