|
Cast:
Isabella
Leong
Chen
Bo-Lin
Jan
Lamb (voice)
Steven
Cheung
Lawrence
Cheng
Kenny
Kwan
Candy
Lo
Gillian
Cheung
Charlene
Choi
Writer:
Cheung
Chi Kwong
Yeung
Sin-Ling
Tony
H. Chow
Producer:
Albert
Lee
Cheung
Chi Kwong
Zhao
Jian Guo
Director:
Law
Chi Leung
Score:
 
|
BUG
ME NOT!
AKA:
Bug Me Not
Year:
2005 Reviewer: Phil
Mills
When
it comes to my personal movie tastes, one look at my DVD
collection may well lead people to believe that I'm
someone who will only watch a film if it contains at least one neck
snapping. Ok so I admit at times this may be true but being only human, I also have a softer side (course
if anyone mentions it, I'll snap you like a twig!) that leads
me to seek out titles such as 'Bug Me Not!'. The idea of
a traditional romantic storyline mixed in with some crazy
animated antics had me intrigued and the trailer certainly
looked like a lot of fun. Having watched it though, all
I can say is that first impressions are not always right.
Moon
(Leong) is a bit of an outcast at school and never seems to be
able to do or say the right thing. Perhaps for this
reason, she finds herself attracted to one of the local boys
(Bo-Lin) who constantly makes a fool of himself for the sake
of his job and clearly lacks the charm or sophistication of
most men she has encountered. Unfortunately though, Moon
isn't exactly the most outgoing girl and is forced to watch
him from afar as she has no idea how to make the relationship
progress. Luckily for her though, a chance encounter
with a bug unleashes some kind of power inside of her that
actually allows her to talk to the bug! Now with
Cootchie the bug at her side (yes I admit, Cootchie sounds
more like a disease than a bug) she might actually be able to
get the local boy to notice her but she'll have to be careful,
there may well be others out there who also possess special
powers...
Although
I'm loathed to completely condemn this film as it remains a
relatively harmless time killer, there is no escaping the fact that
it is disappointing in almost all of the elements that it
attempts to combine. First and foremost, this is
immediately noticeable in the film's vital romantic narrative
as the chemistry between the two leads is practically
non-existent, making it a very hard pill to swallow.
Personally I attribute this to Chen Bo Lin who comes across as
rude and irritating, two very distinctive traits that make him
hard to warm to and fail to allow the audience to appreciate
why Moon would fall for him the first place. Added to
this, the film introduces a ridiculous sub-plot that revolves
around a "super powers club" that not only throws a handful of even more tedious and annoying personas
into the
mix, but also
appears to be nothing more than a vague attempt to explain the
inclusion of animated bugs. Finally you have the all
important element of comedy that should really be the films
saving grace but unfortunately the majority of it is far too slapstick, even
by Asian standards, and is barely amusing at the best of
times.
Taking
all this into account though, there are still a couple of elements
within 'Bug
Me Not!' that make it a worthwhile watch. For a start, Isabella Leong emerges as a real
talent who is not only very easy on the eyes but also an extremely capable
actress who displays an alarming knack for playing a leading
lady. At the
tender age of 17, she shows a remarkable amount of maturity,
never appearing overly concerned that she is the centre of
attention yet at the same time retaining a childhood innocence
that doesn't exude arrogance. Alongside her, the
animated bugs
also turn up trumps despite their somewhat limited screen time.
They are clearly drawn and voiced with the intention of being
comical and each of their scenes is always a pleasure and
never overly sickening. In fact, had the film
spent more time focusing on Moon and her connection with the bugs rather than the
inept boyfriend or super powers scenarios it may have been a far more appealing
prospect.
'Bug
Me Not!' is clearly an extremely lightweight production that
is at times so cringeworthy you want to throw something at the
screen but it is still a relatively easy watch with a few sparks of
entertainment to appreciate. However, it's
probably more likely to be remembered as the film that bought
Isabella Leong into the mainstream rather than a bold leap
forward for Hong Kong cinema.
|
