The Art Of Woo
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''The Art of Woo'' is a 2001 Canadian
romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...
film written and directed by Helen Lee and starring
Sook-Yin Lee Sook-Yin Lee is a Canadian broadcaster, musician, film director, actress and multimedia artist. She is a former MuchMusic VJ and a former radio host on CBC Radio. She has appeared in films, notably in the John Cameron Mitchell movie ''Shortbus' ...
and
Adam Beach Adam Beach (born November 11, 1972) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles as Victor Joseph in '' Smoke Signals''; Frank Fencepost in '' Dance Me Outside''; Tommy on ''Walker, Texas Ranger''; Kickin' Wing in '' Joe Dirt''; U.S. Marin ...
.


Plot

Alessa Woo (
Sook-Yin Lee Sook-Yin Lee is a Canadian broadcaster, musician, film director, actress and multimedia artist. She is a former MuchMusic VJ and a former radio host on CBC Radio. She has appeared in films, notably in the John Cameron Mitchell movie ''Shortbus' ...
), an art gallery employee in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, has built an image as a rich heiress, but is in dire financial straits. She attempts to court rich men to feed her lifestyle, but is prone to changing partners. One day, talented aboriginal artist Ben Crowchild (
Adam Beach Adam Beach (born November 11, 1972) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles as Victor Joseph in '' Smoke Signals''; Frank Fencepost in '' Dance Me Outside''; Tommy on ''Walker, Texas Ranger''; Kickin' Wing in '' Joe Dirt''; U.S. Marin ...
) moves into the apartment next door, leading to the two sharing a bathroom. In order to spurn a persistent suitor, Nathan (
Don McKellar Don McKellar (born August 17, 1963) is a Canadian actor, writer, playwright, and filmmaker. He was part of a loosely-affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge from Toronto known as the Toronto New Wave. He is known for directing and writing th ...
), Woo takes hold of Crowchild and kisses him. The two later become friends with benefits. Soon, Woo is approached by the idly rich art collector Patrick Aucoin (
Joel Keller Joel or Yoel is a name meaning "Yahweh Is God" in Hebrew and may refer to: * Joel (given name), including a list of people named Joel or Yoel * Joel (surname), a surname * Joel (footballer, born 1904), Joel de Oliveira Monteiro, Brazilian football ...
), who proposes to her; Woo becomes tempted. However, she has developed feelings for the seemingly unwealthy Crowchild. Crowchild, who has similar emotions, reveals to her that he was adopted by Aucoin's father and that he himself is rich, but posing as a poor artist to be better received by the community. Woo and Crowchild become a couple.


Production

''The Art of Woo'' was the feature film directorial debut of Helen Lee. After the failure of Lee's previous short film, ''Priceless'', she was approached by co-producer Anita Lee and offered the chance to direct a feature-length romantic comedy; finding herself depressed by the "heaviness" of ''Priceless'', Helen Lee accepted. She wrote the first draft in two weeks after watching several "classic" romantic comedies; the speed in writing was caused by her desire to receive a grant for up to C$ 500,000 from the
Canadian Film Centre The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) is a charitable organization founded in 1988 by filmmaker Norman Jewison in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally launched as a film school, today it provides training, development and advancement opportunities for ...
's Featured Film Project (FFP), granted for low-budget films. After approval, they received assistance from FFP member Peter O'Brian to ensure they would finish the film within a year. Helen Lee intended to insert themes of gender and race through showing social anxieties, class distinctions, and cultural displacements. Two reviewers noted a resemblance between ''The Art of Woo'' and the 1961 film '' Breakfast at Tiffany's''. As there was a scheduling conflict with
Sandra Oh Sandra Miju Oh (born July 20, 1971) is a Canadian and American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Rita Wu in ''Arliss (TV series), Arliss'' (1996–2002), Cristina Yang in ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005–14), and Eve Polastri in ''Kill ...
, the first choice to play Alessa Woo, Helen Lee cast
MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...
video jockey Sook-Yin Lee. Sook-Yin Lee underwent acting courses in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
with Jacqueline McClintock. Helen Lee was lent paintings from local artists
Michael Snow Michael James Aleck Snow (December 10, 1928 – January 5, 2023) was a Canadian artist who worked in a range of media including film, installation, sculpture, photography, and music. His best-known films are ''Wavelength'' (1967) and '' La Rég ...
and
Suzy Lake Suzy Lake (born June 24, 1947) is an American-Canadian artist based in Toronto, Canada, who is known for her work as a photographer, performance artist and video producer. Using a range of media, Lake explores topics including identity, beauty ...
to use for filming, while
Ron Sexsmith Ronald Eldon Sexsmith (born January 8, 1964) is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario. He was the songwriter of the year at the 2005 Juno Awards. He began releasing recordings of his own material in 1985 at age 21, and has ...
and
Kurt Swinghammer Kurt Swinghammer is a Canadian singer-songwriter and visual artist based in Toronto."Canadian pop finds its own way to rock". ''Toronto Star'', 30 June 1989. He has released 13 full-length albums of original songs and as a session musician appea ...
did the soundtrack. ''The Art of Woo'' was filmed digitally in Toronto over 20 days between March and April 2001. Locations included the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
,
The Power Plant The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery is a Canadian public art gallery located at Harbourfront Centre in the heart of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Gallery is a registered Canadian charitable organization. Initially established in 1976 as ...
, and Archive Gallery Inc.


Release and reception

''The Art of Woo'' was released at the
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...
. Upon its release, ''The Art of Woo'' was "slashed" by Canadian critics. Erin Oke of ''
Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...
'' found the film to have "many appealing aspects", but felt that the situations were often contrived and it lacked a uniting vision; she surmised that it could have been a better film had it not tried "quite so hard to be likeable all the time". Lisa Braun of ''
Jam! Jam! was a Canadian website which covered entertainment news. It was part of the Canoe.com online portal, formerly owned and operated by Quebecor through its Sun Media division, and now owned by Postmedia Network. Jam! was the only media outl ...
'' enjoyed the soundtrack but found the dialogue poor; she summarized that the film was "uneven, but audiences
ould Ould is an English surname as well as an element of many Arabic names. In Arabic contexts it is a transliteration of the word wikt:ولد, ولد, meaning "son". Notable people with this surname include: English surname * Edward Ould (1852–190 ...
be interested to see what Lee does next". Jonathan Crow, writing for the
Rovi Corporation TiVo Corporation, formerly known as the Rovi Corporation and Macrovision Solutions Corporation, was an American technology company headquartered in San Jose, California. Now operating as Xperi, the company is primarily involved in licensing ...
, found the film "less fun and less accomplished than a third grade theater production". At the 2002
Genie Awards The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculpt ...
, Ron Sexmith won ''Best Achievement in Music – Original Song'' for his work in the film.


References


Sources

* * * * *


External links

* *
The Art of Woo
' at the
Canadian Film Centre The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) is a charitable organization founded in 1988 by filmmaker Norman Jewison in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally launched as a film school, today it provides training, development and advancement opportunities for ...
website.
Script
at Helen Lee's official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Art Of Woo 2001 films English-language Canadian films 2000s English-language films Canadian romantic comedy films 2001 romantic comedy films Canadian Film Centre films Films about Chinese Canadians 2000s Canadian films English-language romantic comedy films