| SYNOPSIS:
Intellectually
challenged, Jun (Leon Lai) was abandoned by his family on
a trip to Japan. When he meets his primary school classmate
Hoi (Chapman To), he thinks he has found his guardian angel.
However, he is unaware that Hoi is heavily in debt and is
willing to do anything to pay it off. When Hoi's friend suggests
that Jun will make a perfect gigolo...
MOVIE
REVIEW :
Written
and directed by Alan Mak and Felix Chong, you might be wondering
how did the famed duo, responsible for flicks like Initial
D and the Infernal Affairs trilogy, come up with something
off tangent like Moonlight in Tokyo.
Starring
Leon Lai and Chapman To in lead roles, the movie tells the
story of how two strangers in Tokyo meet, hook up, and develop
a kind of brotherly bond, with homosexual undertones, somewhat.
Lai plays Jun, a low IQ simpleton who gets abandoned in Tokyo
by his brother's family, finding him a liability. To plays
a down and out pimp Hoi, who owes the Japanese gangsters a
huge debt which he has to pay off, otherwise he'll have to
join their ranks as a gigolo.
Jun
and Hoi meet in the streets of Tokyo one day, and the former
recognizes the latter as an ex-classmate. They unwilling form
a bond as Hoi needs whatever money Jun has, until they run
out. But with Jun's supposedly pretty boy good looks (Lai
has visibly aged in this movie, and it pains to see him act
cute), and uncanny prowess to sooth the person he hugs, Hoi
hatches an idea to make money, by having pimp Jun as a gigolo.
But
don't be expecting cheap laughs ala Deuce Bigelow, though
you'd already be anticipating weird clients to call for his
services. In between their exploits we learn a bit more about
both characters, about trusting oneself, of self-worth, and
friendship.
Audiences
who cannot stand actors acting cute or playing down their
age group, might find Leon Lai's performance a turn off. But
essentially that's what the Jun character is all about, innocence.
No doubt that a dark side was added to his character, with
his throwing of stuff when enraged, but with his transformation
to chic gigolo plastered with that smug look, you'll wonder
why the once Heavenly King would take on a role such as this.
Chapman To seemed to be breezing through his role as the indifferent
and exploitative Hoi, essentially playing similar characters
like in Infernal Affairs and Initial D, so it's pretty familiar
ground revisited for the audience.
The
movie seemed to have mixed direction halfway through, and
therein lies its weakness. Exploring a couple of themes, the
narrative lacks coherent strength in propelling the plot forward.
In the end, you could think of the finale as so, because of
the conscientious thought of not becoming a stereotypical
movie, or done so because it wants to fall back on melodrama?
While
the visuals at times have the arty feel draped over it, with
its quick cuts, stylish edits done MTV style, it cannot mask
the fact that they're used to cover up the weaknesses in plot.
Which is quite a pity, as the characters Hoi and Jun certainly
had potential shown in their chemistry to have put the movie
on a higher plane.
SPECIAL
FEATURES :
This Code 3 DVD does not contain any special features.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Surprisingly
for an ordinary movie, viewers have a choice of the usual
Dolby Digital stereo, or 5.1. The quick cuts, special effects
enhanced scenes still look
stunning though.
MOVIE
RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Stefan Shih
|
