Worth: $16.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Kai Ko, Vivian Hsu, Sara Yu, Yan Sheng-Yu
Intro:
… entertains and has broad appeal …
Arvin Chen burst onto the international scene with his first feature Au Revoir Taipei (2010), executive produced by Wim Wenders. His second film was the acclaimed Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? (2013), which dealt with a husband’s sexuality, set in contemporary Taipei.
After a nine-year break, Chen has returned with his latest, the coming-of-age romance Mama Boy.
Naïve young man Xiao-hong (leading Taiwanese actor Kai Ko) lives with his overprotective mother Meiling (Sara Yu). For his 29th birthday, his libidinous cousin and co-worker Wen-hao (Yan Sheng-Yu) decides to drag him to a sex hotel to lose his virginity.
Instead of meeting with the arranged escort, Xiao-hong meets and falls for an older woman who runs the brothel, Sister Lele (Vivian Hsu), who happens to be the same age as his mother. Sister Lele also has a son of her own, whom she disapproves of and struggles to control. As Xiao-hong and Sister Lele get to know each other, Xiao-hong becomes a surrogate son to Sister Lele.
One of the biggest strengths of Mama Boy is its performances, particularly the excellent Kai Ko, who provides a charming turn, as well as Sara Yu as Xiao-hong‘s controlling mother.
Mama Boy doesn’t resort to the requisite sex gags, but eschews these tropes, and is more focused on the maternal relationships between Xiao-hong, his mother, and Sister Lele.
Refreshingly, Chen does not judge the choices of Xiao-hong, nor his lascivious cousin, who pushes him to go to the sex hotel, or his old-fashioned mother, but instead examines each of their perspectives with a balanced point of view.
With his third feature, Chen, who studied under esteemed Taiwanese director Edward Yang, has made a film which entertains and has broad appeal. It is one which should pull in international viewers, not just Taiwanese audiences.
Boosted by stellar work from its key cast, there is plenty to enjoy for viewers familiar with Taiwanese film, and those less aware of its exciting new crop of directors.