Sometimes critically-acclaimed director Clifton Ko brings us this shameless rip-off of Masakazu Katsura's popular manga "Video Girl Ai." Veronica Yip is the Ai stand-in, a "Laser Lady" named Siu-Yuk. She and her other Laser Ladies exist only to comfort the broken-hearted. In this case, the beneficiary is Tin (Alfred Cheung), a dorky lifeguard who lusts after the pure, lovely Lisa (pure, lovely popsinger Vivian Chow). Sadly, she has eyes for a gorgeous bohunk named Zeniger (?), played with dubbed machismo by "Vanishing Son" Russell Wong. Siu-Yuk arrives to comfort Tin, and resolves to help him win Lisa's love. Not surprisingly, she breaks the Laser Lady commandment, which is not to fall in love with her subject. You'd think that would be easy since the subject is Alfred Cheung, but since this is a movie Siu-Yuk falls head-over-heels for dork-supreme Tin. Will Tin decide to ditch the virginal Lisa for the much more emphatically-endowed Siu-Yuk? And can a Laser Lady love? And will Max Mok, who plays horny lifeguard Chung, ever live down this pathetic performance?
     Despite stealing some scenes lock, stock and barrel from the "Video Girl Ai" manga, Summer Lovers does not accomplish anything the manga did. While chockful of shameless fan service, "Video Girl Ai" managed some affecting touchy-feely stuff which was able to charm scores of teen (and post-teen) boys worldwide. Summer Lovers doesn't get any of the touchy-feely stuff right, and instead combats with the questionably sympathetic antics of Alfred Cheung, who looks way too old for his role. He's a convincing dork, but not a good enough actor to really make you care for him. At the very least, Veronica Yip and Loletta Lee (as Laser Lady Jane) make fantastic eye candy for heterosexual males out there. Those who enjoy male eye candy have to make do with Alfred Cheung, who as far as I know is low on the physical admiration scale. Russell Wong barely appears in the film, so a brief eyeful of his bulging biceps is all you'll get.
     That leaves us with Max Mok. Summer Lovers derives most of its lowbrow comedy from Mok's performance, and the effect is actually pretty funny for those in the know. Mok gets it on with Laser Lady Jane in a series of bizarre and quite funny movie parodies, which skewer everything from Stanley Kwan's Rouge to The Lover. Loletta Lee slinks around wearing almost nothing in those scenes, and Mok's overdone comedic hijinks are pathetic and guiltily amusing. He doesn't come off looking good after this film, but at least he suffers the comic embarrassment admirably. Mok and Lee's sequences are probably the best thing about this film, as the actual romance between Veronica Yip and Alfred Cheung is as exciting as breaking your hip. Keep your expectations glued to the floor if you see Summer Lovers. If you can manage that, you may be able to escape without any lasting self-hatred. (Kozo 2003)