A Hearty Response

 
Director: Norman Law-man
Year: 1986
Rating: 6.0
The first 70-minutes of this 90-minute film is a sweet and gentle romantic comedy with Chow Yun Fat and Joey Wong meeting and slowly falling in love. It's all a very comforting little charmer that has you feeling pretty good about the world. Sometimes things get a bit rough and confusing, but love will solve everything. But this is a HK film - something that always has to be kept in mind - and sure enough - wham - the last twenty-minutes is like getting hit by a brick repeatedly over the head.  Did I really need to be waked up from this sleepy feeling - well probably.
 

Joey Wong is smuggled into HK from the Mainland, but the fellow who helps her tries to molest her and Joey hits him in the face with a bottle and escapes. She soon gets accidentally caught up in the middle of a police bust by Chow and his partner and in the melee gets a slight concussion. When she wakes in the hospital, she pretends to have lost her memory and starts calling Chow her husband. Feeling guilty for getting her hurt, Chow takes her home and lets her stay until she gets better. Chow's mother loves her right away - but his girlfriend doesn't exactly share the same feelings. Well, the girlfriend is a pain anyway - which the audience knows immediately but it takes Chow a while to figure this out. Why is it the movie audiences are so much smarter than the characters in the film ? We always know when two characters are meant for one another. If life could only be so easy.
 

Sure enough, having Joey around eventually leads to thoughts of love and there is even the requisite music video segment with the two of them playing basketball, riding the tram, staring at the ocean - the sorts of things young lovers do.

Joey is quite good here - very attractive and sympathetic - and alive for a change! Most times I see her, she seems to be a ghost. Chow is very handsome and likable as he turns the charm on to full speed.  

Then it all turns very black as the guy that Joey escaped from comes back and kidnaps her. Chow's partner, Lui Fong, follows him back to his apartment where he is keeping Joey chained up.  Fong then calls Chow to come rescue her. And we wait and wait and wait for Chow to show up as Joey gets brutalized. I'm shouting at the partner  "get in there you idiot - you're a cop too" and where the hell is Chow anyway. What - did he stop off for lunch? The guy tattoos Joey with a picture that seems as intricate and large as the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and we are still waiting for Chow! Finally after tea and crumpets he shows up - he is not pleased - but Joey is even madder leading to a bloody finale.
 

A piffle of a film, but the charms of the two main actors and the mother make it an enjoyable film to watch. At least for the first 70-minutes. After that you decide.

My rating for this film: 6.0