Everybody loves something about Hong Kong: be it the cha chan teng (tea stall), its shopping streets, or TVB dramas, the small city-state does have much to offer. But the same cannot be said about their film industry, which has generally been on a state of decline. For every Wong Kar Wai or Jackie Chan, there has to be one Edison Chen. Hence, the only solution is probably to assemble a stellar cast and tackle a taboo topic, not forgetting to include some laugh-a-minute slapstick.
Those ingredients come together to form I Love Hong Kong 2012.
The affable Eric Tsang produces and stars as a henpecked husband to his over-controlling lawyer wife, played by Teresa Mo. In another male-subservient role, TVB hunk Bosco Wong plays an effeminate supermarket promoter, who has decided to marry his tomboyish store manager girlfriend (Denise Ho) who claims to be pregnant.
Joined by Hong Kong screen veteran Stanley Fung and crooner William So, the boisterous cast breathes considerable life into a staggered screenplay, which attempts to handle heavy issues like capitalism and the 2012-speculated Armageddon, amidst common themes of family ties and couples' relationship.
The result becomes a bundle of hits and misses. So's villainous portrayal - complete with leather-wearing flamboyant bodyguards - is campy at best, while Fung's earnest weather man coupled with Siu Yam-yam's wacky character produces one of the funniest spoofs of a certain 2011 Taiwanese romance flick. Eric Tsang and Teresa Mo's role-playing, madcap sex life also stems from the recent slew of Marvel superhero movies, a timely depiction of the state of consumerism in our lives.
A non-related sequel to the original I Love Hong Kong (2011), this film falls in line with other inane festive comedies like the All's Well, Ends Well series, but that's not to say it isn't without its charming moments. Like a fluffy bo lo bao (pineapple bun) during an afternoon tea, it is sweet while it lasts, but probably forgettable after awhile. |