In her directorial debut, Alice Wu breaks new ground. "Saving Face" is not only a lesbian romantic comedy, but also a Chinese-American coming of age/accepting one's overbearing traditional mother tale in one. The premise sounds unconventional, and yet the film follows all the genre conventions: initial bliss, then obstacles, with the obligatory public declaration of love. Wu is by no means a subtle filmmaker, and the young lovers (a doctor and a ballet dancer) constant consumption of street vendor hot dogs strains credibility, but somehow, despite the often clunky narration, "Saving Face" works.
Michelle Krusiec and Lynn Chen in Alice Wu's "Saving Face"
Poor Wil has no time for her new girlfriend; when she is not performing surgery, she is too busy eating the Chinese food her mother prepares, watching Chinese soap operas, and searching for a suitable mate for her despondent parent. So much time is spent, in fact, surrounding Ma's pregnancy (including an painfully extended date montage scene), that it's easy to forget that "Saving Face" is supposed to be a romantic comedy.
Krusiec and Chen have too little time on screen together. Their romance is broadly sketched through devilish grins, longing stares, and one honest to goodness sex scene (one of the film's strongest moments, in fact). But the chemistry between the actresses is sweet, convincing. The film's broad humor is often effective. Many of the jokes are laugh out loud funny. And so: the complaints, hot dogs, chance encounters in subway stations, sitcom pacing, are almost incidental, because by the film's end, filmmaker Alice Wu has reached her audience. At least she had me. My eyes were teary for the final climactic kiss.
