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Review
by Kozo: |
This BOB production from Wong Jing enlists the aid of writer-director
James Yuen Sai-Sang for a satisfying twist on the UFO movie.
Tony Leung is Cheung Suk-Wai, a famous image designer who
finds love a minefield. His curse: to create female media
idols and fall in love with them - only to be dumped when
they become more famous than he. His newest project is cute
mainlander Ah Yu (Vivian Hsu), who he resists before succumbing
to. He simultaneously becomes attracted to his strict new
boss Vivian (Ada Choi), who is rumored to be a lesbian. Meanwhile,
best pal Patrick (Alex Fong) finds himself questioning his
player lifestyle when he falls for his longtime friend Mei
(Suki Kwan).
As is typical with these sitcom UFO
set-ups, the plot gets resolved with wit, insight, and plentiful
metaphor. This is a well-written and well-acted piece of HK
entertainment that is reminiscent of Yuen’s past scripts,
as well as the work of US auteur Woody Allen. In particular,
the film seems to share a link to the 1993 UFO film Tom,
Dick, and Hairy. Both films deal with the male experience
of romance, and both films leave their issues fully explored
but ultimately ambiguous. It’s refreshing to find a well-written
commercial HK film that’s as thoroughly enjoyable as this
one.
After too many seemingly dour
roles, Tony Leung rebounds with an inspired comic performance.
Equally good is Alex Fong, who shows range as the pathetically
likable Patrick. On the other hand, Vivian Hsu’s performance
hurts the film, though it may be a fault of her idealized
character, which is an otaku's pin-up girl fantasy. More credit
should be given to Ada Choi, who gives her difficult character
emotional depth - to the point where we feel she deserves
better. There really are no easy answers in this film, which
is odd because it’s essentially a fluffy comedy. (Kozo
1998) |
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