Lost in Paradise



Hot Boy Nổi Loạn và Câu Chuyện Về Thằng Cười, Cô Gái Điếm Và Con Vịt (Hot Studs On The Loose and The Story Of The Guy Who Smiles, The Prostitute And The Duck), or simply Hot Boy Nổi Loạn is Vietnam's first example of a serious gay-themed movie with a progressive message. Debuting in August 2011 under the rather uninspired English title Lost In Paradise, the film managed to make waves among the conservative public and media of Vietnam thanks to its humanistic take on homosexuality and prostitution, being at once dark and humorous, as well as handling trendy and controversial topics with subtlety and production values rarely seen in current Vietnamese cinema.

As the title implies, the plot is made up of two separate story lines, both about people on the bottom rung of Saigon's gritty society. The first one is about a male prostitute who keeps two incredibly well-groomed cats, seeking to escape his abusive Bastard Boyfriend, and falling in love with a boy who is running away from his hometown after being outed against his wishes. The second is about a female sex worker befriending a mute, mentally challenged man who hatches a duck from an egg.

Tropes in the film:
 * Bastard Boyfriend: Đông.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Don't push Hạnh too far.
 * Black Comedy
 * Camp Gay: Some of the male sex workers and their customers. One patron is outrageously so, which is Played for Laughs, and Lam is also borderline.
 * Cluster F-Bomb
 * Crapsack World: Saigon.
 * First Law of Tragicomedies
 * Fish Out of Water: Khôi. It doesn't help that he gets tricked into losing all his clothes and money on his first day in Saigon.
 * Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Hạnh and Lam. That said, some of the latter's actions are way too questionable.
 * Inspirationally Disadvantaged: Cười. Whether he's pure and mentally handicapped, or pure because he's mentally handicapped, is up to your interpretation.
 * Let's Get Dangerous: Hạnh and Lam again. Lam then proceeds to Take a Level In Badass on the definitely wrong side of the law.
 * Long Title
 * Man Child: Cười, "the guy who smiles".
 * Manly Gay: Đông - muscular, very aggressive and dominating. Khôi would be this if not for him crying a lot.
 * Meaningful Name: Trần Thị Phước Hạnh, an ironic example. Phước means "luck" and Hạnh means "womanly virtues". She's a whore with a shitty life.
 * No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Happens three times, to three different characters.
 * Ocular Gushers: No, people in Vietnam don't cry nearly as much in real life.
 * Realistic Diction Is Unrealistic: Most of Khôi's lines. This is regrettable since other characters speak in much more believable language.
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Hạnh.
 * Shrinking Violet: Khôi.
 * Straight Gay: The main gay characters are this, to varying degrees.
 * Surprisingly Good English: The subtitles.
 * Two Lines, No Waiting
 * Yaoi Guys: Lam and Khôi. Contrary to intuition, Lam is the Seme despite being less buff than Khôi.
 * You Can't Fight Fate: What Lam believes. Contrast with the Screw Destiny attitude Khôi adopts at the end.
 * Yaoi Guys: Lam and Khôi. Contrary to intuition, Lam is the Seme despite being less buff than Khôi.
 * You Can't Fight Fate: What Lam believes. Contrast with the Screw Destiny attitude Khôi adopts at the end.