Starring: Sandra Ng Kwan-yu, Louis Koo Tin-lok, Ronald Cheng Chung-kei,
Raymond Wong Pak-ming
Director: Vincent Kok Tak-chiu
Category: IIA (Cantonese)
It may be but a pale reminder of glories past, but the 2009 edition of All's Well End's Well deserves a prize if for no other reason than it keeps the Hong Kong institution of the Lunar New Year family comedy alive. Only tangentially related to the hilarious 1992 original and its far less illustrious 1997 successor, the latest is a rare example of the once prolific genre gasping for breath in the radically altered landscape of 21st century Hong Kong cinema.
The script by director Vincent Kok Tak-chiu (who penned all previous All's Well films), Steven Fung Min-hang and Poon Chun-lam alternates between silly fun and just plain silly, the antics occasionally resulting in genuine guffaws. The movie's chief asset is Sandra Ng Kwan-yu, who, after gaining deserved acclaim in dramatic roles, returns to her roots in broad slapstick. As shrewish magazine editor Yu Chu, she is a terror resigned to living alone, much to the chagrin of younger brother Yu Bo (Ronald Cheng Chung-kei). He is cursed to remain single until his sister is wed, thus leading him to hire love expert Dick Cho (Louis Koo Tin-lok) to turn the spinster into marriage material.