Dealing with the deck
By Miranda Inganni
“A slut is just a woman with the morals of a man,” says Angela (Karin Anna Cheung), the protagonist in director Quentin Lee’s The People I’ve Slept With. While one has long heard the idea that a man who sleeps around is a stud, but a woman who does the same is a slut, this movie ignores all of it. And thank goodness for that.
Angela loves sex and good for her, but when she becomes pregnant and isn’t sure who the father is, she relies on her deck of cards. Sort of like baseball cards, Angela's cards are a photo collection of the guys she’s had sex with, each one with a nickname -- Mystery Man, Mr. Hottie, 5-Second Guy...You get the/her picture(s).
As she works her way through the stack of cards, she realizes that Mystery Man, AKA Jefferson Lee (Archie Kao) is the most qualified mate -- regardless of whether he is the biological father or not. And regardless of his disagreeable politics.
Angela also confides in best friend, Gabriel (Wilson Cruz), who happens to be gay, and, ultimately, to her seemingly perfect sister, Juliet (Lynn Chen). Each has their idea as to what Angela should do as far as the pregnancy is concerned.
Blighted with some occasionally weak acting, this charming, mildly controversial, frequently funny, hormone-driven, sweet story is a glimpse into the ideal choice one could make if one were presented with the option of what one could do if they had the chance to make the ultimate parental choice.
