I-Fak up

I'm not trying to be vulgar here. I-Fak is the title of a Thai comedy that opened in local theatres today.

I've been seeing previews for it for a couple of weeks and was mildly interested, as any red-blooded heterosexual male would be I guess, because its female star, Bongkoj "Tuk" Kongmala, is always in various states of near undress.

One scene involves her bathing in a lily pond. Thai people have traditionally swam and bathed with their clothes on. In this case, she is wearing a clingy wrap-around dress, or sarong. The effect is sort of like those Bollywood musicals that invariably involve women in saris singing and dancing in the rain.

The star of I-Fak is also an exhibitionist. So when she catches a boy, named Fak, watching her bathe, she taunts him and acts suggestively. In another scene, she raises her red dress, and since nudity is not allowed in Thai films, the camera cuts away to the astonished expressions of onlookers. An idea of what I mean can be found on this animated webpage.

Provocative as it is, the movie appears to fall back on broad physical comedy involving cartoonish sound effects - a staple of Thai television and a big turn-off for me.