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Home | Upcoming | Reviews | In Cinemas | Links | Features | Editorials | Search R E V I E W My Wife is 18 (2002) James Yuen gained a measure of fame as the scriptwriter for a series of comedies about young people in the 1990's. He began his career as a director in 1997. The film opened at the end of September 2002 and enjoyed a run of more than a month in Hong Kong cinemas, grossing a total of HK$7.2 million. MOVIE Plot: Cheung (Ekin Cheng) faces a nightmare. After eight years of graduate school in Britain, his thesis is rejected by the university review board. The all-female committee dismiss his work as completely ignorant of its subject matter - women. His advisor (Richard Ng) tells him he should get married. His aged grandmother would like nothing less. In fact, she is trying to arrange a match for the 30-year-old Cheung with Yoyo (Charlene Choi), an 18-year-old girl who has been attending school in Hong Kong. Yoyo's parents are in agreement, but the girl is not quite convinced. We've already seen her throwing a temper tantrum at the Hong Kong airport to try and secure an upgrade for her flight to London; she looks and acts quite immature. She bumps into Cheung on the street. Cheung has just been dumped by his long-time girlfriend. Considering his mood, he's very open to the idea of marriage when Yoyo proposes to him. They agree that they will remain married for just one year and that the arrangement is simply a convenience. Yoyo merrily returns to Hong Kong. She is shocked when Cheung shows up shortly thereafter. His grandmother has died, and he feels a need to discover his roots - and maybe do some research for his thesis. He moves into her apartment and gets a job as a teacher at her all girls' school, to the delight of the students and, especially, Miss Lee (Bernice Liu), a young and single physical education teacher. Of course, Cheung and Yoyo must keep their marriage a secret, even while Cheung fends off the affections of Miss Lee, and Yoyo plays the field. Performances: Charlene Choi covers a broad range of emotions and is entirely convincing. Ekin Cheng does fine in a low-key role. Newcomer Bernice Liu makes an attractive impression as the sweet P.E. teacher. Stephanie Che plays Miss Lau, a stern disciplinarian at school, carrying on a secret affair with a married man. Ronald Cheng Chung-Kei plays her verbally abusive paramour. Other cast members include Patrick Tang Kin-Won and May Lai Shu-Wai. Production: Director James Yuen makes a partial comeback after his previous effort, the dismal Every Dog Has His Date. What works surprisingly well is the chemistry between Charlene Choi and Ekin Cheng. They generate a pleasant, slowly warming friction. Their scenes of shared intimacy - playful with a touch of vulnerability - felt keenly realistic. What doesn't work so well is the script. Too many characters are casually introduced and then dropped entirely. The sub-plots distract from the main relationships in the love triangle. If the focus had remained on the comedic aspects of the situation, or if the sub-plots provided humorous relief, that would have been fine. As it is, too few ideas are stretched too thin to stand up to close dramatic scrutiny - which is where the story heads off. Still, it's a refreshing idea to get the "older man/younger woman" issue out in the open. Your reaction to the film as a whole will probably reflect your own feelings about this type of relationship. Rating: Category IIB. Sexual innuendo and implied nudity. DVD Look: Very attractive. The letterboxed presentation looks good on a smaller television. Sound: Good. The Cantonese DD 5.1 audio track is never used to maxiumum effect, but that's not a problem, in view of the subject matter. The Mandarin audio track is presented in DD 2.0. Subtitles: Fine. The white removable English subtitles are well timed. A number of translation errors appear - most demonstrating confusion over the proper tense. Traditional and simplified Chinese subtitles are also provided. Features: Eight chapters can be selected from a video capture menu. The original theatrical trailer is included, as are trailers for Frugal Game, If U Care, and Just One Look. The unsubtitled "making of" feature includes seven minutes of interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. More than six minutes of deleted scenes, without subtitles, are available. Filmographies are provided for Ekin Cheng, Charlene Choi, and James Yuen. RECOMMENDATION
My view is that it's an eminently winning entertainment with a pleasant after-taste. As a word of warning, however, most other reviews have dismissed the film as unworthy.
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