8.2 /10 1 Votes
4.5/5 inSing Written by Rebecca Leow
Allan Ho Edited by Natalie Soh Directors Michael Woo, Joyce Lee Music director JerryC Cinematography Derrick Loo | 7.3/10 IMDb Directed by Michael Woo
Joyce Lee Music by JerryC Initial release 26 May 2016 Box office 1.2 million USD Budget 1.2 million USD | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Produced by Joyce Lee
Shelin Ng
Clara Cheo Starring Aloysius Pang
Joshua Tan
Joyce Chu
Gurmit Singh
Quan Yi Fong
Henry Thia
Jeffrey Xu
Jordan Ng Cast Aloysius Pang, Gurmit Singh, Henry Thia, Joyce Chu, Quan Yi Fong | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Young & Fabulous (Chinese: 最佳伙扮; pinyin: Zuìjiā Huǒbàn) is a 2016 Singaporean cosplay-themed and coming of age film directed by Michael Woo and Joyce Lee. It stars Aloysius Pang, Joshua Tan and Joyce Chu as the main casts.
Contents
Plot
A group of teenage friends—Royston, Violet, and Hao Ren, overcome all challenges and obstacles to fulfil their dreams. On their journey of self-discovery, they also learn the meaning of friendship, the different perspectives in parent-child and teacher-student relationships, and ultimately the need to have the courage to stand up for what they believe in.
Bonded through a fondness for cosplay, the three friends not only help each other out at school, but also empower each other to become better individuals. Their natural talents in different aspects also make them a great team—the creative Royston designs and tailors the costumes; social media queen Violet teaches them how to pose with confidence, while Hao Ren puts his street smarts to good use in their negotiations with the vendors. Conflict arises when their cosplay hobby, kept a secret amongst themselves till then, is discovered by their parents. The parents strongly object to their involvement in cosplay, as they believe that it is juvenile and strange hobby that wastes time and effort, and will cause them to neglect their studies. They warn the three to discontinue their involvement in cosplay or risk getting into deeper trouble with them. Royston, Violet, and Hao Ren are in a dilemma. In this competitive era with an education system that focuses on academic excellence, how will the younger generation find courage and confidence to hold on to their hopes and dreams when they are up against a society that values practicality over creativity?
Cast
Casting and crew
On 1 April 2015, during the press conference, it was announced that the film would be directed by Kelvin Sng, and would be projected to be released by November 2015. However, there had been delays in the post-production process, and Michael Woo and Joyce Lee were revealed as the new directors, with Lee also taking up the role of the producer.
Quan Yi Fong was cast as Royston's mother, which was her first major role since starring in 12 Storeys in 1997, and said that she "had a shock" when she heard about her role, according to an interview with The Straits Times. Gurmit Singh, who had usually been cast in comedic roles, found it a "challenge" playing the role of Mr Boo, a strict discipline master.
Filming
Filming started on 15 April 2015, with a production budget of S$1.2 million.
Music
The theme song for Young & Fabulous, entitled "3 2 1 Go!", is composed by Namewee, and sung by Joyce Chu. Its music video was uploaded onto YouTube on 11 April 2016.
Critical reception
Yip Wai Yee of The Straits Times rated Young & Fabulous a 2.5 out of 5 stars, feeling that "it is actually the older actors here who make any sort of impression", while the younger actors were mostly "hammy and over-the-top", and "most of them have clearly been handpicked just because they have social media clout".
Marcus Goh of Yahoo Movies rated Young & Fabulous a 2.0/5, as "it lacks authenticity in its approach to the topic, and tries to make up for this by tossing in other genres to fill the gaps".
Box office
Young & Fabulous managed to earn S$372,000 in five days.