Asian Film Review: "Beach Spike" (熱浪球愛戰, 2011)

How do I describe Beach Spike ( 熱浪球愛戰)?  Good? Bad? So bad it's good? So bad it's bad?

To paraphrase one of my favorite lines from The Simpsons (episode FAF09) - "Beach Spike is the second best breast + volleyball movie I've ever seen!"

(the first being Japan's 2009 film "Oppai Volleyball")

I was worried I would miss its entire theatrical run while I was up in Beijing, but luckily I got back in town in time to catch it at its last week in MK.

I wanted to see this movie despite full knowledge that it was not going to be award winning cinema, but low budget local HK comedies can be a guilty pleasure... Either of the laughing with type, or the laughing attype... But at the end of the day if you enjoy it, it doesn't really matter that much.

On paper this film has a lot going for it...Chrissie Chau, Jessica C... in bikinis.... jumping around...  Sounds like a winning formula if ever there was one! The plot, the acting, the dialogue, these should all be superfluous.  They would have to be really, really, really bad to still manage spoil this film!

Well, in fact they almostare, and they almostdo! 

Exhibit A:  Jessica C may be one of the hottest local models on the scene here in the last year in Hong Kong, but after her debut in Beach Spike I think there should be serious consideration in the Hong Kong Legislative Council about passing a law forbidding her to come within 500 feet of a movie set until 100 hours of acting classes have been completed. :-P

Jessica shouldn't shoulder the blame for this film not living up to its potential. The plot is too contrived and unexplained:   the government says the only way you can build this new construction project is if you destroy the beach... How can we solve this? Why not settle it over a game of women's beach volleyball!

Despite this,  the film manages to be entertaining enough to make it past all the groanworthy moments (and there are a LOT of them...)

On a positive note, I thought Chrissie Chau actually did a pretty good job as the lead.  Her acting was convincing (relatively).  Of course you know I am a fan...( as of last week!)

The movie is actually much better if you perhaps fast forward the dialogue scenes and jump straight to the volleyball games. They really are the best parts of the whole movie... Despite the CGed volley balls , overall they are entertaining....  and worst case everyone is jumping around in skimpy clothes. :-P

The film has a bunch of high speed camera shots that are used for slow motion action shots.  They are actually well done and quite hilarious. Kudos to the actresses for letting themselves be pegged with balls to the face and eating a lot of sand on dives.  In our theater these scenes got the most positive reactions out of everyone...  laughing at the slow mo impacts and resulting facial contortions.

Philip Ng was also hilarious as the super type A coach with the anger issues.  Especially hilarious was when his perfect English suddenly was replaced by some horrible accented dubbing...  :-D

Anyway, I'm hesitant to actually give this a real rating... But on a "so bad it's good" scale, this one deserves a 6/10 (I guess it could have been worse and scored even better?) :-P

ps - FYI for everyone overseas who may see this film and think HK people actually do group dancing like that... No they don't!