Reviewed by: Brian Thibodeau
Date: 01/08/2008
Summary: Hey, Chinese businessmen! Keep an eye on your trophies!
Newly installed in a gleaming Shanghai suburb by her frequently absentee businessman husband (Yu Rong-guang), 18-year-old newlywed Vivian Chan (whos far from 18 years old) continues her email relationship with an online husband who apparently understands her better than the real thing. She also strikes up a platonic, real-world entanglement with a ski bum (Alex To) she meets in her computer class. And then theres her shamelessly nosy new friend from next door, who looks after that house with her shiftless boyfriend. When Vivs internet paramour starts exhibiting stalker tendencies, the list of suspects is, obviously, a short one! Made to reflect an increasingly affluent and techno-savvy mainland Chinese audience, this nonetheless toes the communist party line that the internet cant be trusted in the hands of mere citizens, a message ultimately delivered by a reformed Viv to her class of rosy-cheeked primary-school punkins, one of whom counters that surfing the web would be OK because she knows how to swim! Awwwww. In revealing Yus character plays no role whatsoever in Vivs predicament, the filmmakers flatly suggest that bored wives of wealthy Chinese businessmen would be a lot better off if they werent so darned uppity, and yet at the same time, scenes between Alex and Vivas they frolic through sparkly shopping malls, restaurants and tourist attractionslook like something out of a Korean soap opera, a reminder to wealthy Chinese businessmen, one supposes, to keep an eye on their assets.
Reviewer Score: 2
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