Super Model

Year:2004
Director:Vincent Kok Tak-Chiu
Cast:Ronald Cheng Chung-Kei, Karena Lam Ka-Yan, Sammy, Kenny Bee, Rain Li Choi-Wah, Sam Lee Chan-Sam, Conroy Chan Chi-Chung, Cheung Tat-Ming, Tang Chi-Fung, Wong Yat-Fei, Tin Kai-Man, Jim Chim Sui-Man, Tats Lau Yi-Tat, GC Goo Bi, Alex Fong Lik-Sun, Simon Lui Yu-Yeung, Ricky Hui Koon-Ying, Jo Koo, Siu Yee, Joe Cheng Cho, Chapman To Man-Chat, Sandra Ng Kwun-Yu, Shawn Yue, Jacky Cheung Hok-Yau, Vincent Kok Tak-Chiu, Kelly Chen, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai
Description:
Comedy prince Ronald Cheng gets another solid hit with
the 2004 Hong Kong comedy Super Model. A completely
obvious rip-off of the 2002 Ben Stiller comedy Zoolander,
Super Model casts Cheng as an embarrassingly
glam male model who has to contend with a variety of
professional and personal crises, none of them remotely
serious or even that interesting. Director-writer-producer
Vincent Kok doesn't do much to make this more than an
obvious comedy vehicle, as the film's story梠r
series of semi-random events and situations masquerading
as a story梚s pretty weak. But the concept is funny,
albeit stolen, and Cheng does his admirable best to
tickle your funnybone. Cheng and Kok get the job done
in a passably amusing fashion, though that's really
not a cause for celebration. To be more blunt: Super
Model doesn't totally suck, but it isn't really
good either.
Cheng stars as male model
Mandom, a supposedly popular model with incredibly fake
glutes and a fashion sense that's more high camp than
high class. When he receives a threatening letter, Mandom
goes straight to the cops, and exits with his new protector:
frumpy cop Karena , who wears glasses, has
pimples, and dresses like a slacker/tourist, complete
with crappy untucked shirts and an omnipresent fanny
pack. She can't stand Mandom, and he feels the exact
same way. Does anyone not think that their mutual hate
will soon give way to manufactured attraction? If so,
then you should really try watching a second movie sometime.
Like any manufactured comedy intended for a wide audience,
the presence of two actors of differing sexes at the
top of the credits immediately equals a love subplot.
By the end of Super Model, Mandom and Karena
will be a couple. Anything else would be a surprise,
and possibly a sign of creativity.
Mandom has other issues.
His supremacy in the world of male modelling is about
to be challenged by vapid newcomer Fantasy , a fit bohunk who's partnered
with an icy female model , and mentored by
a pudgy former male model , who acts ingratiating
but really isn't. Fantasy is Mandom's biggest challenge
at the "King Model Show", a winner-takes-all
fashion show that will crown the industry's supreme
hunk of manflesh, and Mandom won't miss the event, even
if it means his life. Mandom also needs a female partner
for the contest, and his ego dictates that he can win
with just anyone. Duh, his foes challenge him to make
a model out of the frumpiest girl in the room: Karena,
leading to your standard Pygmalion subplot that's
as exciting as an empty stapler. Cue 105 minutes of
terrible fashions, overdone mugging, homosexual gags,
and general silliness which is sometimes funny, and
sometimes not. One common response may be to start checking
your watch.
Super Model is
basically just another day at the office for writer-director-producer
Vincent Kok, who should get his "writer" credit
removed thanks to the obvious Zoolander rip offs.
Aside from the stolen concept, Kok lifts jokes, scenes,
and even the overall structure of Zoolander without
so much as a "based on" credit. Not that such
cinematic larceny is uncommon. On the contrary, everyone
from Wong Jing to John Woo has been guilty of plot plagarizing,
though in the case of Super Model it's a little
too overt. At least John Woo's Bullet in the Head
wasn't a complete carbon copy of Michael Cimino's The
Deer Hunter. It may have lifted characters and even
a few scenes, but overall it was a different film. Sadly,
Super Model's biggest difference from Zoolander
is that it's simply not as good a movie. Zoolander's
wit was much sharper, and the comedy much more outrageous.
Super Model possesses the comedy edge of a dull
razor, and feautres only semi-amusing jokes instead
of drop dead hilarious ones. Minor cultural clashes,
homosexual jokes, and lots of people acting bitchy is
what the paying audience primarily gets out of Super
Model. And the best scenes in Super Model?
They already happened in Zoolander.
With all the above gripes,
it's a wonder that I'm going to say this: Super Model
doesn't totally suck. It's not a good movie, but it's
also not the worst thing you'll see out of Hong Kong
nowadays. The big factor: relative expectations. Whereas
Wong Jing's usual comedy messes , have been seen ten trillion times before,
Super Model has a couple of novelties going for
it. For one thing, it's only Ronald Cheng's second leading
role, and he's a game comic performer, if not a very
skilled one. Cheng isn't as strong a comic actor as
Stephen Chow, as he doesn't possess the ability to simply
own the screen when he's on it. Still, he's a likable
guy who clearly can make fun of himself, and at the
very least he's not balls-to-the-wall annoying like
previous Stephen Chow "replacement" Eric Kot.
Super Model also features Karena Lam's first
comic performance, which is noticeably raw , but a nice change from her usual intense or
tortured characters. And even if the concept is stolen,
it's still a pretty funny one.
Overall, Super Model
is just partially amusing stuff that's totally uncreative
and absolutely without consequence. The fact that I
don't totally slam it is probably due to one or two
amusing jokes , and the relatively
fresh performers, who haven't worn out their onscreen
welcome...yet. Ronald Cheng will hopefully find new
characters and new comic opportunities, and Karena Lam
will hopefully appear in another film where she gets
to act goofy and flash her girlish smile. My lack of
hatred towards Super Model may also have something
to do with the fact that I just saw Driving Miss
Wealthy, which mirrors Super Model in that
both are wholly average without being hellaciously terrible.
This most recent spate of Hong Kong comedies is pretty
much run-of-the-mill stuff, which means that undemanding
audiences will probably be
tickled pink at the silly lameness on display here.
Those people are welcome to their 100 minutes of brain-dead
time, and for a change, I'll try not to rain on their
parade. However, if Super Model II ever happens,
I'm going postal.