bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Paul Fonoroff

Starring: Miriam Yeung Chin-wah, Alex Fong Chung-sun,  Daniel Wu Yin-cho,

Director: Derek Yee Tung-shing

Category: IIA Cantonese (Chinese and English Subtitles)

In director Derek Yee Tung-shing's impressive filmography, Drink Drank Drunk is definitely 'Yee Lite'.

Miriam Yeung is well cast as a beer girl (a lady hired to steer diners to a particular brand of ale) with an amazing capacity  for liquor. Although the script by Yee and Jessica Fong Ching  isn't as rich as such previous efforts as Lost in Time (2003),  the director's touch is evident in the well-etched characters and fresh situations that make this stand above the typical sit-com style collection of gags that constitute most local comedies.

The film is people- rather than joke-oriented. Siu Mun  (Yeung) realises there's more to life than selling suds and is determined to open her own cafe. Despite the offer of financial backing - along with a drunken marriage proposal - by tough guy Brother 9 (Alex Fong), Siu Mun would rather go it alone until she meets a man who can be romantic even when sober.

At first glance, French-Chinese chef Michel (Daniel Wu Yin-cho) would hardly seem to be a suitable candidate. He's constantly inebriated, due  to frustrations over his attempts at running a sophisticated French eatery  for crude slobs like Brother 9.

The film charts a  predictable course in its development of the relationship between Michel and Siu Mun, capped by a madcap drive and declaration of love that feels too manufactured to be stirring.

Fortunately, there's a natural, breezy quality to the dialogue and  characters that keeps things from getting stale. There's also an abundance of sparkle in the supporting cast, although there are also poorly focused subplots concerning a beautiful Mandarin-speaking restaurateur (Hu Jing) and a handsome free-spirited vagabond (Terence Yin Chi-wai) who threaten to cause a rift between Siu Mun and Michel.

Emotionally and spiritually, the humour contains plenty of meat.  A scene in which Michel demonstrates bread baking to Siu Mun is a highlight. It's this kind of realistic detail that distinguishes Yee's movies, and Drink Drank Drunk would have benefited from more passages depicting the nitty-gritty of managing a bistro.

As ever, Yee gets excellent performances from his cast.  Yeung's expressive face is used for more than just mugging, and she endows Siu Mun - her best-written comedy role since Love Undercover (2002) - with  an unexpected amount of nuance. Most surprising is  Fong in a refreshingly farcical change-of-pace turn that belies his usual  cool image.

Drink Drank Drunk is showing now



Drink Drank Drunk