R E V I E W

Love Me, Love My Money

China Star. 2001. 99 minutes.
Directed by Wong Jing
Written by Wong Jing

With Tony Leung, Shu Qi

B A C K G R O U N D
director, in cinemas, recent and related films

This was the third film directed by the prolific Wong Jing in the year 2001. The two others were Everyday is Valentine and My School Mate, the Barbarian.

The film opened in Hong Kong cinemas in October 2001 and grossed a very modest HK $4.67 million.

Wong Jing has reportedly accepted a position as an executive at Celestial Pictures and will be cutting back on his work as a director.

M O V I E

plot
Richard Ma is a rich man who has earned the nickname "Bastard." He is ruthlessly stingy both with his business and with his girlfriends (a long string of gold-diggers). Can he find a woman who loves him and not just his money?

performances
The star power of Tony Leung as Richard and Shu Qi as Choi combined is barely able to push this film past the finish line. They make the most of their roles, but there's not much to work with.

Teresa Mak Ga Kei is very attractive as Choi's friend and fellow broker Chloroform, Wong Yat Fei is very funny as Choi's father, and Angie Cheung Wai Yee plays a seductive psychiatrist.

production
As with the underwritten My School Mate, the Barbarian, Wong Jing's latest suffers from an anemic script. Moments of inspiration are stranded between long stretches of tepid storytelling -- if you can call the bare sketches of situations a story. The actors try hard to bring life to the proceedings, but the individual episodes could be edited down to about 15 minutes without any great loss. The result would be much more satisfying.

The original music by Chan Kwong Wing (The Storm Riders, Bullets of Love) may be the most appealing aspect of the film. Art director Chong Kwok Wing (The Lovers, King of Comedy) also does well in dressing up the office and residential interiors.

Director of photography Dick Tung Wai Keung turns in another undistinguished job. It's his second film as cinematographer after My School Mate, the Barbarian, and this one doesn't look much better. Could this be the look that director Wong Jing desired? The film was edited by Hai Kit Wai (Shaolin Soccer).

rating
Category IIB. Some profanity and sexual talk.

D V D

look
The letterboxed (1.78:1) presentation looks fairly good, with deep black levels. The colors are saturated without being vibrant; the overall look of the film is overcast. The source print is in good condition.

sound
The Cantonese DD 2.0 (stereo) soundtrack is fine. The film is dialogue-driven. Also included is a Mandarin DD 2.0 track.

subtitles
The white removable English subtitles are a major disappointment. The first sentence of many lines are simply missing, It's not that you can't figure out the gist of the dialogue, it's just very irritating. Also included are Chinese subtitles.

features
Twelve chapters can be selected from a three-page video capture menu. "Film Data" contains brief information about the characters, cast and crew (filmographies for Tony Leung, Shu Qi, and Wong Jing), and a synopsis.

R E C O M M E N D A T I O N
buy, rent, or pass?

Rent. Low priority. Much unfulfilled potential makes for less-than-compelling viewing.

(Reviewed January 17, 2002)

THIS DVD IS AVAILABLE AT HKFLIX.COM