SLEEPLESS FASHION DVD (与时尚同居) (2011)
SYNOPSIS: Zhou Xiaohui (Vic Zhou) was hired by the self-proclaimed godfather of fashion, Alex (Alan Tam). Three years later, he became the associate editor of leading fashion magazine Celebrity, and turned into a young, arrogant, and pretentious control freak. Threatened by his rising popularity, Alex sacks him. Determined to rival Celebrity, Xiaohui is joined by office lackey Fatty and editorial assistant Ying Hong (Vivian Hsu). He persuades college friend Wu Yang (Kimi Qiao), the son of a wealthy businessman, to invest. The four set up a modest backstreet office, and started their own magazine Modern. Setbacks arise and employees slowly began to leave, except for Ying Hong. Without luck on their side, will Modern be able to survive and succeed?
MOVIE REVIEW:
“Sleepless Fashion” is a weird bag of romance and underdog story despite an interesting setup and a cast of familiar faces including former F4 heartthrob Vic Chou, sweetie-pie Vivian Hsu and evergreen Cantopop singer, Alan Tam.
Set in the glamorous fashion world of contemporary Beijing, Chou plays Patrick, associate editor of leading fashion magazine, Celebrity and also the protégé of fashion icon, Alex (Alan Tam). Successful, arrogant and popular, Patrick is fast surpassing his mentor in the fashion circle. Threatened by his fast-rising protégé, Alex decides to sack him. Feeling betrayed, Patrick decides to start his own fashion magazine with the help of a motley crew of unlikely allies.
“Sleepless Fashion” has the potential to be a quirky and consummate look at the cutthroat industry of the publishing and fashion world. Unfortunately, the slick production ultimately is yet another predictable, lightweight flick that is marred with plenty of flat plotting. One glaring example is the romance between Patrick and Ying Hong (Vivian Hsu), which is hardly believable, and feels rather tack-on. Tam’s Godfather of fashion role is largely wasted considering his character is far juicer than Chou’s Patrick. The inclusion of Lam Suet as a comic relief doesn’t help much and a song-and-dance routine towards the end stuck out like a sore thumb.
Poet, writer turned indie filmmaker Yin Lichuan perhaps is constrained by the pressure of commercial filmmaking. Her inability to establish this as a drama or comedy is obvious. Lucky for her, she has her cast members to thank for. Chou whose acting is less than impressive has at least an eye-catching wardrobe to interest the female demographics. The little known Shu Yaoxuan left a deep impression by providing the movie with an interesting motivational story while Wang Taili’s portrayal of the fish-out-of-water wedding photographer marks the best of the lot.
Looking as polished and glossy as a high-end fashion magazine (that’s one of the highlights of the movie), “Sleepless Fashion” is clichéd, formulaic and unable to offer much other than Chou’s striking wardrobe.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The DVD extras consist of numerous Trailers and TV Spots, brief Interviews with Vic Chou, Vivian Hsu, Alan Tam and Kimi Qiao. There are also fashion tips from Chou to round up the features.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Visuals are clear and the sole Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track is serviceable for the dialogue dominated movie.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
