|
 420"
is written, produced and directed by first timer
Mathew Tang, and gets off to a less than promising
start by having a frankly hideous title. Mixing
letters and numbers in such a lame fashion is
always a bad idea, whether as a weak attempt to
catch some kind of text-speak zeitgeist, or as
some kind of cheeky, hip allusion to the film's
theme. Helpfully explained as 'before
twenty…before too late', this awkward moniker
conjures visions of dreary, angst ridden youth
dramas and much pondering of the meaning of life.
Unfortunately, this turns out to be very much the
measure of "B420", which is an
excruciating affair, basically consisting of
interminably long scenes of unlikeable characters
engaged in conversations about nothing, punctuated
by clichéd montages of wacky modern living.
The plot follows three
fresh-faced youngsters trying to figure out their
place in the world. Koey (Miki Yeung, ex-popstar
and also in the likes of "Dumplings")
is a free spirited brat who has dropped out of
school and is now trying to earn a living, her
every move shadowed by Simon (newcomer Ben Hung),
a boy who used to be in her ballet class. Although
everyone seems to think he is gay, Simon is
actually obsessed with Koey, to the point where he
impersonates a girl in internet chat rooms to
learn her secrets. Unfortunately for Simon, Koey
starts a relationship with Willy (Sam Lee, a bit
part actor, recently in "Dragon
Reloaded" and "Divergence"),
a down on his luck ex-bike racer haunted by past
relationships. Shocking no one, the three form a
trio and gradually learn about life, love and loss
in wholly unremarkable and uninteresting ways.
"B420" is saddled
with a clumsy structure that is further weighed
down by an over reliance on voice over narration,
which serves only to give the annoying characters
a chance to wax philosophical, which they do at
great length. There is far too much in the way of
exposition, with pointless flashback scenes which
do little more than reinforce what the viewer
already knows and effectively banish any hints of
subtlety or natural character development. Since
this is an 'issues' film, very little happens
aside from talking, and Tang allows the narrative
to move sluggishly, making for dismal viewing.
Things do pick up somewhat towards the end, when a
triad subplot is introduced, though since this has
little to do with the actual story, and is quite
obviously intended only as a means of providing a
conclusion, it causes little more than baffled
amusement.
Probably the main failing of
"B420" is that its characters are
neither interesting nor likeable. Koey is
presumably supposed to be cute and kooky, but
comes off as an annoying airhead; Simon is little
more than a creepy cyber stalker; and Willy, much
like the film itself, is lazy and directionless.
With such an unappealing bunch, any efforts to
introduce romance or emotional drama flounder
badly, and the film fails to engage on any level.
Matters are not helped by the vomit inducing
platitudes which the script reels off at every
opportunity, most of which are brain-dead,
"Forrest Gump"-style gibberish along the
lines of 'life is like a bottle of coke'.
With the film's visuals, Tang
is obviously aiming for a whimsical and breezy
look, with lots of bright colours. Unfortunately,
he throws in far too many obvious and tacky
gimmicks, such as using home video memories as a
backdrop, and painfully symbolic internet chat
room scenes in which the characters' inane
dialogue appears on screen. All of this feels
horribly forced, and gives the proceedings the
feeling of an extremely dull cartoon.
The word which probably best
sums up "B420" is 'nauseating'. Burdened
with misconceived notions of relevance and
populated by tedious fools, the film utterly fails
to connect with the viewer and as such is a
complete waste of time.
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