MAIL ORDER WIFE
Year: 2004
USA: First Independent Pictures / Dada Films
Cast: Andrew Gurland, Eugenia Yuan, Adrian Martinez, Deborah Teng, Jose Canseco, Charles Debold, Luke Geissbuhler, Merritt Janson, Dan Johnson, Sam Lisenco, David Mayer, Paul Thornton, Roland Uruci
Directors: Huck Botko, Robert Capelli Jr
Country: USA
USA Rated: R for language and some disturbing sexual material
USA Release Date: 11 March 2005 (Limited Release - Los Angeles and New York)
Synopsis
An outrageous satire of sexual politics and revenge that explores the lengths some men will go to for the companionship of an attractive woman, MAIL ORDER WIFE tells the story of a New York City filmmaker who sets out to make a documentary chronicling the marriage between a doorman from Queens and his mail order bride, only to find himself increasingly emotionally intertwined in his subjects' lives.
Andrew Gurland is a New York City filmmaker interested in making a documentary about an average guy and his marriage to a mail order bride. Andrew finds the perfect subject for his film and decides to fund the marriage in exchange for the right to film the entire process. He finds what appears to be the ideal candidate in Adrian Martin, an overweight doorman from Queens who has renounced dating and seems optimistic about choosing a bride from overseas. After corresponding with Burmese women from a catalogue, Adrian selects Lichi, a beautiful woman in her twenties whose ad and letter piques his interest.
The filmmakers pay for Lichi's flight to America, and soon she finds herself immersed in American married life which, in Adrian's household, involves little more than one's average familial cooking and cleaning duties. Andrew initially looks past the fact that Adrian treats Lichi more like a domestic servant than a companion. The entire project comes to a startling halt when, without Lichi's knowledge, Adrian takes her to the gynecologist for a consultation about tubal sterilization. Lichi quickly discovers what the doctor visit is for and hysterically rejects the procedure. Andrew thinks Adrian has crossed the line and when a heated argument ensues, Adrian terminates his involvement in the documentary.
Two months later, Andrew receives a surprise visit from Lichi, who is there to reveal a shocking videotape documenting her bizarre life as Adrian's wife. Feeling partially responsible for her increasingly despondent situation, Andrew urges Lichi to leave her husband and offers his apartment as a safe haven.
What transpires is beyond anything Andrew or Adrian could imagine, as their experiences with Lichi lead them through a series of unpredictable events, ultimately culminating in a showdown in Miami that reveals the lengths desperate men will go to in order to avoid being alone.
Written and directed by Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland MAIL ORDER WIFE is a dark comedy shot in a documentary style starring Gurland, Eugenia Yuan and Adrian Martinez. The film is produced by Avram Ludwig, Kendall Morgan, Nina Yang and co-produced by Andrew Weiner. Doug Liman, Dave Bartis, Bo Hyde and Bobby Sheng are the executive producers.
