If the major export of Korean cinema is romantic comedies that celebrate true love, then cynicism is the staple of Hong Kong movies of the early 21st century.
Love is Not All Around, a rom-com directed by Yip Lim-sum and starring Alex Fong Lik-sun and Stephy Tang Lai-yan, has everything except true love. The characters see love as a game of chess, in which they lie to each other and discard marriage vows like Christmas wrappings.
Tang plays Bo, a beautiful young woman who learns that her best friend's new husband is having an affair and decides not to tell. Meanwhile, her ex-boyfriend Nik (Fong) shows up when she's about to begin a serious relationship with a doctor (Cheung King-hin).
The love-till-death-do-us-part formula no longer works for audiences who grow up on the belief that love is equivalent to dating. So Bo picks her boyfriend as if selecting appetizers from a menu, and she is always looking for free lunches - to be loved without the need to love someone back.
Yip, also a columnist, is a good storyteller, although his film is marred by some crude and silly gags. Tang, although far from being an accomplished actress, does try hard, and the sight of her working so intently to convince us that she is acting near the end is more touching than the ending itself.
Yip's previous film Marriage with a Fool, which also stars Tang and Fong, was successful in portraying contemporary relationships. Unfortunately, Love Is Not All Around feels more like a step backward for the young writer-director.
