The Shopaholics

Interesting concept turns into mediocre film.

Lau Ching-Wan and Cecilia Cheung stars in another film together this time as a "choice phobia disorder" psychologist and a "shopaholic" nurse who constantly gets into debt troubles with credit card companies. The movie also costars Jordan Chan Siu-Chun as a real estate mogul and Ellan Koon as Ching-Wan ex-girlfriend; Jordan having a disorder that switches between a pay anything shopping spreeds and a cheapstake, while Ellan is propel to buy the cheap discount items even though she is financially stable. The movie is an hour and a half long comedic love-square between the four characters and undermine the notion that everyone of us in modern society has a sort of disorder from everyday life.

The movie is a fairly average outing as a lunar new year festival movie. The jokes are quick and flashy and characters tend to play over-the-top roles in order to make up for the lack of a quality script and performances. There are moments where laughing are not forced but heavily encouraged but those don't come in plenty. Also, the marriage sequence seems to drag on for a tad bit too long.

There really isn't much to say about the movie. If you're a fan of quick humorous Hong Kong comedy then this is right up your alley. However, this is a simple innocent film that everyone can enjoy.

Year: 2005
Director: Wai Ka-Fai

5.9/10