IMPERFECT DVD（我们都不完美) (2012)
SYNOPSIS: He Jianhao is released from the Boys’ Home and his mother, Huifang, is worried that he would be led astray again. Thus, she wants him to look after her stall in Bugis under her stepsister’s, Yiyi, supervision. Nuoge, who is a effeminate fellow stall owner at Bugis village, has a crush over Huifang for many years. Because of his work, Jianhao becomes good friends with Fang Dafang, the nephew of Nuoge. He also gets to know a girl, Shanshan, and has a crush on her. Out of curiosity, Shanshan secretly hangs out with Jianhao and his friends despite her parents opposition. Jianhao’s another good fren, Zach, joined a gang of to get protection as he is always bullied by Alex. Wang Guodong is a gang leader and also the father of Alex. Jianhao joined the gang after much incitation from Zach. Zhang Tianlong, who is the ex-husband of Huifang, owes the loanshark a huge amount of debts and they look for Huifang to settle them. Nuoge stood up for her and the secret that Nuoge was once a triad member was known. After knowing Jianhao join the gang, Nuoge always advise Jianhao to leave the gang. Zach and Jianhao have a fight with Alex in a Disco to protect Izzy, Zach’s love interest. Jianhao and Zach injure Alex accidentally and cause him to be paralysed. Guodong vows to revenge for his son. Zach and Jianhao go on a run to escape from his clutches. At the same time, Nuoge and Huifang seek Jianhao’s gang leader for help. To Huifang’s horror, Hong Zhihua, who is Jianhao’s biological father, is the leader.
MOVIE REVIEW:
If you have not heard of Edwin Goh, Ian Fang and Kimberly Chia, then you probably belong to the age of 40 and above group or simply have not watched enough local television. These three young actors have been storming the entertainment circuit for the past year since their blockbuster Mediacorp drama “On The Fridge” about rebellious teens aired. “Imperfect” is more or less an unofficial theatrical version of the drama serial which once again touches on triad and errr…rebellious teens.
Edwin Goh plays Jianhao, a teenager who has just been released from the boy’s home after a ferocious gang fight. Her single parent mum Huifang (Chiang Chu Ping) runs a stall at Bugis and is constantly worried about her son’s well-being and future. Determined to change his ways and encouraged by the girl he loved, Shanshan (Kimberly Chia), Jianhao decides to retake his ‘O’ levels. His best pals, Zach (Ian Fang) and Square (Phua Yida) on the other hand constantly got themselves in trouble with Alex, a troublemaker son of a renowned triad member, Jianhao finds himself torn between friendship and kinship as a fight with Alex went terribly wrong.
“Imperfect” surprisingly is a well-shot movie and in terms of production values, it truly stands out among the local releases though much of the scenes are shot and tinted in bleached colors, a tad overkill in this aspect. There’s even a rain-soaked finale that is beautifully execute in stylish slow-mo. The script by credited writer YY however has its fair share of ups and downs. Notably, the first 30 minutes is clunky and hurried as it tries to setup the various characters such as Jianhao and Zach. It’s hard to buy the fact that the guys are actually buddies except for the few scenes that show them skateboarding and hanging out and what trigger the initial fight that got Jianhao into trouble is a blur. Throw in Jianhao’s mum, his younger stepsister and a hyper friend of Huifang, Nuo-ge (Li Pei Hsu), the whole script becomes a busy, uninvolving affair.
Fortunately, the movie has Taiwanese Chiang and Li to thank for. Chiang is simply incredible, for a few minutes appearance, we are totally moved by her affection for her wayward son and also Li who provides much of the movie’s comic relief. Not forgetting HK veteran Liu Kai Chi’s role as Wong Guodong who shakes up the entire movie with his terrifying presence. Li Nanxing who also produced this under his Cornerstone outfit also appeared in a small role as a mafia with conscience but he is by far and large upstaged by his overseas co-stars. No prizes for those who managed to guess his relation to Jianhao and Huifang.
With a far more violent theme than television standards, “Imperfect” promptly deserved the NC-16 rating. Edwin Goh has the charismatic factor to carry the movie and of course the help of his veteran co-stars also brighten a few sparks yet the movie reeks of uneven storytelling that mars the whole watching experience. It’s truly Imperfect.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Presented in Cantonese, the Making Of consists of 4 parts and run an estimated 40 minutes. Covering everything from interview with the main cast members and cameo stars, behind-the-scenes footages to discussion on the ageing society, this feature is comprehensive enough for the award-winning Chinese language drama. It comes with a Trailer as well.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
There’s a Making Of segment that features mainly interviews with the main cast members. A Trailer, Photo Gallery and MTV round up the extras.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The DVD visual is overly dark at times probably due to the over-tinting on the original film. The Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack provided is passable.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
