Go Lala Go! – Review

Go Lala Go is by no means a bad film, but as a romcom, it does fall a bit short. It’s based on the pursuit of materialism and has no sense of any real Chinese culture. Go Lala Go! is about promotion hungry corporate trash, and it’s pure popcorn fluff, hyper-kinetic and full of fashionable costuming, hairstyles, and product placement. Now, if you are OK with that then this might just be the light hearted popcorn film you’ve been waiting for.

Go Lala Go is trying to absorb all the trademarks of a typical Hollywood chick flick. There are some decent comedic bits, Xu possessing a courageous inclination for the self-deprecating, and some of the love geometry is OK, but it’s all stirred in very quickly, giving the sense that it’s not important. Character development lacked, well, developing. I didn’t really feel like I got to know any of the supporting characters. Because of this, when something happened with a supporting character you are left feeling confused as to why you care and what this has to do with the main story. It is easy to jump to the conclusion, after seeing the movie, that Du Lala gets promoted only because she “knows” the boss and her peers are a bunch of fools.

If I didn’t know better, I would assume that everyone working in a corporate office in China drank Lipton tea while talking on a Nokia phone and emailing on their Lenovo. As a result, Go Lala Go never really challenges or makes any notable statements, and it stands as a perfectly entertaining piece of fluff.  This film is clearly designed to send young urban Chinese consumers into a shopping frenzy, as prominent product placement is to the point of overkill. The most grim example comes when Du Lala and her boyfriend Wang Wei (Stanley Huang) are on the verge of a break-up, bringing a fresh twist to the story. Then, all of a sudden, the camera quite intentionally zooms out to show viewers an advertisement posted on wall.

The film never really hits any truly convincing emotional notes, but it does contain some good moments here and there.  However, the film overstays its welcome even at just under 100 minutes by cramming in too much into too little time. Xu also fails to overcome the biggest challenge of directing herself, giving a mediocre performance that doesn’t leave much of an impression on the audience. It’s a real shame that this movie wasn’t incredible becuase I went into this film with huge expectations and it isn’t very often I review romantic romcoms on the site. Anywho, if this is your cup of tea you could do a whole lot worse, so check it out on a rainy afternoon.