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SEX: THE ANNABEL CHONG STORY Send This Review to a Friend
Some years ago, when porn movies at public theaters were becoming chic, I went to a screening at which an elderly lady and her husband--how they wandered in I'll never know-- were sitting behind me watching a woman have sex with multiple partners. Each time a man entered the scene, I heard the lady making tsk, tsk, task noises in disbelief. By the time the sixth man arrived, the lady exclaimed loudly, "She wants more yet!" What would the little old lady have made of "Sex: The Annabel Chong Story," in which Chong establishes a record of having sex with 251 men in 10 hours?
"What's the difference between having sex with 251 men in 10 hours than with one man for 10 hours?" reasons Chong, the cute Singapore-born porn movie star, whose real name is Grace Quek.
Anyone going to see this documentary on the assumption of being titillated with explicit sex will be disappointed. There is only enough of that to quickly establish the validity of what's happening while avoiding turning into porn. The film consists mostly of absorbing, sometimes colorful talk about the gang bang marathon and a close-up profile of Chong, who exudes bravado about enjoying sex but leaves us with a sad impression of what her life choices have done to her. There's a scene in Singapore where she breaks down in front of her mother, who didn't know of her daughter's profession until mean-spirited people tipped her off, and is suffering from the family having been disgraced, and Chong tearfully promises to restore the family honor. There is another scene in which Chong makes mutilating incisions in her arm with a knife, hardly an act of self-esteem.
Director Gough Lewis has taken this bizarre subject, previously immortalized on film in "World's Biggest Gang Bang," and given us a less than penetrating (excuse the expression) overview of the life of this young woman who has flaunted convention, as well as studying at the University of Southern California. The sexual extravaganza itself is very clinical. We see the naked men who have been recruited and are waiting to take their turn, and we learn the logistical details.
My favorite line is an interviewer asking Chong's then-in-the-dark mother, "Has your daughter always been an over-achiever?" Over-achievement can be fleeting. The film also records the breaking of Chong's record by another star, this time with 300 men. An Omni International and Greycat Releasing release.
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