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FILM
Temporary Family PPPPP
(Hong Kong) Romantic comedy. Directed by Cheuk Wan-chi. Starring Nick Cheung,
Sammi Cheng, Angelababy, Oho Ou. Category IIA. 99 minutes. Opened Aug 21.
Hong Kong comedian, writer and director Cheuk Wan-chi (aka “GC Goo-bi,” as her old radio
personality was known) presents a very Hong Kong premise: love in a city where citizens are slaves
to the property market. She strings together a parody of this harsh reality, poking fun at the sad
lengths that people will go to in an effort to buy a home. Cheuk successfully makes the joke, but
her underdeveloped plotline falls flat.
The plot revolves around Hong Siu-lung (Nick Cheung, “Unbeatable”), a property agent working
the daily grind selling Mid-Levels luxury homes. He’s the kind of guy who has merged life with
work. With a permanent sycophantic smile plastered across his face (props to Cheung for acing
the character), Siu-lung is always looking for ways to sell off a few more units and earn the extra
moolah. Perhaps it’s partly due to his exposure to the heated housing market, and partly thanks
to his girlfriend (Myolie Wu) who demands to be installed in a 1,000-square-foot apartment before
she will agree to marry him. Siu-lung sets out to double his entire life’s savings in a year. He strings
together newly divorced client Charlotte (Sammi Cheng); Ah Hak (Angelababy), his step-daughter
from a previous marriage; and Very, the rich mainland intern at his agency (Oho Ou Hao) to chip
in for the first installment on a luxury pad, so they can sell it for a profit within a year. The scheme
soon goes awry when each of the investors tries to cling to the apartment for their own ends.
“Temporary Family” is full of outlandish humor, ranging from cutting witticisms (Nick Cheung
in smiling deadpan: “Don’t rent this out to a family: knock down all the walls so it’s a 30K studio
flat for a rich expat”) to mo lei tau “nonsense” gold complete with numerous cameos (former
Secretary for Security Regina Ip, for one) and downright gross pubic hair jokes.
Just as the humor is exaggerated, the acting is also big, theatrical and cartoonish. Angelababy
as Ah Hak, neglected by her low-income birth mother, is a caricature: tanned, brash and uncouth.
The best and most emotionally resonant performance comes from Sammi Cheng, who plays
Charlotte: a fragile woman with a tough facade, still holding on to the hope that her ex-husband
will want her back, and holding onto her apartment, ready for his return. In a delicate depressed
state on her would-be anniversary, she has a romantic moment with Siu-lung, and suddenly he’s
proclaiming his love. It comes out of nowhere. Humor, sadness, even anger are director Cheuk’s
strong suits, but maybe not so much romance.
The characters are forced together, as are the disjointed plot threads. With the puppet-like
acting, improbable premise, and sparse vignettes of character development, it’s almost as if the
apartment becomes the backdrop to a stage play, and you can’t help but expect the curtain to
come down and the actors to take a bow. The shiny plastic panorama views of Victoria Harbor
don’t help. Perhaps these tenuous connections are a by-product of Cheuk’s focus on social
commentary: At one point, Siu-lung and his temporary family rush to sell the luxury pad to a
mainland billionaire. It’s a sad observation of what living and working in Hong Kong has become:
big smiles for the nouveau riche mainlanders, just so we can get by.
Ultimately, “Temporary Family” tries to be a comedy with a heart: it’s all about freedom from
our financial burdens, and living without the shackles of property. Thanks to its whirlwind story,
though, the heart doesn’t quite come across. This isn’t the first film about Hong Kong’s killer
property cycle and it won’t be the last: but for now, let it suffice. It’s exhausting enough having
to live it and breathe it every day. Evelyn Lok
Continuing
22 Jump Street
(USA) Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum return
for yet another unlikely bromance in the
sequel to “21 Jump Street.” After successfully
busting a drug circle two years ago while
posing as high school students, they’ve been
sent on a new covert mission: this time in
college. Things may be different, but it’s got
their same brand of slapstick and silliness,
and that’s all that matters. PPPP
All-Round Appraiser Q: The Eyes of
Mona Lisa
(Japan) Shunsuke Sato directs this silly (even
sillier) Japanese take on “The Da Vinci Code.”
Master art appraiser Riko Rinda is tasked by
a mysterious man to appraise the Mona Lisa.
She ventures to Paris, learning that hidden
behind the dark, warm eyes of Da Vinci’s
muse, there lies a hidden message… that
could jeopardize their lives.
36 HK MAGAZINE FRIDAY, September 5, 2014