The Bodyguard and The Spicy Beauty Queens of Bangkok

Aside from the film festival going on now here in Bangkok, the regular Thai movie industry is releasing films.

This week, the action comedy, The Bodyguard, came out. It stars Mum Jokmok, the comedian who is known among the martial-arts movie cult as the funny sidekick in Ong-Bak.

He talked to The Nation a bit about writing and starring in the picture, in which he plays a top bodyguard who is disgraced. It's the kind of broad comedy you'd expect from the star of TV sketch shows that rely mainly on site gags and boooiiiiiiinnnng sound effects for laughs. Basically, in The Bodyguard, he resorts to running around naked while shooting a handgun. He also gets to try some wire-fu, like Crouching Tiger or Matrix. The reviews I've read haven't been kind.

Tony Jaa, the star of Ong-Bak, has a small role in The Bodyguard. Meanwhile, Tony will be back to star in Tom Yum Goong, a Thai kickboxing movie that will be the followup to Ong-Bak. It's due out later this year.

Another film due for release soon is Plon Na Ya or Spicy Beauty Queens of Bangkok. Posters for the movie have been up all over Bangkok this week and they feature some pretty scary looking men heavily made up in some garish sequined drag costumes.

The film was set for release this week, but has been pushed back to February 6 because of a flap involving the use of the Louis Vuitton logo. An article about it is here.

The film stars Winai Kraibutr, the heartthrob who starred in Nang Nak, as well as other hero roles. Well, he's really changed his image for this film. That's him in the gold lame mouse ears pointing the gun. The cast is rounded out by a bunch of Thai TV comedians, so expect more of the same as in Bodyguard. Winai is part of a quartet of gay transvestites who decide to hold up a bank.