Formula 17

Although this movie is low budget and completely silly, it revels in that and seems proud of it rather than trying to ignore it. A completely generic plot that anyone can guess, especially if they're familiar with gay fiction, and your typical gay characters would usually mean a boring movie. Instead this film puts together characters that you can completely believe and expect to meet on the street. I found myself thinking "I wish I knew these guys!" many times. A totally adorable wonderful happy movie that will make you giggle and squeal and completely believe in love, even if it's just for the duration of the film, this one is not to be missed. Heartwarming, adorable, real, yet fantastic... I can't rate this one highly enough.

I think "Formula 17" is excellent because it's an encouraging fair tale for homosexuals, and even for people of all ranks. It's a fair tale, of course, firstly because the two leading roles are both handsome and attractive men, just like the prince and the princess as it would have been in an ordinary fair tale such as "Snow White" or "Cinderella". But the point is that it demonstrates the life of homosexuals not in a realistic, but in a fabulous way. That's good, actually, in my opinion. So I'm shocked when I learn from other's comments that the Singaporean Government bans it for that reason. I don't like it if the film is labeled as a "beautification of homosexuality" or something similar. I think there's touching true love in gay and straight groups alike, as is one-night-stand. So this film is excellent in that it breaks the stereotype of homosexuals in a great number of movies made before. But this fair tale, in addition to the handsome guys, pretty settings, and touching lines, is also encouraging, especially for homosexuals. We are not naive enough to believe that such true love as in the movie can fall upon us so easily as in the movie. But at least there's hope: the hope for true love and the hope for future. And that's what really counts. That's the same for all fair tales. After reading or watching "Snow White" or "Cinderella", we may at first moved by the story and wish we could have the same beautiful life. But later, especially when we've experienced more, we know that we have to try our best to pursue our happiness. The same holds true for "Formula 17", as we can see from some lines such as "Love is only to be seen by the brave ones" and "Even love has the past tense...But we can run faster to catch up with it". As long as we still cherish hope and never give up, we can certainly find our true love and happiness, no matter if we are gay or straight.

The cast of characters, who are exceptionally attractive and/or genuinely lovable, would probably make this movie worth watching in any case. Fortunately, in addition to the eye-candy, this movie involves quite decent acting and very well-orchestrated humor. It's based on the usual run of misunderstandings that thwart the quest for true love, but done in a way that pokes fun at the whole overly dramatic, soap-operatic response often used in other movies, especially in terms of peer support and psychoanalytical "therapy." Quite often in Asian language movies the English subtitles can defeat the dialogue but in this case the subtitles were obviously done by someone with an excellent command of English. The only bizarre issue was that every letter J was turned into a K. So the main character is looking for a summer "kob" and denies feeling "kealous." Not something that really matters, but strange nonetheless.

I think I missed the "formula 17" meaning,unless it refers to the one boy's age, but there is a trigonometric identity featured for fans of mathematics.

If you want a light, feel-good experience, this movie is well worth watching. No ponderous morality or gut-wrenching tragedy, but you do get a lift to your spirits.

As the title itself states, 'Formula 17' does follow a formula that has been done many a time: wide eyes romantic virgin with fanciful ideas of true love meets jaded playboy. This is the gay version of that older than old staple of romance comedy. But there is enough in this production to keep it fresh and interesting. First of all the awkwardness between the leads is very genuine. The acting is very good all around but secondary characters are of course either zany and over the top or of the straight man kind, a requirement that seems even more present in homosexual themed films. This leaves only the main couple to truly shine in terms of acting. Their awkward interaction gives a hint of realism in a whacky comedy.

The parody element is important in that it pokes fun at gay clichés with gusto, with narrated flashbacks staged as theater pieces and light heartedly making fun of being overly emotional. Jokes around lack of communication between Mandarin and Cantonese speakers will probably go over the head of most Western (or even non-Chinese) viewers but they keep the comedy from being too one note. Some nuances are introduced in the general outline of the movie since the jaded man is undergoing therapy to cure himself of his Don Juan ways. Not that this is at all taken seriously. Even when the story plods into its mandatory crisis two thirds into it there is never a feeling that anything is at all in jeopardy.

It ends as the viewer expected it too from the every first frame. The conclusion may be a bit too neat and there is something horribly distracting about the soundtrack, especially during intimate scenes. This movie has a certain amateur aura to it but that ends up being its greatest selling points. Shot in a fresh way and with plenty of color across the screen 'Formula 17' cannot help being formulaic but it is a worthy effort for all that.

One of a few gay Asian movies out there today. It depicted a naive young Taiwanese gay man who ventured out to a very much open Taipei society in search of his true love only to encounter that lust rather than love was on the minds of most. Formula 17 also tried to approach this love story through a comedic style...with characters that were quite dramatic and over-reacting. In retrospect, I appreciate Formula 17 not only because it was a work of art, it was also an expression that many gay people out there could also relate with. Love have been lost and is seldom seen but the main character in this movie tried to bring it back for us to see and taste.

I would definitely recommend this movie to everyone...gay or straight.