Review: 'The Lady Improper' castrates its lust and replaces it with food

The Lady Improper is one of the best food films that you’ve never seen. Contrary to its title, there’s hardly anything improper about the main character, nor is she particularly lustful — far from it. In fact, you could make a case for how it’s kind of the opposite, despite all the fanfare about Charlene Choi almost rejecting The Lady Improper because of its provocative nature. It makes one wonder just how much of the original script was neutered so that Choi would star in it. There are nude scenes, but they’re so tasteful and artistic that there’s hardly anything gratuitous about it. Choi’s character is also frumpily dressed in 90% of the film, so it’s not as if there’s anything really risque about her either.

The Lady Improper is an ambitious attempt at following a restaurant owner’s daughter’s journey of self-discovery. The conservative and prudish lady is forced to take over the restaurant and meets an unorthodox and slightly irritating new chef in the process. However, she learns more about herself, her father, and her father’s food in the process, as both lady and chef rediscover the dishes that made the restaurant famous.

First off – it’s amazing how virtually nothing has been reported about the food scenes in the film. While it’s not a dedicated food film, there’s no lack of love when it comes to depicting the dishes of the movie. It is set in a restaurant, after all, and the food shots are crafted with such care that it should have been a food movie. Even the philosophy towards food speaks volumes about how highly it’s regarded in the movie. Your mouth will be watering for the Hakka Style Pork Belly and the Traditional Stewed Tofu shown in the film, despite the fact that it’s not actually a promotional movie for those two dishes at all. At the expense of making a bad pun — it’s food porn in all its wonder and glory.

Of course, the food in the film is a metaphor for how Siu Man (Charlene Choi) discovers her identity, and it’s a rather explicit connection that’s drawn. There’s also the requisite sexual awakening, but this element is so heavily castrated from what the promotional materials have led us to believe (it’s rated R-21 by the way) that it might as well have not been in the film at all. The Lady Improper should have focused on the food and kept it simple, rather than trying to mix too many disparate elements together.

The storytelling in The Lady Improper is top-notch, though. Despite being a fairly grounded premise, the movie starts in such a simple but intriguing way that you can’t help but be drawn into the plot. It forsakes dramatic twists and turns for deep character explorations, plunging into the depths of chef Ji Hao (Wu Kang Ren) and Siu Man’s minds. We learn about the characters as they learn about themselves, so our revelations about their characters are mirrored in their own discoveries of their true motivations. It’s just unfortunate that Ji Hao is portrayed as such a smarmy, pretentiously smug chef – he’s borderline unbearable.

While The Lady Improper has art film sensibilities, it thankfully doesn’t go down the route of inaccessible shots and incoherent dialogue. Instead, it chooses to apply its artistic sentiments judiciously, picking and choosing choice moments to have stylistic and creative shots, while using more standard filmmaking techniques for key scenes. What results is a well-executed film with beautiful visuals.

One quibble about The Lady Improper though — the Mandarin dubbing needs better synchronisation. From the very first scene, you can tell that it’s a dub because the visuals and audio don’t quite match. There’s also the matter of the voice direction, which also doesn’t always match the emotions shown on screen. It’d be a boon if the Cantonese version of The Lady Improper could be screened instead, because that would definitely fit the original vision for the film better.

If you love food, you’ll love The Lady Improper. But if you’re looking for a more artistic exploration of a woman’s sexual awakening, The Lady Improper doesn’t quite live up to expectations. However, the story is told in a heartfelt and genuine way, which means that ultimately, it is a feel-good film that’ll will leave a smile on your face… and a rumble in your belly.

Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket prices? Yes.

Should you watch this more than once? No.

Secret ending? No.

Score: 4.0/5

Running time: 90 minutes

The Lady Improper (非分熟女) opens in cinemas
– 4 April 2019 (Singapore)

The Lady Improper (非分熟女) is a Cantonese romantic drama that is in Mandarin.

The plot revolves around an introverted woman who inherits her father’s restaurant after he falls ill. Forced to manage a business that she has absolutely no clue about, the lady ends up hiring a chef whom she doesn’t get along with. However, they eventually learn the truth about themselves from each other, leaving their lives irrevocably changed.

The Lady Improper (非分熟女) is directed and written by Tsang Tsui Shan, with additional writing credits for Link Sng. It stars Charlene Choi (Siu Man), Wu Kang Ren (Ji Hao), Lau Wing (Ping), and Cecilia Yip (Lin). It is rated R-21.

Marcus Goh is a scriptwriter, having written for popular shows like “Lion Mums”, “Crimewatch”, “Code of Law”, “Incredible Tales”, and “Police & Thief”. He’s also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. You can find him on social media as Optimarcus and on his site. The views expressed are his own.

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