Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Beautiful Boxer (2003) Directed by Ekachai Uekrongtham

"It's girls like you who give girls like me a bad name."

Nong Toom (played by professional Muythai boxer Asanee Suwan in his only acting role) was always different as a child.  He was sweet and gentle, and very easily bullied by the other children.  His parents, (Orn-Anong Panyawong, Ma, and Nukkid Boonthong, Pa) realized this early on.  They placed him in a monastery, but that life of aesthetic denial was not for him, and at last, they accepted, in their heart that their son might very well be a transvestite.

Young Toom attended the fair with a friend of his, and there was cajoled into entering the Muy Thai match; he was the only kid the same size as his opponent.  Surprise of all surprises, he had learned a little from watching his dad train his brother, and he is a natural.  He decks the other kid.

Muy Thai is big money in Thailand, and the prizes from the matches offered Toom a way to help his family, and possibly, if he got good enough, to fulfill his own dreams.

He trains at a school with instructor Pi Chart (Sorapong Chatree) and by keeping his eyes on the prize, he endures the rigors, and becomes quite good.  A far harder part of the training for him is the showering with the guys (and yes, there is some bare booty here.)  He does not feel comfortable.  His one friend Nat (Sitiporn Niyom) never really figures out Toom has a crush on him.

His role is a mystery to him; in order to become a woman, he must become a very big man.  He is also Pi Chart's best hope for a champion.  Then one day, Pi Moo (Somsak Tuangmkuda) his wife does two things that sort of make things click.  First, she reminds her husband that success is as much about getting noticed as being able to kick booty, and second, she gives Toom his first lesson in putting on makeup.  When Chart discovers this, he asks Toom if he likes wearing makeup.  When he says yes, Chart mutters, "Good.  Then you will."

And the next match, and everyone thereafter, Toom has a gimmick; he wears makeup.  As he says, it seems the more makeup he wears, the harder the boys hit, him, and the harder he hits back.  At any rate, at 18 knockouts in 22 fights, it is enough give him a shot at the Luminarie, the big arena.

This is a real study of a person facing the challenges of gender reassignment.  Is Nong Toom a girl trapped in a man's body?  Is he gay?  This issue is not really explored; Thailand has a tradition of effeminate homosexual transvestites who take lovers among the supposedly straight population.  This has become somewhat more blurred in recent years, and gay men identified as gay men seek partners of similar nature.  But many of the traditional Transvestites still seek surgery for gender reassignment.

What the movie does deal with, and quite effectively, is standing up for yourself; not allowing yourself to be bullied no matter your gender, and being true to yourself, once again, no matter your perceived gender.

This is a startlingly beautiful movie; the actors are believable; Asanee Suwan is amazing, and won the Thai equivalent of the Oscar for this, his one and only movie role. 

There is much to love about this movie; but sadly some lacks as well.  The development of Toom's romantic life was never explored; we know Nat hired him a hooker.  We don't think he did anything.  Did he ever have sex with anyone, of any gender, while either gender?
Also, the relationships with the men in his life were never fully developed; his father was uncomfortable; Pi Chart was accepting, his Manager was exploitive.  That's about it.

A life as fascinating and involved as this one cannot really be handled in 153 minutes.  A lovely story of a Beautiful Boxer.

This review, like Nang Toom in the ring, is Lean-N-Mean, with a fighting weight of 666 words.

Gay Movies:

La Mission***Burnt Money***8: The Mormon Propo$ition***In The Flesh***The Sensei***The 24th Day***Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon***ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction***East Side Story***Dorian Blues***Creatures From the Pink Lagoon***Satyricon***Ice Men***Richard O'Briens Rocky Horror Tribute Show***Prom Queen***The Kids are All Right***Between Love and Goodbye***The Mudge Boy***That Man: Peter Berlin***A Single Man***Almost Normal***Outing Riley***Outrage!***Law of Desire***Love is the Devil***Cowboy Junction***Horror in the Wind***Bedrooms and Hallways***Cut Sleeve Boys***Big Eden***For A Lost Soldier***Midnight Cowboy***Redwoods***The Massuer***Boy Culture***Breakfast With Scot***The Fluffer***Flesh***Little Ashes***L.I.E. ***Dorian Gray***9 Dead Gay Guys***Shank***I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry***Beautiful Boxer***Bangkok Love Story***Schoolboy Crush***Shelter***Back Soon***Dog Tags***Theft***The Mulligans***The Velvet Goldmine***Swashbuckler***Smoke Signals
***C'Thulhu***Milk***The Picture of Dorian Gray***Brideshead Revisited***Notes on a Scandal***RocknRolla***Mamma Mia!
***Priscillia: Queen of the Desert***The History Boys***Brokeback Mountain***The Broken Hearts Club*** Yaji and Kita: Midnight Pilgrims ***Surge of Power ***In & Out ***Mambo Italiano ***Touch of Pink ***To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar ***Wolves of Kromer ***Rocky Horror Picture Show ***Taboo ***Deathtrap 


Gay Themed Series:

Spartacus: Blood and Sand
Dante's Cove
Hex
Carnivale Season One
Carnivale Season Two
Rome Season One
Rome Season Two
True Blood
True Blood: Season Two
The Book of Daniel: The Complete Series
Torchwood: Children of Earth
Torchwood: Season One


Gay Animation:

Pirate's Booty***Sensitive Pornograph***Loveless: The Complete Series***Loveless: Hope on the Run***Loveless: Soul of Chains***Loveless: Lost and Found***Embracing Love: A Cicada in Winter***Embracing Love: Cherished Spring ***Stonewall & Riot***Drawn Together Movie: The Movie***Drawn Together: Season 2***Drawn Together: Season 3

Recommended: Yes

Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older