The latest Asian movie releases. This week the Chinese sex shop comedy Red Light Revolution arrives on DVD in the UK from Terracotta Distribution.

RED LIGHT REVOLUTION
Sam Voutas, 2010, China/Australia
UK DVD (Terracotta Distribution)

Apparently 70% of all sex toys are manufactured in China, ready for export to the waiting, um, arms of the wider world. This curious fact can be found in an equally curious film that exists in a very small niche – the Chinese sex comedy. Hong Kong has of course long delivered sexual content of every variety in their movies, but unsurprisingly, the cinema of the Chinese mainland remains far more restricted. As recently as last year, Chinese audiences were being shipped by the boatload to go and watch the box office busting 3D delights of Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstacy. Red Light Revolution is a far more modest affair – and as it turns out, a lot less raunchy than its premise suggests – but the very fact it exists at all makes it of interest.

Shunzi is a loser – in one day he loses his job as a cabbie, gets kicked out of his house by his wife and has to move back in with his despairing parents. Our portly hero finds soul-destroying work in a supermarket, but a chance meeting with old school friend Jiang sets him on another path. Jiang has made good money selling plastic sex toys and encourages Shunzi to enter the business too and open a shop selling such devices. Luckily his co-worker Lili has access to an empty store, so the pair set up their fledgling business. But there are various obstacles on the road to success, including a zealous local inspector eager to maintain the tone of the neighbourhood, and crazy Japanese supplier Iggy who has threatened to break Shunzi’s legs unless certain financial targets are hit.

It’s no surprise that Red Light Revolution has secured UK distribution while remaining pretty much unseen in its homeland, but at heart this is a very straight-forward, easy-going mainstream comedy. There is no skin on display and you’re much more likely to see Shunzi trying to stick a dildo onto his forehead to amuse Lili than it being used for any other purpose. It’s an amusing set-up and the first half plays out in a light, breezy fashion with enough laughs to maintain interest. First time actor Jun Zhao delivers a winning lead performance as lovable shlub Shunzi, displaying a charisma and flair for comedy that could well lead to, er, bigger things. He has a great chemistry with his co-star, the wonderfully-named Vivid Wang, and their scenes together as they set up the shop and try to deal with the constant stream of oddball customers are charming and funny. Australian-born writer/director Sam Voutas shoots Beijing with impressive authenticity; being a resident of the city he understands the streets and customs well, but his outsider’s eye also allows him to look perceptively at the ongoing tension between traditional family and gender values and China’s increasing role as major economic force.

Unfortunately an amusing premise, smart observations and enjoyable performances only get you so far, and by the time we reach the hour mark it becomes clear that Voutas has run out of story. He resorts to repeating earlier gags; the first comedy encounter with the local inspector is pretty funny – the second and third aren’t. Ditto the running joke about Shunzi’s aging parents being caught enjoying an afternoon delight every time he goes round to visit. And the final resolution, in which Shunzi and Lili must overcome having their shop closed down, is achieved with a farcical series of contrivances; by that point I must confess I’d lost interest a bit.

Nevertheless, Red Light Revolution has its moments and is just too amiable to be judged too harsly – its heart (and other body parts) are in the right place. And it’s actually quite refreshing to see an Asian comedy get a fairly high profile release in the UK, as it remains a massively popular genre in the East that gets very little exposure over here. It’s a shame it’s not a bit better, but hopefully interest in the film might lead to the release of other examples of other, even funnier films.