"Leave Me Alone" is the most Americanized Asian film I have ever seen, and I am actually saying that in a positive way. This sharp, crisp, entertaining film from the Pang Brothers tells the story of two brothers who must switch identities after one is injured in a car crash and mistaken for his brother. They cannot admit that there has been a mistake, because to do that would be to admit to killing a pedestrian with a car driven by an unlicensed driver. They also cannot simply switch places because Kit, the joyriding brother, can't walk, for the time being (a huge contrivance, I know). This leads to the identity switch which is further sensationalized because the other brother, Man, is a homosexual.
The Pang Brothers use this opportunity to shun and dabble in homophobia to mostly positive returns. The question they seem to be asking is how different, really, are gay people from straight people. We all know the Christian right finds them to be sinners simply because of their sexual preference (meanwhile believing that their burning of Iraq will simply go unnoticed by God), but is it so simple? While I believe that people are born gay, I also believe that there are gay people out there who have conceived children. This becomes less contradictory if you figure that sex grows out of love and love can grow out of anywhere (see: Anna Nicole Smith). Perhaps in the end we're all just bi. Beyond the homosexual angle I enjoyed watching Man try to inhabit Kit's world. Many of Kit's relationships and surroundings have been destroyed by his habit of being a sociopath, and in walks man naively thinking that politeness is the way to go. He is, of course, loved for his style and cooking. But that politeness does eventually win the girlfriend's father over to his side. Even the girlfriend eventually admits that she likes Man better than Kit.
The film soon turns into a typical Hollywood blockbuster complete with a script that includes fish out water comedy and shoot 'em up action. This is the films major downfall, as although it is wildly entertaining at times (the car chase is the best action sequence I've ever seen from the Far East), you know you've seen it all before. But just when you start hating on it for this behavior the film goes and openly acknowledges it's roots with a delightful homage to "24." And what would any Asian film be without a heavy dose of the weird? There is a scene in which a herd of naked men rise out of hot tubs filled with green water to chase a man down the street that is perfectly beautifully surreal. We have seen all these tricks before: the man who is thrust into the public spotlight as a man that he knows nothing about ("Clean Slate"), the ridiculously awkward man playing action hero ("Alias"), etc. But at the end of the film you don't mind, you're just happy you didn't watch "The River" again.
The Pang Brothers use this opportunity to shun and dabble in homophobia to mostly positive returns. The question they seem to be asking is how different, really, are gay people from straight people. We all know the Christian right finds them to be sinners simply because of their sexual preference (meanwhile believing that their burning of Iraq will simply go unnoticed by God), but is it so simple? While I believe that people are born gay, I also believe that there are gay people out there who have conceived children. This becomes less contradictory if you figure that sex grows out of love and love can grow out of anywhere (see: Anna Nicole Smith). Perhaps in the end we're all just bi. Beyond the homosexual angle I enjoyed watching Man try to inhabit Kit's world. Many of Kit's relationships and surroundings have been destroyed by his habit of being a sociopath, and in walks man naively thinking that politeness is the way to go. He is, of course, loved for his style and cooking. But that politeness does eventually win the girlfriend's father over to his side. Even the girlfriend eventually admits that she likes Man better than Kit.
The film soon turns into a typical Hollywood blockbuster complete with a script that includes fish out water comedy and shoot 'em up action. This is the films major downfall, as although it is wildly entertaining at times (the car chase is the best action sequence I've ever seen from the Far East), you know you've seen it all before. But just when you start hating on it for this behavior the film goes and openly acknowledges it's roots with a delightful homage to "24." And what would any Asian film be without a heavy dose of the weird? There is a scene in which a herd of naked men rise out of hot tubs filled with green water to chase a man down the street that is perfectly beautifully surreal. We have seen all these tricks before: the man who is thrust into the public spotlight as a man that he knows nothing about ("Clean Slate"), the ridiculously awkward man playing action hero ("Alias"), etc. But at the end of the film you don't mind, you're just happy you didn't watch "The River" again.