Background
The film was released theatrically in
Hong Kong in late September 2000.
Foreground
Three dancers (who are neighbors in an
apartment complex) are introduced with three different solutions to their
love problems. Sau (Grace Yip Pui Man) is desperately annoying,
constantly crying and helpless without her man. Her best friend Fong
Fong (Annie Wu Chen-Chun) is desperately hungry for sex from her bored
husband. Newly arrived Sean (Perry Chiu Woon) is not desperate at
all; she's happy to take on any and all lovers.
Here are the problems as I saw
them: as a comedy, it's not funny. As a romance, it lacks
charm and heart. None of the characters engender sympathy or
interest; quite the opposite, they actively annoy and irritate. This
includes Sean, who appears calm and confident but is too much of a
nymphomaniac to be believable. Looking on the bright side, the three
lead female performers are attractive and it only lasts 93 minutes.
Director Clifton Ko Chi-Sum failed to
elicit any heat from the performers. Screenwriter Erica Li (Lee Man)
cooked up a boring stew out of potentially interesting ingredients.
The photography (Jose Chan) may have been pretty on the big screen but on
the little screen it looks flatly lit. The musical score is
forgotten once the final credits roll.
The film is rated Category IIB.
Sexual matters are discussed frequently and sometimes explicitly.
Several bedroom scenes are depicted with naked backs, etc.
DVD: look, sound, and features
Another hazy presentation by Mei Ah that
looks washed out. Is it a reflection of the original photography or
the mastering? I don't know. Few
imperfections are noticeable in the source print.
Both Dolby 2.0 and 5.1 Cantonese and Mandarin audio tracks are provided.
I listened to the Cantonese 5.1 track and it sounded excellent. Traditional and simplified
Chinese removable subtitles are provided in addition to English; the English titles
are large, white, easy to read, well-timed with few mistakes.
Nine chapters are provided with
no time coding. The
"data bank" contains a cast and crew listing and the synopsis
from the back of the disk. The "best buy" consists of
trailers for A War Named Desire (intriguing) and HelpIII (which
makes it look more like an action film rather than the medical comedy it
is).
Buy, rent, or pass?
Pass. A waste of time.
(Reviewed 12/23/00)
