|
Cast:
Chui
Tien You
Yoyo
Chan
Shiu
Yu Wah
Yorky
Yuen
Producer:
Johnnie
To
Director:
Lawrence
Lau
Score:
 
|
GIMME
GIMME
AKA:
N/A
Year:
2001 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
After
gaining massive kudos with 'Spacked Out', up-and-coming
director Lawrence Lau once again focuses his attention on
youth culture with this acclaimed follow-up. Although this is
a film about teenagers, Lau is the antithesis to the usual
crude Western examination on the subject - he prefers to
concentrate on 'real' Hong Kong youngsters and offer a far
more realistic, far less glossy adaptation of their lives. The
result is a good, but certainly not great film that is
intriguing though significantly flawed.
Lobo,
Skid, Soda and Fion are a close quartet of Hong Kong teenagers
who each has their own concerns and stresses in life. They're
also very distinctive personalities: Lobo is the hip young
pivot of the band whose main interests are skateboarding and
his ambitions as a musician; Skid is his loyal friend who,
while being a successful school athlete, suffers from an
obvious lack of self-confidence; Soda is the laid-back member
of the gang who uses his earthy charm to make sure he has a
new girlfriend for every day of the week; finally
there's Fion - the 'quirky', hyperactive girl who throws
herself into unusual friendships. These close friends
regularly associate with others among their peers while
spending their free time worrying about the things that
concern many of their age group i.e. relationships and growing
up. Into this closely knit circle comes popular girl Pat who
is befriended by Fion and instantly becomes an object of
affection for Skid who keeps crossing paths with her. Skid,
desperate to make a good impression, asks his good friend Lobo
to help him. Unfortunately, Skid's plans are undermined when
Pat gradually reveals that she's falling in love with Lobo;
Skid is naturally jealous and the sudden twist means their
friendship is severely tested. Meanwhile, philandering Soda
begins to appreciate to value of honesty and true love when is
posse of girlfriends begin to abandon him and expose him for
the superficial teenager he is. All of these events act as a
rites of passage for the group and, by the time their problems
are resolved, they find they're considerably more informed
than they were previously.
It's
refreshing to see a modern youth film that is mostly devoid of
the empty, MTV-style cinematography that has sadly been
embraced by so many newer directors. In my opinion, this over
stylised camerawork is usually the sign of a lazy director;
afraid of a still camera that puts the emphasis on characters
rather than technical aptitude, these directors show a lack of
confidence and ability when be solely reliant on these tricks.
Lawrence Lau is brave enough to let the film develop at a
gradual pace without rushing some of the important early
scenes or misdirecting the ending. It is for these reasons
that Lau deserves credit despite any flaws that will later be
discussed.
Lawrence
Lau is a film-maker to watch out for in the future, but he
needs to work from a better script if he is to truly flourish.
The script's weakness is not the dialogue which is perfectly
adequate; the film's major millstone is the cast of
characters. Through the course of the film, the characters
lose more and more sympathy while interest in their
'conflicts' gradually lose all interest. Some may argue that a
movie concentrating on teenagers is never going to fully
elicit interest from viewers outside of the age bracket;
however, Thomas Chow's 'Merry Go Round' trod a similar path
while creating characters that you could actually care about.
This is well illustrated by the constantly annoying Fion who
is developed as the stereotypically 'quirky' and 'crazy' girl,
but becomes an ordeal to watch. The love triangle between
Lobo, Skid and Pat - which is the driving narrative of 'Gimme
Gimme' - starts off well and then follows a very predictable
path. On the plus side, the young performers acquit themselves
well in their roles and, though none of the characters are
that inspiring, they all show the potential of the next
generation of Hong Kong actors/actresses. 'Gimme Gimme' is an
interesting diversion from the big-budget blockbusters of
Hollywood or even Hong Kong, but by the end it flatters to
deceive.
|
