Energetic 21 (1982) | Hong Kong Movie World review- Leslie Cheung, Eddie Chan

Energetic 21 (1982)

| Lo Wei Motion Picture Co., Ltd. |

Cast: Leslie Cheung, Eddie Chan, Louie Castro, Paul Chung, Rowena Cortes,

Dion Lam, Chien Yuet Sang, Fung Fung, Helena Law Lan, Kwan Hoi San

Director: Chan Chuen

Genre: Drama

Hello and welcome to what is probably the first ever English review of ENERGETIC 21,

a mediocre youth drama starring Leslie Cheung and some other people.

The movie is about a group of 7 friends and the tribulations of young adulthood

(presumably, they're all about the age of 21, but don't come across as all that

energetic). Leslie Cheung plays a James Dean type- cool, aloof, affluent, and

pissed off at his divorced mother, who works as a high class call girl

for rich gwailos.

Eddie Chan (Ngai Dik) is an auto mechanic who lives with his old man (Fung Fung).

Paul Chung plays a rich kid (his parents are Law Lan and Kwan Hoi San), Rowena

Cortes is another spoiled brat who has a crush on Leslie, who isn't interested.

Louie Castro plays a nerdy guy who likes Rowena, they begin dating.

Anyway, it's hard to see where all this is going, until a certain scene. The gang

has a traffic run in with an obnoxious gwailo, the argument comes to blows, and

they end up accidentally beating him to death. It's night time and there are no

witnessess, so they flee the scene and keep it a secret among themselves. Soon,

the cops come sniffing around, and they find themselves on the run. The tragic

and dramatic climax takes place in a crowded HK grocery store, where they end

up taking hostages, and Louie Castro's character, the nerd of the group,

completely flips out and goes insane.

Leslie Cheung may be top billed, but he really is part of an ensemble cast and

is not the major focus, though his music is featured in the film. There are large

segments devoted to Chien Yuet Sang's comedic role as an auto mechanic

who is also a practicioner of the black arts, for example.

Energetic 21 show Leslie in a rebel youth role, looking smooth and dangerous. It

would be years before he could utilize these qualities in a worthy film.

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