|
Cast:
Tony
Leung Chiu Wai
Sammi
Cheng
Niki
Chow
Juanita
Cheng
Sammy
Leung
Joe
Lee
Producer:
Carl
Chang
Director:
Joe
Ma
Score:
 
|
FIGHTING
FOR LOVE
AKA:
N/A
Year:
2001 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
The
year 2000 saw the rejuvenation of Sammi Cheng's career both as
a singer and especially as an actress. Films like 'Summer
Holiday' and Johnnie To's smash hit 'Needing
You' catapulted the star back among the top of the
box-office players in Hong Kong. With audiences flocking to
see her in romantic comedies, director Joe Ma utilised her
winning persona for this 2001 effort. Linking her with Tony
Leung Chiu Wai - fresh from his success in 'In The Mood For
Love' - seemed certain to lead to another popular cinematic
draw.
Sammi
Cheng plays the hot-headed and waspish businesswoman Deborah
who toils away at her job with little time for anyone else.
When she scrapes the side of a car in a fit of pique, Siu Tong
has little realisation of who is behind the other wheel. The
annoyed driver she has aggravated is Tung Choi (Tony Leung)
and he has every intention of making her pay for the damage.
With the inevitable clash between two very self-absorbed
people comes a rivalry which eventually turns to friendship. A
drunken night together leaves Deborah nursing strong feelings
for Tung while he rushes off to meet his girlfriend Mindy. As
the weeks pass and no contact is made by Tung, Deborah sees
her life spiral out of control, ending up with her dismissal
from her job. At her lowest ebb the formerly feisty Deborah
meets the object of her affections and Tung agrees to let her
stay at the family home until she gets her life back on
course. Gradually she finds herself accepted by the family and
is even invited by the mother to fight for the love of her
son. As Mindy becomes more and more aware that there may be a
new rival for Tung affections, she ups the stakes by proposing
to her boyfriend. Therefore it is down to Deborah to make her
final move for love or lose it forever.
The
major problem with 'Fighting For Love' is the fact that the
leading characters are so unsympathetic that the viewer cares
little about their fight to be together. This is a severe
weakness in the film as the success of most romantic comedies
is reliant on the desire to see a happy outcome. The first
thirty minutes are enough to lose most of this desire and the
chain-smoking, bad-tempered and selfish pair created nothing
more than a sense of indifference in this reviewer. The slow
change that affects Deborah and Tung's personas makes little
difference to any of this; director Ma's attempt to make Mindy
the villain of the piece at the end is a crude film-making
device that just doesn't work. The redeeming features are Tony
Leung and Sammi Cheng who are always watchable even though the
cannot inject that much humanity into their roles. It's
unfortunate that this is such an unremarkable and poorly
handled movie, despite its glossy production look.
|
