Soap Girl
Encyclopedia
Soap Girl is a 2002
drama film directed by Young Man Kang
, a Korea
n-born filmmaker who made his U.S. directing debut Cupid's Mistake
.
), vulnerable Yuko (Mari Tanaka), practical Jenna (Hiromi Nishiyama), and self-centered Sammy (Kate Holliday). Maya also gets to know Harry (Luciano Saber), a freelance writer and would-be poet who at the age of thirty has yet to lose his virginity. As he stops in for the occasional "massage," Maya and the painfully shy Harry find themselves developing a very non-businesslike infatuation for one another, and as she confronts her growing love for Harry, Maya must come to terms with the secret that brought her to the parlor in the first place.
"So the story evolved away from the "Pretty Woman/Cinderella" story and into one that plays on the audience's expectations of Asian stereotypes. Maya turns out not to be an immigrant, though everyone in the beginning believes that she is. None of the massage girls are naive, innocent lambs with hearts of gold; [they] are simply trying to survive."
This film received the Audience Award at the 2002 Big Bear Lake International Film Festival.
Soap Girl had its theatrical release on December 6, 2002 in Los Angeles
, and critical reaction was mixed and controversial.
"Soap Girl" has engendered the most vociferous pro-and-con arguments I've ever seen on the AsianAmericanFilm.com message boards.
This film was a big success in the box office at the Wallace Theater in Honolulu, Hawaii February 14, 2003.
Soap Girl DVD released on January 24, 2006.
2002 in film
The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...
drama film directed by Young Man Kang
Young Man Kang
Young Man Kang is a Korean filmmaker based in Los Angeles, California, United States. He has directed and produced The Last Eve , Soap Girl , Cupid's Mistake and Kimchi Warrior...
, a Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n-born filmmaker who made his U.S. directing debut Cupid's Mistake
Cupid's Mistake
Cupid’s Mistake is a 2001 comedy film directed by Young Man Kang, a Korean-born filmmaker who made his U.S. directing debut with this production...
.
Plot
A seemingly innocent woman becomes involved in the netherworld of massage parlors in this drama. Maya (Kerry Liu) is a young Asian woman who arrives one day at a seedy massage parlor in a run-down neighborhood in Los Angeles. Dressed in shabby clothes and speaking in broken English, she asks Mamasan (Tomiko Lee), who runs the parlor, for a job, and Mamasan immediately puts the attractive Maya on staff. While obviously new to the world of "shower and massage" - which is about sex rather than physical therapy - Maya soon becomes one of the most popular women working the parlor, and she soon bonds with her co-workers, including the thick-skinned Asia (Gina HiraizumiGina Hiraizumi
Gina Hiraizumi is an American actress and singer. Her father is a third generation Japanese American and her mother is from Japan. She is Yonsei or part of the fourth generation Nikkei....
), vulnerable Yuko (Mari Tanaka), practical Jenna (Hiromi Nishiyama), and self-centered Sammy (Kate Holliday). Maya also gets to know Harry (Luciano Saber), a freelance writer and would-be poet who at the age of thirty has yet to lose his virginity. As he stops in for the occasional "massage," Maya and the painfully shy Harry find themselves developing a very non-businesslike infatuation for one another, and as she confronts her growing love for Harry, Maya must come to terms with the secret that brought her to the parlor in the first place.
Production and release
The story was pitched to Director Kang, [which was] asically a farce about hijacks at a massage parlor involving geeky male virgins, gangsters and immigrants."So the story evolved away from the "Pretty Woman/Cinderella" story and into one that plays on the audience's expectations of Asian stereotypes. Maya turns out not to be an immigrant, though everyone in the beginning believes that she is. None of the massage girls are naive, innocent lambs with hearts of gold; [they] are simply trying to survive."
This film received the Audience Award at the 2002 Big Bear Lake International Film Festival.
Soap Girl had its theatrical release on December 6, 2002 in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and critical reaction was mixed and controversial.
"Soap Girl" has engendered the most vociferous pro-and-con arguments I've ever seen on the AsianAmericanFilm.com message boards.
This film was a big success in the box office at the Wallace Theater in Honolulu, Hawaii February 14, 2003.
Soap Girl DVD released on January 24, 2006.
Awards and honors
Won- Big Bear Lake International Film FestivalBig Bear Lake International Film FestivalThe Big Bear International Film Festival has been held in the mountain community of Big Bear Lake, California, United States since 2000. Every year, the festival expands with number of submissions and the prestige of their honorees. The festival hosts both film and screenplay...
:- Audience Award (Young Man KangYoung Man KangYoung Man Kang is a Korean filmmaker based in Los Angeles, California, United States. He has directed and produced The Last Eve , Soap Girl , Cupid's Mistake and Kimchi Warrior...
)
- Audience Award (Young Man Kang