"Young People" Chinese Theatrical Poster
Director: Chang Cheh
Cast: David Chiang, Ti Lung, Chen Kuan Tai, Agnes Chen Mei-Ling (Agnes Chan Mei Ling), Irene Chen I-Ling (Chan Yi Ling), Bolo Yeung (Yang Sze), Yen Shi Kwan
Running Time: 118 min.
By Mighty Peking Man
Young People is a story of active college kids who are divided into three groups, with each one having a leader: David Chiang’s consists of musicians, singers and dancers. Ti Lung’s are basketball players. Chen Kuan Tai’s men practice kung fu.
They’re all from the same school, yet there’s still a sense of rivalry between the students. Ti Lung’s jocks and Chen Kuan Tai martial artists poke fun at David Chiang’s group for being into non-manly activities; Chen Kuan Tai has a beef with Ti Lung for stealing his girl (it’s fun to watch Irene Chen juggle all the guys around); David Chiang seems to be the cool cat of the bunch, who spends most of his time breaking up fights; and even though his forte is playing the drums, he tears it up when it comes to any activity, especially kung fu.
I don’t know how Chang Cheh did it, but he managed to make an enjoyable movie with no deaths, no blood, and a limited amount of PG-rated brawls. Mind you, I walked into Young People knowing it was a non-action movie based more on a friendly plot about competitive, fun-loving college kids. I just never realized I’d end up liking it as much as I did. In fact, I can honestly say that it was much more enjoyable than your average Shaw Brothers basher. But who knows? Maybe I just needed a break from watching a bunch of guys killing eachother.
Young People is cornball movie making at its finest. The comedy isn’t smart. The story is nothing intriging or original. Expect a lot of dated music (some of it’s in English). With all this said – and I know it doesn’t make much sense – Young People is interesting throughout it’s 90-minute duration. It’s kind of like watching an episode of some cheesy 1970’s TV show: it’s outdated, it’s far-fetched, but for some reason, you just keep on watching it.
If there’s anything truly negative to be said, there are a couple of draggy segments. One is an overlong basketball game (we only needed a few minutes of it, not 15 or whatever it was). Also, there are a couple of numbers performed by Agnes Chan that seem to go on forever. Depending on your taste (or mental stability), these scenes may knock off the film’s nice pace.
No biggie though.
Besides, where else you gonna see Ti Lung and Bolo play basketball? Where else are you going to hear Agnes Chan perform a cheesy cover of James Taylor’s “You’ve Got A friend”?
Need a break from the usual Chang Cheh flick? Give Young People a try.
Mighty Peking Man’s Rating: 7/10
