Dance of a Dream (2001)



	Dance of a Dream		Return to Review Archive - D
	Year:	2001	Anita Mui and Andy Lau cut a rug Availability: DVD (Hong Kong) Region 0 NTSC Mega Star/Media Asia 16x9 Anamorphic Widescreen Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks Dolby Digital 5.1 Removable English and Chinese Subtitles
	Director:	Andrew Lau Wai-Keung
	Cast:	Andy Lau Tak-Wah, Anita Mui Yim-Fong, Sandra Ng Kwun-Yu, Edison Chen, Gordon Lam Ka-Tung, Cherrie Ying Choi-Yi, Ronald Cheng Chung-Kei, Halina Tam Siu-Wan, Belinda Hamnett, Lam Chi-Chung, Suzanne Chung Yi-Ching
	The Skinny:	Disjointed and strangely uncomfortable, but also enjoyable in a guilty sort of way.
	Review by Kozo:	The two Andy Laus reteam for this romantic comedy/drama that entertains in stops and starts. The Lau who acts plays Namson Lau, a small-time dance instructor who schemes with his partner (Gordon Lam) to hook frigid businesswoman Tina Cheung (Anita Mui) as a means of increasing their dwindling bankroll. With some prodding from her brother (Edison Chan), Tina signs up for lessons. Meanwhile, flighty waitress Kam (Sandra Ng) becomes enchanted with Namson at first sight and takes classes just for a chance to rub thighs with her instructor. And there's dancing. With a setup like that, it's no wonder that Dance of a Dream ends up as uneven as it does. The script looks positively scandalous. Will Namson become rich Tina's plaything? Will Kam's obsession with Namson become unhealthy? Will Namson cruelly dismiss Kam, who's portrayed as a sweet, pure-hearted woman despite her strange behavior? Still, this is an Andy Lau Christmas movie, so he and buddy Andrew Lau bend over backwards to make the film as innocuous and inconsequential as a Jingle Ma film. Sure, Namson flirts with throwing away his integrity (if he ever had any) to get a brand new studio, and Tina occasionally comes across as a stuck-up princess, but by film's end everything gets wrapped up in glossy wrapping paper with a saccharine bow. Kam's obsessions likewise prove harmless and even a validation of her pure-hearted nature. What's left is a joyful, but manufactured little movie that wrings the best from its performers. Anita Mui and Sandra Ng are particularly good, each managing to make the best of their patently unrealistic characters. As Namson, Andy Lau is quite comfortable, swinging from possible scumbag to likable lout in a matter of minutes. At least he and director Andrew Lau seem to be in on their private joke. Despite the glossy, high-class look, the film still resorts to out-of-place musical numbers and HK pop culture in-jokes to satisfy the home crowd. As loyal fans, all we can do is applaud their effort even if they happen to come up a little short. (Kozo 2002)
			image courtesy of www.andylau.com
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