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Starring
:
Sam
Lee
Elle
Choi
Bao
Hei Tsiag
Cheung
Kwok Keung
Sheila
Chan
Law
Lan
Producer
:
Shu
Siu Duk
Director
:
Ivan
Lai
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TRUE
LOVE (2000)
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
Desperate
to become a success in the crowded world of Canto-Pop, Siu
Suet (Elle Choi) puts all her effort into getting noticed by
record producers. Supported by her mother, younger brother and
boyfriend, Siu manages to impress a producer who then arranges
for her to make her first album. With promises of wide
publicity for the album and eventual superstardom, Siu
believes that her chance has finally come. However, when she
rebuffs the advances of her producer and refuses to sleep with
him, she finds that her publicity drops and the album is a
massive flop. This failure means her contract is terminated
and she can only sit at home gaining sympathy from her family.
Siu Suet's misery continues when her mother is killed in a
tragic accident and her boyfriend two-times her. Finding
herself relying heavily on drugs to get her through the lonely
nights, Siu reaches her low point when she agrees to help out
at a karaoke bar as a hostess for drunken clients. To her
rescue comes secret admirer Sam (Sam Lee) who is a friend of
the family due to his work as a pizza delivery boy. After some
initial mistrust on the part of the ex-singer, Sam finally
manages to give her some hope in life and gets her work at his
own place of employment. Nurturing strong feelings for Siu,
Sam manages to get her work noticed by influential record
producer Jack Lee and sees her rise from the gutter to command
a loyal following of fans. With this new found fame for Siu,
Sam begins to see his place in her life moved aside and
realises that he may never be anything more to her than a
friend.
Sam
Lee is perhaps one of Hong Kong's most awkward looking stars.
Not fitting into the traditional bracket of the handsome lead,
the gawky yet widely adored actor has carved out a
considerable niche in the local film market. The fact is that
Lee may not be blessed with the looks, but he's certainly got
the talent and charisma to shine on screen. Having had a
number of roles that exploited his cocky, hip side, Lee was
given a chance to be the leading man in this romantic drama.
The pairing of Lee with the traditionally beautiful Elle Choi
is indeed one of the film's major strengths as the audience is
asked to look beyond just the physical and peer into the
emotional. Hong Kong cinema has often succeeded where
Hollywood has failed by giving viewers relationships that are
subtly drawn and do not alienate the man on the street. While
Lee is no Tom Cruise in terms of looks, he certainly engenders
considerable sympathy and is a far more realistic lead.
Unfortunately,
despite these aforementioned bonuses, 'True Love' is too cliché-ridden
to be a significant step in the genre. Most of the twists and
turns are easily telegraphed by any viewer who's seen other
similar films and the 'fall and rise' narrative is too prosaic
to stand out.
Despite
the clichés, 'True Love' still retains a strong entertainment
value though. The ending is also powerful enough to make sure
that it is not easily forgotten.
Rating:
 
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