WHAT CAN YOU say about a young woman who had sex with 251 men in 10 hours? Crazy? Disgusting? Intriguing? In fact, all these pop into mind as Grace Quek, a.k.a. Annabel Chong, a former USC gender studies major, articulates her motives for starring in the World’s Biggest Gang Bang, a 1995 video that launched her into instant fame and notoriety within the porn industry.

SEX: THE ANNABEL CHONG STORY

directed by Gough Lewis

with Grace Quek, Al Goldstein, Ron Jeremy, and Seymore Butts plays July 28-August 3 at Varsity

Gough Lewis’ documentary is a fascinating but disturbing character study as it follows Chong through the making of Gang Bang, her post-movie publicity appearances, and—most poignantly—her visit to her family in Singapore.

Spunky and intelligent, Chong claims that Gang Bang overthrows the notion of women as passive sex objects. Speaking in a cultivated English accent during a TV interview, she declares, “We’re not wilting violets, we’re not victims, for Christ’s sake. Female sexuality is as aggressive as male sexuality. I wanted to take on the role of the stud. The more [partners], the better.” Either a biological wonder or consummate actress, Chong actually seems to enjoy herself during Gang Bang.

Yet for all the fire in her speech, Chong also comes across as a tragic attention-seeker. “I believe sex is good enough to die for,” she sputters before taking an HIV test. (Not all of the men in Gang Bang wore condoms.) Plagued by depression, she takes a knife to her arm, cutting a row of marks like railroad tracks. “I want to let the pain out,” she says.

In the end, it’s questionable how much power Chong gained from her exploits. She hasn’t made a cent off her best-selling video. As her producer explains, “She has her memories; she was doing [Gang Bang] for herself.” Indeed, if anybody comes out on top, it’s the male porn industry magnates who shafted the curious but misguided student.