Look for a Star is a romantic comedy starring Andy Lau and Shu Qi. The movie is inspired by the relationship between Macao casino tycoon Stanley Ho and his fourth wife, Angela Leong. Andy Lau plays a millionaire who falls in love with a bubbly casino dealer played by Shu Qi.
SPOILER WARNING: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Andy Lau and Shu Qi in "Look for a Star"
Sam Ching (Andy Lau) is a business tycoon who owns a number of business (just like Stanley Ho). Sam is admired by the rich but despised by the poor, including Milan Sit (Shu Qi) who works as a croupier in a casino and as a cabaret dancer to make ends meet.
Milan meets Sam but she thinks he’s just a poor gambler. From the way Sam dresses, he doesn’t at all look like a gambler or a poor man at all. Somehow, Milan has that perception Sam is even poorer than her and has lost all his money in the casino. Sam, inadvertently falls in love with Milan. While Milan shares her dreams with Sam, little does she knows Sam is the business tycoon who owns the casino she works at, the night club she dances at, and is a billionaire whom she hates as a child.
When Sam realizes he’s in love with Milan, he confesses to Milan his true identity. Fallen in love against all odds, this mismatched couple soon get married without realizing the consequences which will affect Sam’s business. Due to Milan’s background, the media and shareholders alike have strongly criticized Sam’s decision. In order to save the shareholders and investors, Sam’s mother has proposed to get Milan to sign a prenup agreement. Sam feels it is necessary without thinking about Milan’s feeling. Furthermore, Sam’s third ex-wife has taken one third of his asset when they divorced. Sam’s action has strongly caused an upset in Milan.
As Sam’s chauffeur, Tim (Lam Ka-Wah) and Secretary General, Jo (Denise Ho) both also have problems in confessing their love towards their partners, the three of them including Sam decide to join a Television show in order to confess their love to the world.
While the movie is quite predictable, there are scenes during the Television show which are quite emotional. Zhang Hanyu plays Lin Jiu, a general worker from Shandong who comes to Macao to make ends meet in contrast to Jo, only second to Sam in the huge conglomerate. It seems Lin Jiu and Jo’s love story easily overshadow Sam and Milan. Even Tim’s confession is more touching than Sam and Milan’s love.
The movie is shot mainly in Macao and the filming location is nothing less than spectacular. Macao is a beautiful country with colonial architectures and splendid hotels, casinos and night clubs.
Overall, it’s a good effort by director, Andrew Lau, even though Andy Lau and Shu Qi do not have the sparkle and do not seem to suit each other in a romance movie. Just like the movie, they are mismatched after all.
My ratings: 6 out of 10.
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3 comments ↓
I just watched it yesterday and I think it’s a very nice movie :) My ratings: 8.5/10. X)
[...] Look for a Star (2009) – Movie Review [...]
I just watched it. I also think it’s a 8.5/10 movie.
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