High K (2000)

Director: Billy Chung (Siu Hung)

Producer: Ng Kin Hung

Cast: Ti Lung, Sherming Yiu, Christine Ng, Lok Man, Jerry Leung, Ng Ting Yip, Ng Chi Hung, Gloria Lam

Running Time: 86 min.

Plot: See Gwailo's review below.

GWAILO'S REVIEW: After her mommy bites it in a car wreck, high school party girl Coco(Sherming Yiu), must move in with her estranged pop (weathered police officer Ti Lung) and his new wife. Suffice to say, and integral to the plot, Coco and daddy do not get along. Virtually overnight, Coco transforms into a rebellious, brooding teen, and hits the rave scene with her trampy friends. Coco is now pretty much a bitch, initiating catfights at raves, spiking volleyballs into nerds faces in P.E., and swatting teachers across the teeth when they piss her off. She and her loose pals fall in with the wrong crowd and begin hitting the hallucinogens pretty hard. Jeeez! What ever happened to those innocent slumber parties with pillow fights, brownies, Tiger Beat magazine, and boy talk? Female slumber parties of course..*cough*.

Coco's new shenanigans are sending papa Ti towards an early grave. All daddy wants is to be incorporated in hid daughters life and for her to love and respect him...*sniffle*. But Coco is now a drugged out ho/runaway, so the film presses on. The strife is too much for Ti and he eventually quits the force to concentrate on getting his baby girl back from the mean streets of HK and her new triad boyfriends. Coco's boys bring about a labored subplot that involves, what else, triad warfare. Two factions are duking it out and one of Coco's pimpdads get's in the way. He beefs it. Upon hearing her lover man is no more, one of Coco's bunch swan dives off her balcony almost nailing Coco en route to the pavement. Ahhh, drugs and promiscuity. The cornerstones of teenage life. Back to the triad subplot for a sec.

There's a brief shining light that breaks through the tedium. A cool murder that culminates in a triad punks cranium meeting a mag-lite. OUCH!! That smarts! Forget choppers or kung-fu, those flashlights are lethal weapons. High K is one of those films where the audience sees the repercussions long before the idiot characters do-partially because we've seen this crap all before. The main characters fates have been so badly telegraphed, that by flicks end there's no cause for sympathy. Coco's characterization is even worse. We don't even spend 2 minutes with her before her rebellious makeover, so how can we feel anything for her. In my opinion, the little floozy got what she deserved.

Everything in High K is bittersweet and deservedly so. Spotty cut-caller Billy Chung Siu-hung (Love to Kill, Trust Me U Die) surprisingly sustains our attention with an 'after school special' pic-Hong Kong style. He flashes some nice camera work but his focus is is still, well, a bit unfocused. His attempt at social comment, though the theme is played out, has improved greatly. He also taps ripe ol' Ti Lung for a great performance. He's a little older but as magnetic as ever. His dramatic work is the best thing about High K(he can cry, and boy does he ever)and rivals his kung-fu.

GWAILO'S RATING: 3/10