Genre: Drama/Comedy
Director: Law Wing-cheong
Starring: Eason Chan, Miriam Yeung
RunTime: 1 hr 37 mins
Released By: Shaw
Rating: PG
Official Website: www.hookedonyouthemovie.com

Opening Day: 28 June 2007

Synopsis:

It is the summer of 1997, 27-year old Miu starts working as a fishmonger at Fortune Market to pay the heavy debts of her philandering father. She sets a 3-year plan for herself: before she turns 30, she shall clear her father’s debts, leave the wet market, find a man worthy of her and break the spell of her bad karma.

No sooner has she set foot on the Markey than she finds herself at loggerheads with Mr Fish in neighboring stall. A fierce battle of survival is unleashed, only to turn into a mutual entente when the existence of Fortune Market is jeopardized by the aggressive emergence of supermarket mega-stores. Their camaraderie has blossomed into deeper feelings for each other, an unanticipated development that Miu is not ready to embrace.

After years of shunning love, Miu finally comes to an epiphany: criteria, identities and deadlines have no significance ultimately, what truly matters is finding this special someone whom you love and treasure…


Movie Review:

Everyone have their own set of criteria for their desired partner.

Can’t be too fat, can’t be too short, can’t be inspired to settle for a job as a restaurant manager in a fast food chain as lifelong occupation and so the list goes on and on.

What if one day, you met someone who you are unexplainably emotionally attached to but fate would to have it, this person fails the most important criteria for your standard for a mate?

That what happens to Miu (Miriam Yeung), a hardworking lady with her own aspiration in life but somehow, life has other plan for her. Her number one criteria for her ideal man was that he cannot be in a hawker or market vendor’s trade. An understandable choice as she wishes to leave the difficult grinding lifestyle of working in a market and being a hawker’s wife or girlfriend would mean no escape from this hardship. Through different trials and tribulations that were thrown in her ways, one guy (Mr Fish, played by Eason Chan) stood by her all along and unconscientiously, she started to develop feelings for him that she wasn’t ready for.

Not exactly a new take in the difficult path that some lovers have to take (the first movie with a similar theme that came into mind was Comrades: Almost a Love Story) but this movie offers a few cinematic gold of it’s own.

First of all, the romance that bubbling between Mui and Mr Fish was subtly created in the midst of comedic situation. Hooked on You has just the right amount of nudge and pull that creates an endearing romance between the two leads, nothing too over the top or romantic events that are forced into your throat here. It boils down to capturing the moment without too much fanfare but skillfully leaving a memorable sting. Moments such as one hesitation could reveal much more about true feeling than the person is willing to tell. There’s just enough here to make the audience root for this couple to get together in the end.

A lot had to do with Miriam Yeung and Eason Chen’s personalities that they are already so well known for, in this delivery of their performance. Parts of Eason Chen’s charm lies in playing dejected character or characters that are carrying lots of emotional baggage and he utilized them well to make the audience feel for his anguish without the need for overly melodrama. Miriam Yeung on the other hand had proved that she could deliver from seriousness (watch: Three Extreme: Dumplings) to zaniness (watch: Love Undercover) and she impressed with a careful balance of those two extremities in this movie.

The supporting characters were stupendous too, especially Mui’s Dad that was played by Fung Shui Fan who had not been seen in the big screen for a extended period of time. His performance as an unremorseful gambler and lascivious dad brought back the memorable Hong Kong’s eighties nonsensical comedic humors (without the unnecessary crudeness). Together with the other supporting cast members such as David Lo, they help to paint a colorful background to this love story, making it even more endearing and memorable.

Another aspect that sparkles for this movie would be the splices of witty dialogue that would crack you up and after that, it will make you consider about the validity of what was said. One example would be funniest line would be from Mui’s Dad, “Those who engage the prostitute services are better than those who keep mistress”. As twisted as it might sound, it actually made some sense if you give it some serious thoughts to it.

Focusing on the nostalgia past was another highlight of the film. Once the film brought out the familiar face mask, one would quickly and easily remember how Sars had plagued and terrorized us. Or how the millennium bug was not what we thought it would be. It became amusing to catch what events will the filmmaker use to mark the passing of each year for Mui and Mr Fish’s relationship. This way of story telling through the backdrop of modernization also showcase how sometimes, while pursuing the ideal life, we neglect and discard away so many things that are good with the old.

Hooked on You is laced with lighthearted jokes and situation but it also unveils some of our darkest fears. It sprouts meaningful wisdom on life choices and yet amuse at the same time. It’s not a film without it’s fault (some cuts between scenes felt they were too quick and certain parts didn’t connect well) but it’s big on heart and that what matters most.

Movie Rating:



(This year’s most fluffy bittersweet romantic comedy from Hong Kong)

Review by Richard Lim Jr