The Ladies Man 2000 Full Movie
Marlys Stotesberry
In 2003, the combined sequel and prequel called The Iron Ladies 2 (Satree Lek 2) was released. The film is based upon how the characters of The Iron Ladies met, and how they would later reunite for another volleyball tournament.[1]
The film was released in 2000 and is set in 1996, when the real team competed and won the national championships in Thailand. The two main characters, Mon and Jung, play two gay transgender women, who had been constantly overlooked by volleyball coaches because of their appearance. However, when a local team changes coaches, the new coach holds tryouts for a new team. When Mon and Jung are selected, most of the old players resign, leaving the new coach, Coach Bee, in a sticky predicament.[citation needed]
Mon and Jung are then forced to enlist the help of other gay and transgender friends who they used to play volleyball with in university. These new players include Wit, who hasn't told his fiance he is gay, Pia, a transgender dancer and Nong, a gay army conscript. When the competition begins, all but one player in the team are gay or transgender.
Because of their appearance on court, many of the match officials intend to ban the team, soon dubbed "The Iron Ladies", from the tournament. However, seeing how much the team is liked by the crowd soon changes many of their opinions.
The film grossed 99 million Baht (US$3 million) in Thailand, and was the second-highest grossing Thai film of all time behind Nang Nak (1999).[2] It also reached number one at the box office in Hong Kong.[2] It was the first Thai film to be released commercially in the United States.[3]
A hit in Thailand as well as the international film festival circuit, the film has been nominated twelve times and won ten awards, including the Thailand National Film Association Awards,[4] Toronto International Film Festival and the reader award of German LGBT magazine Siegessule at the Berlin International Film Festival.[5] It also played at the Pusan International Film Festival, the San Francisco Asian American Film Festival, the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, the Seattle International Film Festival, the San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival[6] and the Swedish International Comedy Film Festival.[7]
A cosy evening for you and your girlfriends, a relaxing mother-daughter outing or a fun end to the week with your favourite female colleagues. During the Thermae 2000 ladies night, you are guaranteed a surprising wellness evening with a special ladies programme, snacks & drinks and you will not go home empty-handed.
The ladies night takes place on Friday evening during the swimwear weekend (from 17:00 hrs). Bathing suits are worn in both the bathing and sauna areas. See an overview of the planned ladies nights in 2024 here.
Give an extra touch to your ladies night and book a package including high wine for you and your girlfriend, colleague, mother or daughter. During the high wine you will enjoy three different wines with matching appetizers.
Michelle Kwan won her fourth of her nine U.S. titles in these championships, hometown boy Timothy Goebel landed three quadruple jumps in his freeskate to snatch the silver medal, and a young dance team with the names Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto debuted on the junior level, winning the title in their first season together.
But the big story was the baby ballerinas, as Dick Button so playfully called the bumper crop of pre-pubescent skaters who stormed onto the national scene on the ABC broadcast. Five of the junior ladies from the 1999 Championships, including the four medalists, qualified for the senior ladies competition, and each were looking to make a name for herself against the reigning queen of U.S. Figure Skating.
Kwan won her fourth title in Cleveland, and it was the year of her A Day in the Life short program. Several skaters used her freeskate music, The Red Violin, this week in Spokane, perhaps in tribute to their favorite skater.
At just fourteen years old, Hughes was already a veteran in this bunch of ladies. After winning a medal at the World Junior Championships the year before, Hughes was eligible for and earned a berth to the World Championships as a thirteen year old. In Cleveland, Hughes finished in second place after the short program, but slipped to third place after the freeskate. Because she was grandfathered past the age restrictions, Hughes was named to the World team for the second straight year.
The 2002 Olympic Gold Medalist spent the years after her Olympic triumph skating in the Smuckers Stars on Ice show and attending classes at Yale University. Hughes earned a bachelors degree in American studies in 2009, and is in Spokane cheering for her younger sister Emily as she skates in the senior ladies event.
Nikodinov competed in her fifth U.S. Championships on the senior level in Cleveland, and finished a disappointing fourth place after standing on the podium a year before. The 19 year old was one of the elder statesmen in the competition, and was a World Team member the year before. Because Cohen was not eligible for the World Championships, Nikodinov was selected to compete in Nice, and finished in ninth place. Nikodinov also won the Four Continents Championships in Osaka that season.
Many remember Nikodinov for her exquisite presence on the ice, but also for her the incredible amount of misfortune that she suffered in her skating career. After losing her coach and mentor Elena Tcherkasskaya in the fall of 2001, Nikodinov was involved in a tragic car accident on her way to compete at the 2005 U.S. Championships in Portland, Oregon, that claimed the life of her mother.
Eighteen year old Andrea Gardiner was a crowd favorite in Cleveland, earning standing ovations for each of her programs, and earning her highest finish at a U.S. Championships. As a reward for her placement, Gardiner was named to the Four Continents Championships team and finished in eighth place.
Pensgen was just seventeen years old in Cleveland, and was competing for the third time on the senior level. Pensgen was one of the surprises of the evening, finishing in sixth place overall, and was named to the Four Continents Championships team. In Osaka, Pensgen won the silver medal behind Nikodinov with strong performances.
Pensgen is now on the ice every day coaching in the Rochester, NY, area and can also be seen on 13WHAM-TV in Rochester as an on-air meteorologist and reporter. Pensgen has a degree in meteorology, and is happy to be living with her sister in a townhouse that the two recently purchased.
Kirk was one of the true baby ballerinas competing in Cleveland. The 1999 junior bronze medalist was just fifteen years old, and had the most aggressive jump content in the competition. After falling in the short program and finishing in a disappointing eleventh place, Kirk came back fighting in the freeskate and landed seven triple jumps including a triple-triple combination to move up to seventh place overall.
Kirk reports that after working over the summer as a writer for True/Slant and the Los Angeles Times that she is now focusing all of her energy on school. She will continue to work with Universal Sports on a few upcoming commentating gigs, but school will be her main priority. Kirk has been following the US Championships from her home in southern California, and admits that she likes being a spectator more than a competitor at this point in her life.
After stealing the show at the 1999 Championships in Salt Lake City, fourteen year old Nam came to Cleveland as one of the most talked about skaters. An injury that season plagued Nam, and carried over to the competition causing Nam to finish in a disappointing eighth place overall. Nam tried to come back the following season to compete at the championships in Boston, but injuries forced her to withdraw. The 2000 Nationals was the last appearance for Nam on the senior level as a singles skater.
Stellato was the US Novice Ladies Champion in 1999, and made the bold move up to the senior level on her way to Cleveland. In bypassing the junior level, sixteen year-old Stellato instantly became part of the baby ballerina movement. In the competition, Stellato finished in eighth place in both portions of the event, and ended up in ninth place overall in her only appearance on the senior level of the US Championships.
Wheat was the reigning US Junior Champion heading into Cleveland, and had a lot of media pressure as the top up and comer. The fifteen year old struggled in the short program, and eventually finished in tenth place in her first appearance on the senior level. Wheat made two more appearances at the US Championships, and finished as high as eighth in 2001, but she retired from competitive skating in the summer of 2004.
McConn was one of the most powerful jumpers in the competition, was competing in her third US Championships after a pair of seventh place finishes in the previous two seasons. McConn skated a decent short program in Cleveland, but struggled in the freeskate, and finished in twelfth place.
McConn has been married for eight and a half years to David Bottoms, and she and her husband live in Atlanta with their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Annabelle. McConn is a member of the US Figure Skating Board of Directors and also coaches near her home.
Corwin skated perhaps the worst short program of her life in Cleveland, but rebounded to finish in thirteenth place overall. At twenty-one years old, Corwin was the Grande Dame of the competition, and was competing in her sixth consecutive championships. Corwin continued to skate through the 2005 season, and earned her highest placement in 2004 with a fourth place finish.
Kwon came into the competition after winning the pewter medal on the junior level a year before in Spokane. Much buzz surrounded the twelve year old Kwon as she was rumored to have been practicing and landing the triple axel before the competition in Cleveland. Kwon was unable to live up to the pressure of the senior level, and eventually left skating due to injuries.
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