Gone Shopping, if I remember correctly, had little to zero promotion when it was scheduled for release in local cinemas compared to Royston Tan and Jack Neo’s films. This is a pity because as far as local films go, Gone Shopping is a little nugget hidden by the muck of other locally-produced movies (yes, they were bad). Calling it a gem would be a stretch, because the film is still a victim of incredibly stiff acting, but it does not go out of its way to prove a point and doesn’t look like it was made from a huge budget (if any at all). Yet you feel the sincerity and heart of its cast and crew. The effort is apparent, and what I liked best was its humble presentation – no bigger than thou, starring-the-best-current-actors gimmick to trick you into watching. In fact, casting Kym Ng is perhaps the biggest mistake in the film, since she plays a character not unlike the one she portrays in the TV series “First Mum”. The other familiar face you’ll see is Adrian Pang, and this film would have done well resting on his shoulders alone. Known for his “funnyman” antics, Pang keeps the humour subtle here, and too easily steals the movie with his natural and unexaggerated flair for acting. Too bad he’s been allocated a pathetic amount of screen time.
To add insult to injury, Ng plays the lead character Clara, a ‘tai tai’ in the midst of a mid life crisis. Out of love with her husband who may or may not be having an affair, she seeks refuge in a huge shopping center. Here, she crosses paths with the other supporting characters; a couple of cos-players, a neglected child, and a salesman she fancies. You know immediately something’s not right because these characters get more colourful as the story progresses, in contrast to Clara, who has no problem fading into her mundane one-dimensional life.
Gone Shopping has a cast to complement each racial group in Singapore (except Eurasians), and deserves a pat on the back for its multi-lingual approach to its dialogue. But while everyone is happy not to put on an accent for their English dialogue, the same can’t be said for Ng, who also has about the same facial cues as a wallflower. Obviously no match for Adrian Pang, any on-screen chemistry between them is immediately estinguished the moment she steps into frame.
Still, Gone Shopping is a gutsy offering. Its NC-16 rating is not without reason; there is an insane amount of vulgarity for a local production, a less than straight character, and an intimate scene (if you can call it that). Sonya Nair, who plays the neglected eight-year old, also gives Pang a run for his money with her expressive and natural performance. I wouldn’t call this a letdown since this wasn’t hyped enough to give anyone any reason to look forward to, but if it hadn’t starred Kym Ng, Gone Shopping would have been a pleasant surprise.
