Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?

By: Amos Lassen

"Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" ("Ming tian ji de ai shang wo")

Questioning Sexual Orientation

Amos Lassen

Taiwanese-American director Arvin Chen brings us the story of a married man's gay awakening as he and his wife discuss having another child. For nine years Wei-chung (Richie Jen) has been married to Feng (Mavis Fan). He has a steady job at an optical shop (and repressed homosexual desires). Feng takes care of their child, a son, Awan (Chang Wei-ning). Now there is news that there may be layoffs at work because of a merger and Feng starts to worry but she also worries that her husband might be cheating since he avoids the idea of having another child.

While at an engagement party for his sister, Mandy (Kimi Hsia), Wei-chung meets wedding photographer Stephen (Lawrence Ko) who he knew during his "gay past". Suddenly he begins to feel those "old gay cravings" again. He later responds to the advances of a gay customer, a flight attendant from Hong Kong named Thomas (Wong Ka-lok). Just at the same time, Mandy gets the pre-marriage nervous jitters and leaves her intended fiancé stranded in the supermarket and locks herself in to watch a Korean TV marathon.

The film is an interesting approach to the metrosexual society of Taiwan. There is a large gay community there but there are rules to be followed. Wei-chung's is attracted to Thomas and the facial exchanges between the two are wonderful. This is just a sweet romantic comedy and is a feel good film until the romantic and professional troubles come to a head. Then the film does some soul-searching and ends with nothing really resolved. Yet there are surprises along the way. The humor is quite believable and the actors are uniformly good.

It is all about the uncertainties of romance and desire. When faced with demands, we tend to react just as Mandy did when she realizes that marriage will change her life or like Wei-chung did when he realizes his wife wants another child. With Wei-Chung it is much more interesting than comedic because of his gay urges. The Taiwan of the film is eccentric and the comedy is played for laughs. At the end we get quite a twist but it does not save the film that limps along and in which the gay characters come across as stereotypical.