Teenage Dreamers (1982) was a romantic comedy that was produced by the Shaw Brothers during the waning days of their production period. A change in the direction of the company was needed so they decided to enter the fray of making films geared towards a younger audience. Chou Hsiu-Lan plays Ting-Ting, a teenage girl who's starting to get interested in love and romance. Teenage pop star Rowena Cortes co-stars as Shan-Shan one of her best friends, she's a rich girl who has a streak of larceny within her (she also sings about half the songs on the soundtrack and performers a musical number on the beach). Rising pop star Leslie Cheung also co-stars as Jackson Chen a student who's directing the school production of Romero and Juliet. During the pre-production, Ting-Ting develops a crush on Jackson. Will it lead into romance?
Essentially this is a vehicle for the young stars Leslie Cheung and Chou Hsiu-Lan. The producers also capitalize on the popularity of Rowena Cortes. Leslie Cheung also performs several songs on the soundtrack as well. If you love sappy melodramatic teen films, then this one's definitely for you. A tale about a coming of age for young teenage girls who find out the meaning of true love and the disappointments one learns. A recommended if you're a fan of Leslie Cheung and Rowena Cortes (check out her earlier star vehicle Follow The Star). Watch out, Rowena's songs are very catchy!!
Highly recommended.
