LOVE GENERATION HONG KONG (1998)

Starring: Leon Lai, Carina Lau, Mark Cheng, Mark Lui, Ann Lee, Shu Qi

Bill (Leon Lai) and Maggie (Carina Lau) were a happy couple with plans for marriage. But Maggie began to have second thoughts, and she subsequently dumped Bill because she wanted more freedom to pursue her own dreams. Bill heads off to the States to begin what would be a very successful career as a financial economic analyst.

Six years later and Bill has become a multi-millionaire with a lavish lifestyle. He has a gorgeous secretary named Moon (Ann Lee), the younger sister of his best friend (played by Mark Lui), and spends days frolicking in the pool with his current girlfriend, Joey (Shu Qi). When a chance encounter with old flame Maggie, he falls in love all over again, and returns to Hong Kong to woo her back.

But Maggie has been dating Peace (Mark Cheng), a triad gangster trying to retire, but seeing Bill again has put her emotions into overdrive. Bill obviously wants to court her, with Peace having none of it. However, to make things extremely funny, Peace had promised Maggie that he would change his old bad habits, which means no swearing, no fighting, no drinking, and no killing. Basically he's trying to turn a new leaf. The latter part of the film sees Bill having to handle the jealousy of Joey, while having to contemplate the news of Moon's deep affections for him, and also trying to win back Maggie. When you're rich, the girls are all over yah.

This uncomplicated love story is very lighthearted material, and as such, offers nothing new. It is tried and tested stuff, but the welcoming fact is seeing Mark Cheng play a decent guy for once. For far too often Mark Cheng has been the evilist vile bastard on earth, but his portrayal of a gangster trying to be nice is positively comical. Leon Lai seems to have not shaken his inability to emote when the situation arises, and at times is too wooden for my taste, although he does put in a good performance.

As with most love stories nowadays, humour is part of the plot, and it is used quite extensively, but it still doesn't hide the fact that the story is quite shabby. Maybe it is the idea that the whole thing tends to be too lighthearted, and everything is simply touched on a surface level, without the plot ever delving into deeper areas for meaningful exploration.

The biggest highlight of the film is seeing the old Kai Tak airport in Hong Kong being shut down for the last time. This image is history, and it is a bit of a shame that in the whole film, that image is the most memorable.

RATING

6 / 10