Review | Tootsies & the Fake film review: LGBT Thai comedy is short on laughs as remake of hit TV show disappoints
- This feature-length spin-off of hit Thai TV show Diary of Tootsies falls flat and the incessant gurning and screeching of its stars only makes matters worse
- Araya A. Hargate and Pattarasaya Kreuasuwansri do their best to raise the fun factor, but they are the only positives in this otherwise worthless enterprise
1/5 stars
A mainstream comedy with a predominantly gay roster of characters should be cause for some celebration, but Tootsies & the Fake is no laughing matter. A feature-length spin-off of hit Thai TV show Diary of Tootsies, the big-screen exploits of Gus, Golf, Kim, and Natty do little to advance the LGBT community.
The film opens with an extended skit on board a plane, in which Natty (Pattarasaya Kreuasuwansri), the gang’s token lesbian, is caught short by the seat belt sign, and proceeds to relieve herself right there in her seat. Close friend, and on-duty flight attendant, Kim (Ratthanant Janyajirawong) scrambles to prevent an in-flight scat-astrophy, but any hope for insightful satire is immediately flushed away.
What follows is a meandering parade of histrionic high jinks, as our mewling “effem” heroes pinball from one nonsensical set-piece to the next. Golf (Thongchai Thongkanthom), an on-set make-up artist, accidentally injures top model Cathy (Araya A. Hargate), who was set to star in a big-budget commercial. She faces a 50 million baht lawsuit if she does not show up, so the gang attempts to pass off a lookalike in her place – the crass, loud-mouthed street hawker Nam, also played by Hargate.
Meanwhile, Gus (Paopetch Charoensook), who narrates their adventures on his blog, has relationship problems. He is growing sick of his current boyfriend’s young daughter, just as his ex reappears on the scene.
Natty, conversely, is desperate to get pregnant and secure her share of her newly rich mother’s inheritance. But the only men she knows are gay, so getting knocked up won’t be easy.
Were it not for the film’s principal actresses, Tootsies & the Fake would be a complete write-off. As it is, both Araya and Pattarasaya score some genuine laughs between the incessant gurning and screeching of their co-stars.
The former gamely throws herself into her dual role, and as big-eared, fang-toothed Nam, all but walks away with the film. Similarly, Natty’s increasingly ridiculous efforts to seduce her equally disinterested friends help ease the pain of this otherwise worthless enterprise.
Fans of the TV show, already invested in these one-note characters, may relish the novelty of cheering them on in the company of a cinema audience. But at a time when cinemas are boldly reopening, and desperate to entice moviegoers back to the multiplexes, Tootsies & the Fake just isn’t worth the risk.
