|
Starring
:
Andy
Lau
Rosamund
Kwan
Deannie
Yip
To
Tai Yu
Anita
Lee
Kong
Ngai
Producer
:
David
Lai Dai Wai
Director
:
Yu
Wai Gwok
Norman
Law
|
THANKS
FOR YOUR LOVE (1996)
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
Andy
Lau + romantic comedy = success. This seems to be a fairly
common theory that spawns not only box-office hits, but also
films that are mildly diverting at the very least. Each year
producers test this equation and more often than not are very
happy at the results. 'Thanks For Your Love' hardly inspires
in any department, even though many aspects, such as the cast,
seem to be ideal for the genre. The ever watchable Rosamund
Kwan takes the bizarre lead role as a woman who becomes
violent when touched by a man. Her future husband finds that,
with the slightest caress, he ends up viciously battered by
this involuntary action and therefore begins to lose patience
with his fiancé. The final straw comes when the boyfriend
receives a particularly harsh beating and decides to call
their relationship to an end. Shortly after her sudden
heartache, she meets a crude and earthy waiter who appears to
be far more self-confident than he is. After he helps her
friend out during a typical farce situation, Kwan decides to
spend some time with him, imagining he could be different from
the other men she's met. This notion is quickly erased when
the two spend just a few minutes together and form an instant
dislike to one another. However, Kwan is led to believe that
her awkward new associate has the skill to stop her unusual
defect and therefore looks to him to cure her of it. Lau sees
this as a golden opportunity to start a new life and convinces
her parents he is the new boyfriend on the scene. This trick
hardly helps the relationship of the pair though matters do
gradually improve, forming into a mutual cease-fire. In
typical romantic comedy fare, these former enemies now begin
to realise that they really do have hidden feelings for each
other.
It's
difficult writing about a narrative that is so trite in its
attempt to set up the inevitable romantic entanglements.
Normally the framework of such a film is at least cliched, but
here it is simply bizarre and uninvolving. Two major flaws for
any romantic comedy are when it is not even slightly amusing
and totally devoid of any sympathetic romance. Sadly, 'Thanks
For Your Love' is the perfect example of this. Not only is it
very difficult to care what happens to the characters, but it
also begins to outstay its welcome after a mere fifteen
minutes. Thereafter the experience becomes tedious and even
loses whatever curiosity value it may have initially held. Lau
and Kwan are certainly an attractive couple and have proven
themselves in this field countless times before, but here they
simply go through the motions and expect the audience to be
engaged by their lacklustre efforts. To complete the misery,
the film features an abundance of woefully forced 'comedy'
that proves to be the final nail in the coffin. There is the
odd moment of hope within some scenes, but these are sporadic
and soon fizzle out. Avoid.
Rating:
 
|
