|
Review
by Kozo: |
An
unassuming youth romance, Magic Boy is a fine
antidote to the over-calculated excesses of such audience-favorite
relationship movies as Love is Not All Around.
Director Adam Wong (When Beckham Met Owen) directs
this Mongkok-set tale, which stars newcomer Anjo Leung
as Leggo, an amateur magician and food deliveryman whose
positive attitude can be seen in the carefree way in
which he approaches his daily life. His friend and partner,
Hei (Tsui Tin-Yau) is much more serious, striving to
become a stage magician while honing his craft as a
performer on the Mongkok streets.
It's during a performance in
Mongkok that Leggo first spies Wing (Kate Yeung), and
he becomes immediately smitten with her pretty face
and modest décolletage. His new goal in life is to woo
her, which he does by showing up at her workplace, a
second-hand designer bag shop, to mistakenly deliver
food. When she calls him on his mistakes, he usually
performs a magic trick, leading to a daily ritual that's
as entertaining as it is sometimes overplayed. Leggo
is not traditionally handsome and is a bit of a spaz,
but he's a likable fellow whose earnest desire for Wing's
attention is not without its charm.
Eventually, Leggo's perseverance
pays off and Wing agrees to date him, but not before
hidden details quietly surface. Wing secretly holds
a torch for Hei, which first developed when he performed
a trick for her in a local café. On his part, Hei isn't
completely blind to Wing's obvious girlish charms, but
Leggo is his pal, so Hei mopes quietly in the background.
Meanwhile, Leggo is so enraptured with his new girlfriend
that he never seems to calm down. He squires Wing enthusiastically,
but also seems too satisfied with his attainment of
her company, which he describes as the only goal he
has in his life. Before long, this status quo begs a
reevaluation, and Wing resorts to asking Leggo the point
blank question, "Why can't you grow up?"
Magic Boy touches upon
many familiar themes and conflicts common to Hong Kong
youth films, using occasional voiceover and colorful
local details to explore the push and pull of young
adults as they struggle with dating and maturity. There's
really not much new in Adam Wong's "time-to-come-of-age"
film, but the film possesses a fun energy and a generous
portrait of local Hong Kong life, and seems to accurately
convey both the precious and perishable qualities of
young love in affecting and lovely style. Some events
seemingly have no cause or effect, but there's rhyme,
if not reason to what occurs onscreen. When the film
doesn't follow expected narrative convention, the winning
energy and upbeat pace take over.
Part of the fun is in the film's
use of magic. Most of the tricks are real, and are performed
live by Anjo Leung, a real-life apprentice of Hong Kong
magic guru Harry Wong, who has a funny and very Hong
Kong-centric cameo. Much of Magic Boy plays towards
local Hong Kong residents, from the cameos to the street-level
scenes, to even the numerous uniformed schoolgirls wandering
about, getting inspired by Leggo's magic. Leggo's magic
creates wannabe magicians, and the device is a bit cloying.
However, the whole moves by so breezily that it's easy
to buy, and also enjoy. The tricks are also fun, and
the film effectively conveys their charm and sometimes
their wonder.
As Leggo, Anjo Leung sometimes
overplays, betraying his status as an acting newcomer.
Still, once one gets accustomed to his initial manic
energy, he becomes likable and even identifiable. Kate
Yeung is very winning as the local girl of every Mongkok
boy's dreams, possessing strong character and a photogenic
presence that enlivens the screen. Tsui Tin-Yau is the
weakest of the three, his character's stoic cool sometimes
coming off as inert aloofness. Tsui doesn't make a very
compelling third point of this potential love triangle,
though he has a few amusing moments that poke fun at
his character's omnipresent stoicism.
When Magic Boy ends,
it doesn't feel like much actually happened. Some characters
move forward with what they have, while others don't,
but somehow it feels that some change, however slight,
has occurred. One minor joy in Magic Boy is that
each main character actually gets to make a decision
about their immediate future, and whatever progression
occurs feels natural and earned, and not like the lip
service so commonly associated with a youth film. Whether
or not the decisions are the correct ones is irrelevant;
it's merely another stop on the road to maturity. Again,
not a very new or inspired theme, but Magic Boy gives new life to old tricks. In magic and in film,
it's sometimes effort, showmanship, and sleight of hand
that make all the difference. (Kozo 2007) |
|
