Super Phonies
Ostensibly a filmand a good-looking one at thatabout fan worship and the merry lengths to which obsessives will stoop to be nearer their idols, this obvious, toothless misfire reveals its true intentions right on the poster, which features most of the cast of pop stars screaming at some unseen performer, waving colorful signs featuring their own names! Including Benz Hui!
This isn't about the darker side of fandom; if it was, it might be a deliciously cruel satire, a pop-psychological thriller or even a straight-up slapstick comedy. It might also be good. No, this is about a major Hong Kong karaoke conglomerate funding a film featuring a handful of recording artists and not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings. So, no "who's that really supposed to be?" moments as we watch asshole pop-idol-du-jour Sammy soundly trounce his closest ratings competitor, quiet, sensitive pop idol Kevin, thanks to the dirty trickery of super fan Charlene. And also no "what have I become" moments of introspection as Charlene wises up to her own self-deception. Of course not! Why would she, when she can so believably land the job of assistant to a big pop star simply by saving him from a comparatively more deranged fan, and later waltz right into another pop star's apartment and make friends over his favorite food, and finally blame her droopy-poopy helper, rural mailman Leo Ku, for his own love-sickness because he simply misread what her slavish devotion to superficial celebrities was all about?
One suspects screenwriter Anselm Chan Mau-yin may have based his characters on idealized notions of celebrity/fan cultures rather than any kind of known reality. Sammy chews the scenery with abandon, Kevin is a handsome non-entity, Benz Hui makes for an awkward gay man (as Kevin's manager), director Eric Kot needlessly plays Charlene's dad as a disconnected weirdo, and Charlene runs through the same pout-mumble-stomp-grin routine she's been doing for over five years now, long past the cuteness expiry date. And what's the point of the final scene?
Like the reviewers here before me, I am a huge fan of Hong Kong cinema, but I know when I'm being played. If you're new to the form, you might dig this, otherwise, stay away.
This isn't about the darker side of fandom; if it was, it might be a deliciously cruel satire, a pop-psychological thriller or even a straight-up slapstick comedy. It might also be good. No, this is about a major Hong Kong karaoke conglomerate funding a film featuring a handful of recording artists and not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings. So, no "who's that really supposed to be?" moments as we watch asshole pop-idol-du-jour Sammy soundly trounce his closest ratings competitor, quiet, sensitive pop idol Kevin, thanks to the dirty trickery of super fan Charlene. And also no "what have I become" moments of introspection as Charlene wises up to her own self-deception. Of course not! Why would she, when she can so believably land the job of assistant to a big pop star simply by saving him from a comparatively more deranged fan, and later waltz right into another pop star's apartment and make friends over his favorite food, and finally blame her droopy-poopy helper, rural mailman Leo Ku, for his own love-sickness because he simply misread what her slavish devotion to superficial celebrities was all about?
One suspects screenwriter Anselm Chan Mau-yin may have based his characters on idealized notions of celebrity/fan cultures rather than any kind of known reality. Sammy chews the scenery with abandon, Kevin is a handsome non-entity, Benz Hui makes for an awkward gay man (as Kevin's manager), director Eric Kot needlessly plays Charlene's dad as a disconnected weirdo, and Charlene runs through the same pout-mumble-stomp-grin routine she's been doing for over five years now, long past the cuteness expiry date. And what's the point of the final scene?
Like the reviewers here before me, I am a huge fan of Hong Kong cinema, but I know when I'm being played. If you're new to the form, you might dig this, otherwise, stay away.
- Coolestmovies
- Jul 4, 2007