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Review
by Kozo: |
Joe
Ma takes on Hong Kong popular culture with Diva -
Ah Hey, his latest in a series of overwhelmingly
mellow comedies. The Cantonese title of the film (Ha
yaat jaam...Tin Hau) has multiple meanings, the
most literal being "Next stop Tin Hau," an
actual stop on Hong Kong's convenient Mass Transit Railway
system. However, a more appropriate meaning for this
film would be "Next stop Heavenly Queen,"
which refers to the top female singers in the ever-saturated
Cantopop stratosphere. Given that title, you'd expect Diva - Ah Hey to be a Cinderella story about
a girl's storybook ascendance to Cantopop's highest
level. Strangely, that's really not what this film is
about.
Taller Twin Charlene Choi
stars as Ah Hey, an impossibly positive and perky girl
who desires to be a top Cantopop star. She begs her
fishmonger father (Lam Suet) to introduce her to Harry
(Jordan Chan), an old family friend who currently manages
the career of new idol singer Shadow (Niki Chow). Harry
shoots Ah Hey down without hesitation, but he hires
her on as an assistant. Soon, Ah Hey is working with
Harry, Shadow and Wing (Shawn Yue), the company chauffeur.
She's content to help out, biding her time for her own
personal shot at stardom.
Still, "working"
with her new pals is not exactly easy. Harry thinks
Shadow has no talent and is only managing her because
his boss likes her. Shadow doesn't communicate directly
with Harry, and is frequently lazy and irresponsible.
And, both pick on poor Wing, who carries a torch for
Shadow, yet still finds the time to be combative and
mouthy. Add all this to the usual double-talk and obsequious
behavior you expect from the entertainment industry,
and Ah Hey can only come to one conclusion: everyone
is crazy.
But thanks to a fluke
of Shadow's laziness, Ah Hey gets to sing one of Shadow's
debut songs—which is received incredibly well by
the higher-ups. Rather than reveal the truth about who
actually sang the demo, Harry loses his spine and pretends
that it was Shadow instead. He even asks Ah Hey to sing
the rest of the album, which runs counter to her plans
for self-stardom. However, thanks to Ah Hey's grounded
morals and totally chipper attitude, she manages to
stay the course. She agrees to ghost sing for Shadow,
but only if her new "family" starts to communicate
and settle their differences. Yes, Ah Hey desires love
and happiness for her new friends, and sacrifices her
own personal advancement to acheive that goal. If she
weren't so damned cute, she could probably apply for
sainthood.
Diva - Ah Hey rides
Charlene Choi's cuteness for all its worth, which apparently
is quite a bit. Much of the film's more pleasing charms
are derived from Choi's mug, which is featured in more
than a few massive close-ups. Her chipmunk cheer and
Hello Kitty-like cuddliness works wonders for anyone
who possesses even a little "aw shucks" in
them. And her co-stars are good, too. Jordan Chan underplays
charismatically, and Niki Chow and Shawn Yue make an
amusingly compatible couple. There's a lot to like in
the pleasant interplay of Ah Hey's new "family,"
and the characters seems remarkably well-rounded, if
not wholly realistic.
Still, Joe Ma gives them
questionable stuff to do. Diva - Ah Hey may win
the battle of the likable characters, but it's on the
losing end of a cohesive, compelling narrative. Despite
the rich source material, there's remarkably little
edge to the storyline. The entertainment industry gets
skewered in small ways (Hyper BB's scummy agent, and
Chapman To's goofy pop actor), and the characters experience
only minor ephiphanies. Even more, the epiphanies are
handled with a numbing subtlety. It's nice that Ma attempts
some "show not tell" with this movie, but
attempting and succeeding are two different things.
Ma keeps things moving in an opaque yet inconclusive
manner, and he neglects to punctuate many of his scenes.
As a result the film seems to plod from beginning to
end, with more than a few slow patches. Some drama and
laughs are created, but it's all rather mild.
Not that the movie's bad.
Despite the lack of any real urgency, the film has a
rather pleasant feel. And when the climax rolls around,
it actually produces some decent emotions. Ah Hey may
want to be a "Heavenly Queen," but her introduction
to the big, bad entertainment world is as frightening
as it is enticing. What Ah Hey finds is that her Cinderella
story may be within reach, but that she may not yet
be strong enough to handle the accompanying baggage.
In that small bit of character work, Joe Ma makes Diva
- Ah Hey infinitely more affecting than, say, The
Lion Roars. And having Charlene Choi deliver that
minor lesson makes it all the more palatable. Joe Ma
has specialized in bringing familiar, affecting emotions
to his work, and he follows suit here—except that
his storytelling can be uneven and almost boring to
behold. Watching Diva - Ah Hey is like taking
a warm bath: it can put you sleep, but it's also pleasant
and quite enjoyable. (Kozo 2003) |
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