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Genre: Drama
Director: Stephen Fung
Cast: Kitty Zhang, Leon Jay Williams, Special
Appearance by Daniel Wu
RunTime: 1 hr 37 mins
Released By: Columbia TriStar
Rating: PG
Official Website: http://www.sonypictures.com.sg/movies/jump/landing_site/index.html
Opening Day: 14 January 2010
Synopsis:
JUMP, a hip hop dance romantic comedy, features an awkward
and naive farm girl who dreams of stardom in the big city.
A cleaner in a local dance school by day, Phoenix secretly
pursues her dream by night, perfecting her own unique hip
hop martial arts dance style. Her transformation quickly becomes
a media sensation but it impacts her life in unexpected ways.
Movie Review:
Directed
by Stephen Fung and based on a story by Stephen Chow, one
would have
thought the delay in production due to the reshooting of scenes
with the now infamous Edison Chen would have bode some forewarning
that perhaps things won't go down too well with Jump. But
surprise, surprise! It turned out to be not so much of a dance
movie but instead it's a delightful comedy, and a Kitty Zhang
vehicle no less as well.
Produced
and written by Stephen Chow, one immediately sees the tremendous
similarities that Kitty Zhang's role of Phoenix, the country
bumpkin with aspirations of being a world class dancer, have
with various Stephen Chow characters
in the way they behave, and their characterization, of the
down and out loser
possessing some innate talent just waiting for an opportunity
to be unleashed. From
being a kung fu exponent to a card shark, the role of Phoenix,
if turned into a male
one, can very much be a role played by Chow himself, complete
with weight-conscious sidekicks dipping into the same bag
of weight jokes, and uncouth, androgynous supporting characters
who provide most of the jokes involving obligatory body parts
(thought the one here is probably the first I've seen so blatantly
performed on
screen).
Chow
must have also struck gold this time, with his second foray
in producing a film
with a female star as the lead. One remembers an earlier effort
with Shaolin Girl
(which also starred Kitty Zhang in a small support role) being
in my opinion a
terrible film, and here he has redeemed himself when he cast
his muse from CJ7 in
the lead role, and with her perfect comic timing and absolute
believable dancing
ability, seem more at ease and natural to be able to carry
this movie on her
shoulders, being the only recognizable leading name on the
marquee.
The
story's kept simple to appeal to all, with an easy to identify,
universal theme
in not giving up when the chips are down, and the oft used
cliché of only the tough
who gets going when the going gets tough. There will be those
who will not hesitate
to put you down through envy or just plain resignation to
their own fate and adamant
in replicating it on others they meet, and one should never
let naysayers discourage
one from going all out to fulfill lifelong dreams. There will
also be those who will
encourage constructively, and these are the folks that should
influence positively.
Dance
fans may be a tad disappointed given the lack of dance itself,
save for the
training montages (even with a Rocky tribute) and a major
dance off finale that is
staple in any self-respecting dance flick. In fact the story
dwells more on the
hectic day in the life of Phoenix, how she struggles just
to be within touching
distance of her personal obsession, and a rather average romance,
no thanks to the
deadpan performance of Leon Jay WIlliams as the rich playboy
who falls for Phoenix,
and making everything easier with his money and the convenience
of him owning a
dance school.
But
thankfully Kitty Zhang proved to be more than just a pretty
face, and possessed the ability to carry off moments of absurd
comedy, the energetic dance moves, fall victim as the damsel
in romantic distress, and executing some mean kung fu moves
(well, knowing Stephen Chow, kung-fu just had to be featured
somehow) to shine as the complete package, and a star in the
making to watch out for!
Movie Rating:
 
(Hesitate not and jump into this Stephen Chow styled
comedy!)
Review by Stefan Shih
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