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LET'S
SING ALONG
AKA:
N/A
Year:
2001 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
The
late Anita Mui has contributed as much to Hong Kong cinema's
identity as nearly any other actress. It's therefore
unfortunate that the inept 'Let's Sing Along' was one of her
last roles before her tragic death, so weakly constructed is
the supposed comedy of the film.
Shy,
mousy Chu (Mui) is the kind of loyal office worker who seamlessly
blends into the background while her workmates interact.
Constantly pushed aside and undervalued, Chu is the complete
antithesis to brash colleague King whose arrogant patter has
helped his employer ignore his atrocious punctuality. Keen to
change, Chu decides to ask King to teach her his legendary
karaoke skills to help her gain self-confidence. King agrees
when his new charge is persuaded to pay-off his debts and the
transformation now begins. From a makeover to a chance to
perform in public, Chu is gradually turned into a woman who
realises her own strengths. This fact is also appreciated by
King who finds the teacher/student dynamic of their
relationship gradually turning into something more
substantial.
The
idea of a romantic comedy based around karaoke is a parochial
one; while we're familiar with the idea of the partially
inebriated wailing into the microphone here in the West, it's
still a concept that works better in the East. Nevertheless,
judging by the lukewarm reception afforded to the film on its
release, perhaps it's not just Western viewers who were
bemused by this plodding production.
Matt
Chow is a director who caught my eye with his enjoyable
character-driven piece 'United
We Stand, And Swim', but 'Let's Sing Along' shows none of
its predecessor's subtlety or wit. Instead, the driving force
of the film is Dayo Wong's strutting performance - an aspect
that viewers will either love or loathe - and the outrageous
scenes of various losers battling on the karaoke stage. Chow
does little to develop a relationship between his leads and
simply expects the trials both of them go through to ignite
some undefined spark. Few rom-coms - even the very best -
would have delusions of grandeur, but at least they make the
focal point something actually worth watching; at the climax
of 'Let's Sing Along', the two characters realise that they
have a deep affection for one another despite little evidence
of chemistry in the previous 80 minutes. Such tacked on
emotion is devoid of any real impact.
Anita
Mui certainly deserved better than this. Despite a reputation
for being the 'Asian Madonna', Mui was versatile enough to
play everything from the self-confident to the oppressed. In
'Let's Sing Along' she is far better than her material,
displaying an awkward insecurity that nevertheless makes her
sympathetic. Unfortunately she is expected to wade through
poorly written comic material and endless scenes that seem
pointlessly padded out. It's such mediocrity that sinks
whatever chance the film had of rising above its uninteresting
premise.
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