6/10
HK Neo Reviews: Super Fans
21 July 2010
Charlene tries hard in an ultimately lacking flick… It's been since the Confession of Pain that Neo have been at the cinemas for a HK flick, but why he decided to venture again remains a mystery. Going into the counter, Neo did not know what movie was on and perhaps randomly he asked for whatever HK movie that is currently showing. The result is sitting in an almost empty cinema, embracing the antics of the alarmingly cute, Charlene Choi and the disappointing effort from director Eric Kot, who "once upon a time" directed a flick that even Wong Kar Wai wanted to be associated with. It is a film with three acts and unfortunately the first act is bloody annoying and at times stretching to the point of boredom. Luckily, Kot realized the above flaw and set about redeeming the movie with a fine 2nd and 3rd act, but still it is ultimately too manufactured, too predictable and too cloying to buy. Perhaps the flick is a direct comment about what happened to Andy Lau and his obsessive fan recently, but the social commentary never reaches those heights, nor does it seem to be aiming to be.

The movie goes like this: Basically Charlene is one crazy fan who is obsessed in everything that Sammy does. Leo Kuo is a hopeless romantic who drools on his house mate who is Charlene. Leo is willing to help Charlene to do whatever she requests and soon Charlene realise that Sammy is not someone worthy of being idolised… No matter what, this is ultimately a film for Charlene Choi to showcase her ultra-cute acting antics. As mention in an earlier review, the Twins are better off separated and once again, Charlene is more comfortable by herself. Here she jumps up and down, laughs like she always does, scream as though she is possessed and cry when she feels like it. The effect is pretty much a performance that we have all seen before and no matter how hard she tries, she offers nothing new, either than being adorably cute. Still, she is by far the only good thing that the film has to offer and carries the film through it entire duration. As for Leo Kuo, his role of being a Mr. Nice Guy isn't exactly something to boost about, but at the very least he is likable enough. However, the casting of Sammy as the ultimate super star is both lame and stupid. Perhaps, Kot is commenting on the superficial natural of the HK entertainment in emphasizing how someone so shallow and hallow can have so many obsessive fans. Nonetheless, the choice of Sammy is clearly a bad decision, as it adds to the unbelievable nature of the flick, after all who in the right mind would claim that Sammy is cool and handsome. Man, Neo is starting to head to the toilet for some vomiting.

It is really saddening to witness how far Eric Kot has fallen by directing this flick. While he was so promising in a little film called – First Love, so much so that even Wong Kar Wai provided some finishing touches to it. However, in Super Fans, we can see no evidence of that former flair and the result is a non-adventurous and a shallow look at the industry problem of obsessive fans. Adding to the disappointment is an annoying cameo performance from Kot, an actor who have matured in the past two years with some quality supporting display.

All in all, Super Fans is really an extremely light take on the issue of obsessive fans and the result is leaving the audience with a feeling of lacking in everything department. It is sad to that filmmakers nowadays will think of a good idea and then will go straight into filming the picture, without much prior planning. The casting of Sammy adds to the frustration and the first act remains quite boring. However, the film is saved by an outright trying performance from the ever energetic Charlene Choi and a somewhat better 2nd and 3rd act. Still, at the very best the film is just average and thanks to the antics of Charlene Choi, this movie contains some enjoyable and fun scenes. With that being said, Neo is a former Twins fan…

I rate it 6.25/10.

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