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Review
by Kozo: |
Sometimes
Mei Ah Entertainment should have a little more faith
in their product. One of their latest DVDs, the Matt
Chow written-and-directed Itchy Heart, is an
amiable relationship comedy which doesn't scream huge
surprises. This is a rather predictable film, full
of obvious setups and twists which would only be a
surprise to the viewer if A) they're not really paying
attention, or B) they didn't read the English-language
marketing copy on the back of the DVD. Someone has
to take the marketing gurus at Mei Ah Entertainment
aside and give them a sound beating; the copy on the
back gives away the whole plot, leaving any and all
enjoyment with the film to the journey and not the
outcome. Thankfully it worked out; despite being only
better-than-average fluff, the film provides characters
and situations that manage to entertain.
Lau Ching-Wan is Poon
Chi-Man, a golfing range manager who's suddenly discovered
the seven-year itch. His marriage to the stunningly
gorgeous Coco Chiang has gone cold, so when she leaves
town for a solo vacation, Chi-Man is excited as all
hell. He ends up hitting a party at the behest of
his younger, hipper cousin (Lawrence Chou in a cameo),
but his older, squarer ways are firmly out of fashion
with the navel-baring young things who catch his eye.
Still, he finds an instant attraction to Cherry (the
increasingly welcome Cherrie Ying), a free-spirited
young thing who apparently digs older guys with hangdog
looks. Apparently, she doesn't mind being lied to
either, as Chi-Man does all sorts of obviously transparent
stuff to earn her respect and affection. She sees
through his act, but gains affection for him anyway.
Aren't girls in the movies simply awesome?
It pours when it rains;
in addition to finding a new buddy in Cherry, Chi-Man
runs into his ex-girlfriend Bing (Carina Lau), who's
now a successful businesswoman with a string of clubs,
restaurants and stores. She's also involved with her
personal trainer Will (Andy On of Black Mask 2),
but it's apparent that Bing wears the pants in that
relationship. The younger guy hangs on her every word
and pouts like a kid when she starts to show renewed
interest in the still somewhat pathetic Chi-Man. The
rekindled friendship between the two ex-lovers is
both a fortuitous and painful thing. Now older, the
two are wiser for the years, but there's pain associated
with their former life together. Some of Chi-Man's
parting words had a great affect on Bing, and it's
only now that he comes to realize this. Pretty soon,
Chi-Man, Cherry, Bing and Will form an odd foursome
of potential lovers and ex-lovers, and the time they
spend together is enough to give Chi-Man some food
for thought on his own life. Faced with a personal
crossroads, the choices—and potential surprises—only
get tougher for Chi-Man.
Director Matt Chow
previously made such disposable cinematic works as
Let's Sing Along, PR Girls, and most
distressingly, L-O-V-E....Love. Thankfully, Itchy Heart departs from those films by managing
a decent mix of cloying romance, likable characters,
and obvious theorizing on a thirty-something year-old
man's experiences with love and marriage. The love
and marriage part is handled with the usual Hong Kong
yuppie storytelling tactics of elliptical closure
and easy platitudes, but thankfully Chow finds less
typical ways to impact his characters' lives. Instead
of obvious grand romantic gestures and too-quick realizations
of what a person wants, the big affectors turn out
to be time and slow maturation. Despite his sometimes
unsympathetic behavior, Chi-Man is a likable man with
human foibles, and watching his minor personal journey
is decent fun. The platitudes doled out aren't that
new or interesting, but at least they seem to make
sense for the characters.
That is, when the characters
actually make sense. Chi-Man does make sense, though
that's partially because he's portayed by ace actor
Lau Ching-Wan, who makes Chi-Man a dorky, lovable
lout. Bing is likably mature and attractive, and Carina
Lau brings her usual potent screen charisma to the
character. Hunk Andy On fares less well as Will, as
he's not given much to do besides pout and show off
his buffed physique. Cherry is an even more problematic
character since she's an obvious stock type, i.e.
the free-spirited young girl who teaches her elders
how to better manage their insecurities and past failures.
She's also the fantasy of every male above the age
of thirty-five, and a character which should earn
Matt Chow (who also wrote the script) a "tsk
tsk" from those who frown on May-December romances.
Still, Cherrie Ying brings a charming energy and youthful
sexiness to the character which goes a long way towards
making her seem real. The character doesn't entirely
convince, but that's no fault of Ying, whose burgeoning
screen charm has never been less in doubt.
The likable stars are
the primary reason Itchy Heart manages to entertain,
as the situations and plot details are sometimes a
little too cloying to really work. The past romance
of Chi-Man and Bing is fleshed out via copious flashbacks,
many involving the purchasing of female undergarments
and the procreation of their respective pets. While
some thoughtful exchanges do occur as a result, there
are also obvious plot devices which are only clever
if you haven't seen more than three movies. On their
own, the plot and story of Itchy Heart aren't
much more than moderately interesting stuff, but combined
with the actors and Chow's comparatively restrained
direction, the film turns out to be likable commercial
enterprise. Given Chow's past filmography, as well
as contemporary romantic clunkers like Sex and
the Beauties, Itchy Heart qualifies as
a nice little surprise. (Kozo 2004) |
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