奇緣灰姑娘

Lily He, Six-One Production Limited, Hui Siu-Ning, Fire Lee

Ronald Cheng Chung-Kei, Annie Liu, Sammy, Joel Chan San-Chung, Cheng Tse-Sing, Otto Wong Chi-On, Chau Yuet-Sum, Macy Chan Mei-Si, Amy Tam, Suzan, Yuri Chan, Ashton Yip

No, Grey Met Shrek is not about a meeting between Liam Neeson and an animated ogre voiced by Mike Myers. Instead, this unheralded romcom is about a petty thief named Shrek (Ronald Cheng) and a Taiwan immigrant named Grey (Annie Liu), and how the two find love in a single day while committing crimes around Hong Kong. The two meet when Shrek steals a minivan full of shoes, only to have Grey suddenly jump into the passenger seat. Grey is on the run because she stole a nice pair of glittery heels – so hey, Grey and Shrek have something in common! Each initially doesn’t know that the other is a thief, but they inexplicably stay together to do things like pick up Shrek’s son Dick (Ashton Yip) and stick it to Grey’s ex-boyfriend (Joel Chan) by hitting him a few times with a bottle. These hilarious (?) escapades don’t go unnoticed; a coughing cop (Sammy Leung) is soon on their trail, and through solid investigation and frequent overreaction a platoon of cops is set upon Grey and Shrek. Will they fall in love or go to jail first?

Grey Met Shrek is packed with cloying fairy tale references. Besides the glittery slippers and character names (Shrek, duh, plus the Chinese character for “Grey” is the same as the first character in “Cinderella”), there’s a CGI moment where the heavens light up, all to celebrate our heroes’ long-awaited romantic connection. This is a sentimental but also overblown way to present what’s basically a simple offbeat romance, and the film doesn’t succeed at making itself into something worthy of Disneyfication. Direction is unremarkable, with occasional odd and artsy flourishes that add little to the proceedings. Acting is so-so; Ronald Cheng is fine and Annie Liu is as uneven as her character’s moods, while Sammy takes himself too seriously. Perhaps the film could have used a darker, more serious situation to make the romance more compelling. As is, and accounting for the low budget and B-list casting, this is an OK but needless trifle that’s really only suitable for Ronald Cheng and Annie Liu’s super fans, plus the subset that loves them both. If you know of such people, please inform them of Grey Met Shrek. (Kozo, 6/2015)