Movie Review: Frozen/為你鍾情

Wish this was a decent movie…

The Gang of Film (電影人幫) went to Olympian City Thursday night for a Herculean (!) task. We went to see Derek Kwok’s latest film.

We just didn’t know why.

I shouldn’t say that. Derek Kwok co-directedGallants, which is currently the front-runner for Best Film of 2010. He also directedThe Pye Dog.

Of course, he also directedThe Moss, but even that film had its charms.

But one of the Gang had already seenFrozen/為你鍾情and during the pre-movie dinner drank at least two beers since he was going to see it again.

I had no cough syrup. And all in all, I guess its just as well.

I can’t say this film sucked. But I can and will say that it frustrated me to a large degree.

Because it had theopportunityto be good.

The story wasn’t bad.

The filmlookedreally nice.

However, it was (theoretically) upheld by the performance of the two female leads, both named Janice.

Well, the Janices didn’t have the acting chops to carry the film. I grant you, some of the other people involved in the film (i.e. other actors, the director, etc.) didn’t make it any easier.

And that’s a shame, because the plot, although thoroughly generic, laid out a long string of possibilities, few of which were utilized.

I just kept thinking that if there were more people in this film who couldreallyact, it would be a whole lot better.

No such luck.

Don’t get me wrong. Janice Man isveryeasy to look at.

Even in a frightening 1980s perm that is so strong it withstands two decades of cryogenic suspension.

Janice Man was Photoshopped by God. She just looks too perfect. It’s anomalous. I don’t mean her figure. I mean the way her skin is flawless.

There were a lot of times I should have been excoriating her acting and all I could do was marvel at the seemingly flawless construction of her lips. She’s grossly photogenic.

She looks as good in photos as I look bad. And I usually look like sh*t.

But staring at Janice Man for 90 minutes is still not enough to redeem this awful film.

What’s awful, again, is not that it is wholly trash, likeFlirting Scholar 2. It’s more insidious than that.

I won’t relate the plot, because I tried writing it out and it sounds far more asinine than it comes across onscreen.

Of course, it does come across as asinine onscreen, just not as much as if you read it instead of watch it. But that’s usually Janice’s fault.

One or the other.

To be fair, I must concede that this film is, as usual, really not made for me. It is aimed squarely at teens, and on that level it probably works.

But I’m not a teenager, and it’s been two teenagers since I was a teenager.****

Teenagers can overlook things like plot holes, bad acting, clumsy melodrama, and stilted exposition. I’m not that lucky.

I can’t really endorse this movie, but I can’t steer you away from it either. Maybe other people will get more out of it than me.

Go see it as a comedy, which it occasionally intends to be, and you will enjoy it. Just keep your expectations low, and enjoy Leon Lai doing more damage to his acting reputation than Aaron Kwok did withCity Under Siege.

Speaking of the Heavenly Kings, Leslie Cheung fans wil l be all over Frozen/為你鍾情, since he plays a major role in the plot, albeitin absentia.