Three of Hong Kong's biggest female stars of the 1980's -- Cherie Chung, Carol "Dodo" Cheng, and Maggie Cheung -- all of them seemingly with squeaky clean public personas, joined forces along with relatively unknown director Michael Mak for Moon, Star, Sun, a hard-boiled take on the life of women working in the realm of what is more politely known as "hostess bars".

To people who are new to Asian and Hong Kong cinema, this may seem like something that is unique and strange -- or perhaps something more apt for a Lifetime movie of the week rather than a big-screen release. And, in other times and other places in the world's cinematic timeline, that might have been an apt observation.

But, in the 1980's, Hong Kong cinema provided a vehicle wherein even the most seemingly upright (or, more accurately, uptight) ilk of actresses could ply themselves into the grime of everyday life -- if for nothing else, on the behest of producers who were looking to entice mom and pop down the road into the cinemas. By gosh, even Dodo can deal with bills and a-hole boyfriends, just like everyone else. It's just that she looks better while doing it.

Like many of the movies of this type thrown out towards audiences at this time, the matters here have more than a bit of a melodramatic proceeding and arc. In particular, May (essayed by the Magster) has an ABC afterschool special type of vibe. We, as the audience, know that she's plucky and is only hostessing to do good -- in this case, to give her cousins Tranformers toys and get her abusive uncle off of their collective asses. And yet -- cue sad weepy music -- we know that she isn't exactly going to be end up riding into the sunset with Prince Charming.

So, not surprisingly, Moon, Star, Sun doesn't extend itself filmically at all. In many ways, it is totally and generically derivative and follows by that forlorn and weepy playbook many movies have plopped forth before and since on the viewers' ocular pits. To its' credit though, due to Maggie (and to a lesser extent Cherie and Dodo) putting themselves fully into their roles, as hollow as they might be, eventually elevates this picture above others that might dwell too far into cheesy melodrama. In particular, the ending is classically Hong Kong cinema, in that it is brutually downbeat, yet still somehow inspiring.

RATING: 6