First Love Unlimited (1997)



	First Love Unlimited		Return to Review Archive - F
	Year:	1997	First lovers Gigi Leung and Daniel Chan
	Director:	Joe Ma Wai-Ho
	Producer:	Shu Kei
	Cast:	Daniel Chan Hiu-Tung, Gigi Leung Wing-Kei, Stephen Fung Tak-Lun, Ricky Hui Koon-Ying, Wyman Wong Wai-Man, Joyce Chan Yin-Hang, Tina Lau Tin-Lan, Vincent Kok Tak-Chiu, Matt Chow Hoi-Kwong
	The Skinny:	Only the lack of roses in every frame prevent this teen romance from being a live action Shojo Manga.
	Review by Kozo:	The real title of this film: Shojo Manga Comes Alive! Daniel Chan is a poor boy who romances his near-physical twin, the rich Gigi Leung. Sure they’re mismatched in income and pedigree, but damn they’re the most physically matched couple ever seen in HK Cinema. Has there ever been two people who looked more like they jumped out of an episode of Here is Greenwood? First Love Unlimited delves into the trials and tribulations of first love, but not without a bunch of useless hijinks plaguing the way. The couple in question meet, but must bear the burden of their disparate lives. At first Daniel lies to cover his financial inadequacies, but Gigi forgives him. Gigi’s mom (Tina Lau) doesn’t, which leads to bigger problems and a lack of understanding that threatens to destroy the fabric of their young, love-obsessed lives. Can the two overcome all this garbage? Yes, but no. But yes, anyway. See the movie to understand what I’m talking about. The film is way too heavy in its “must hold you” teen love crap. There is a certain affecting quality to the emotional nakedness the film portrays; at times it manages to effectively capture the pain and excitement of first love. Still, more often than not it’s sap city. Joe Ma provides the same sort of musings about love that he fired upon us in the Feel 100% series and The Golden Girls. However, the most seemingly fluffy and inconsequential of them all, The Golden Girls, was by far the most charming, intelligent, and accomplished. In his subsequent pictures he’s leaned towards an almost literal, explicit dissertation of love and the result is something that seems more mechanical and forced than ever. As the couple, Daniel Chan and Gigi Leung are attractive and even charming at times. At other times, their vapid acting only exposes the ultimate shallowness of the script. This film isn’t fluff, it’s mist. (Kozo 1997)
	Availability:	DVD (Hong Kong) Region 0 NTSC Mei Ah Laser Widescreen Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks Removable English and Chinese Subtitles

		image courtesy of Mei Ah Laser Disc Co., Ltd.
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