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Review
by Kozo: |
It doesn't matter if you're
sick of Feel 100% movies because Hong Kong
will give them to you whether you like it or not.
The previous Feel 100% incarnations (three
films and a TV series) were brought to you by Manfred
Wong and director Joe Ma, who pretty much made his
name on the series. His rep was well-earned; both
Feel 100% and Feel 100% II managed an
effective blend of comic silliness and subtly-telling
trials of youth. They were also certifiable hits,
which is more than enough reason for some suits to
resurrect the series. However, these are the wrong
suits. Instead of Manfred Wong and Joe Ma, this latest
Feel 100% adventure was brought to you by Raymond
Wong Bak-Ming and Simon Lui Yu-Yeung. Say what?
The usual Feel 100%
protagonists are back, only this time they're not
played by actors in their thirties. Shawn Yue is Jerry,
a renowned player who decides he wants to stop playing
around and get serious. However, that intention isn't
apparent in the beginning, as it's clear he's a promiscuous
jerkoff who's so damn handsome and charming that women
will gladly become his love slaves. He befriends new
co-worker Hui Lok (Cyrus Wong), who looks up to Jerry
for his suave and apparently foolproof way with the
ladies. Yes, truly every young man's idol is a woman-using
lothario like Jerry.
Still, neither Jerry nor
Hui Lok has never encountered anything approximating
their "100% girl" until they meet the fabulous
Cherrie (head Cookie Stephy Tang). The two decide
to compete for her affections, but Jerry gets there
first. He manipulates her into keeping him company
then decides to come clean. Why? Because she's one
of those ultra-rare movie good girls and Jerry simply
can't be dishonest with her. Even more unbelievably,
Cherrie goes along with Jerry, presumably because
he's so handsome and charming that she still wishes
to be with him. Never mind the fact that he continues
to womanize and be dishonest, but Jerry has true emotional
scars which haunt him. And, if only those things could
be solved than he would be able to embrace true love.
Anybody feeling sick yet?
The biggest problem
with Feel 100% 2003: it makes next to no sense.
The previous Feel 100% movies may have had
far-fetched characters, but they were grounded in
real emotions and not scripted platitudes. The same
cannot be said for their 2003 counterparts.
Jerry has secrets, and they're cheesy movie-of-the-week
secrets which would only touch those who buy egregiously
manufactured backstory. Shawn Yue plays him in a charismatically
blank way, but his character is more deserving of
a severe beatdown than sympathy or affection. Likewise,
Cherrie is a remarkably empty character, whose purity
and sense of goodness is so unbelievable that it's
hilarious. Stephy Tang's soft plastic prettiness makes
her seem appealing enough, but her acting only makes
Cherrie seem even more vacant. True, she didn't have
much to work with, but her acting chops aren't very
apparent.
Of all the characters, Hui
Lok seems to be more real than the others. This is
partly due to Cyrus Wong, who portrays Hui Lok in
a likable, if not charismatic fashion. He also benefits
from a smaller allotment of annoying speeches—until
the very end, that is. When the big finale rolls around,
everyone gets to say their platitude-filled piece,
and zero actual emotion ever comes through. It's questionable
whether anyone really grows up, or even if the script
earns such a thing. Conflicts get resolved, people
end up with the correct people (fellow Cookie Miki
Yeung shows up as Hui Lok's consolation prize), and
the mega-mega happy ending gets thrown upon us. The
previous Feel 100% movies worked because they
felt real in spite of their avowed silliness. The
attainment of love came with some consequences, and
even happy endings led to new uncertainties. Feel
100% 2003 lets everyone live happily ever after.
In real life, does that ever actually happen?
The fault for this can
probably be laid at the feet of Mandarin Films. Head
honcho Raymond Wong Bak-Ming has never been a guarantee
of good cinematic quality, and his handle on the teen
genre seems tenuous at best. True, he had writer Simon
Lui and director Chung Shu-Kai along for the ride,
but the world they've created seems to be a manufactured
fantasy land which could only exist in the minds of
people who aren't young. Lui isn't really a bad writer,
and some of his horror work has been surprisingly
effective. Still, these guys were also responsible
for Nine Girls and a Ghost, which should tell
you just how deep their youth comedies get. Feel
100% 2003 is all manufactured pathos and set-up
storylines, and not an ounce of real emotion seems
to come through. If Joe Ma sued Raymond Wong for ruining
his franchise, he would probably win. (Kozo 2003)
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