Love on the Rocks

Year:2004
Director:Dante Lam Chiu-Yin, Chan Hing-Kai
Cast:Louis Koo Tin-Lok, Gigi Leung Wing-Kei, Charlene Choi Cheuk-Yin, Donnie Yen Ji-Dan, Carl Ng Ka-Lung, Rain Li Choi-Wah, Alex Fong Lik-Sun, Kathy Chow Man-Kei, Chan Fai-Hung, GC Goo Bi, Gillian Chung Yun-Tung, Hui Siu-Hung
Description:
From
the makers of Naked Ambition comes a touching,
insightful exploration of what it means to love and
be loved in the modern urban jungle of Hong Kong.
Yeah, like that'll happen. Writer/director Chan Hing-Kai
has gotten plenty of mileage off of his existential
musings on modern relationships , and Love on the Rocks
follows suit in grand romantic dissertation style.
The film details a "freeze" in the relationship
of a young Hong Kong couple, and all the hand-wringing
and personal examination leading up to the inevitable
reconciliation梠r confirmed end梠f their
relationship. There's also a plot device disguised
as a wacky/cute Hong Kong teen, and more pretty popstars
than anyone could possibly want or need. It's all
rather manufactured and cloying, but filmmakers do
manage some good stuff along the way.
Louis Koo is Ming,
a resolutely unromantic fellow who should be slapped
by any girl who ever enjoyed getting flowers梕ven
if he is the hottest thing this side of Ekin Cheng.
On Valentine's Day, he takes his live-in girlfriend
Annie to an el cheapo hot pot
restaurant, which costs $58HK per head after 9:00
pm. For those working on western currency, that's
approximately $7 for a full meal, which includes such
wonders as plates of rooster testicles to satiate
your questionable palate. It's seeing Ming snack voraciously
on rooster balls with his ugly pal Ong Bak梬ho
just so happens to join the couple on their Valentine's
Day dinner梩hat gets Annie upset, and this is
after not getting any flowers to boot . At the end of
the evening, her mind is set: time to break up.
As would be expected,
Ming is against the idea, but her dad has a better idea: put a freeze on things
until Easter, whereupon the two can decide if it will
be a better idea to stick together or go their separate
ways. To better understand his deal with relationships,
Ming decides to go on the Internet and hire Crystal
, a nineteen year-old self-proclaimed
love expert who梔espite never having fallen in
love梥upposedly knows all there is to on the
subject. Her proof? Not only has she read every romance
novel ever, but she knows the meaning of every coupling
of flowers imaginable, AND she can predict the emotions
of young couples who are fighting publicly. With Crystal
around, Ming gets lessons on the origins of his romance
aversion syndrome, as well as more opportunities for
hijinks. Besides being supposedly gifted in the knowledge
of love, Crystal is a big fan of tricking people.
Ah, only in the movies.
Ming's experiences with
Crystal send him down memory lane, as he recalls all
his previous relationships in hopes of somehow salvaging
this latest one. This gives us the opportunity to
see Louis Koo get it on with a number of comely lasses,
including model Kathy Chow Man-Kei , singer Rain Li, and Gillian Chung, which means
Love on the Rocks is not just
a Louis Koo-Gigi Leung movie, but a Twins movie as
well! EEG couldn't have planned it any better. Seeing
Ming's past loves is supposed to give us insight into
his character, though it's questionable if that happens.
The flashbacks serve more as internal impetus for
Ming's expected epiphany, which we get as Ming drones
on and on in voiceover about his past loves. He also
tries to make connections to these girls in the present
day, in hopes of seeking closure to some of his past
romantic gaffes. Meanwhile, Annie finds a whirlwind
romance with a wealthy expatriate businessman , and Crystal hints at possible
affection for Ming. Plus there's weird bouts of kung-fu,
and more pontificating on what a woman wants via Crystal's
squeaky speeches.
As romance goes, Love
on the Rocks hits shallow waters rather quick.
Watching Louis Koo remember all his previous relationships
to gorgeous women who he misunderstood, mistreated,
or generally mistook as compatible partners makes
for nice popstar watching, but it doesn't really provide
much romance. Since much of those sequences are accompanied
by Koo voice-over, the effect isn't that engaging.
Love on the Rocks works better when less is
said, which actually does happen from time to time.
Ming's flashback to he and Annie's first encounter
is actually an affecting sequence which relies on
the actors and quiet situations instead of any intrusive
voiceover. Those sequences give Louis Koo and Gigi
Leung a chance to show their practiced screen chemistry,
which was already seen in both La Brassiere
and Mighty Baby. Love on the Rocks may
be generally good for popstar watchers, but when it's
Koo and Leung by themselves, the popstar watching
hits supreme overdrive.
What's more problematic
is the constant discussion and verbalization of "what
is love", "what do women want", and
other assorted topics which would make prime fodder
for Oprah. The character of Crystal is inserted for
primarily that purpose, and she's given mature-cute,
tight-lipped charm by Charlene Choi. Crystal's bizarre
presence makes for some entertaining, though questionably
necessary sequences ,
but she never seems to be more than an extended plot
device meant to do nothing more than spout theories
of love, romance, and how dancing with a girl anywhere
will be a key to winning her heart. The fact that
the script hints at her also falling in love with
Ming seems to be a detail that exists simply so Louis
Koo can romance every woman in the film. Little time
or weight is spent there, and Choi does more with
those little moments than the script requires. But
let's face it, none of it really seems logical, or
even realistic.
Not that realism is
even an issue here, because nobody out there in reality
would dissect and discuss their emotions to such maddening
existential degree as people in a movie written by
Chan Hing-Kai. Acclaimed director Wong Kar-Wai does
much existential musing in his films, but usually
the thoughts are kept within a character, and have
as much to do with self-doubt and delusion as insightful
emotional truth. Love on the Rocks throws everything
out there and supposes that it all means something,
when in fact it may not mean much at all. Without
a script that seems like more than a collection of
important-sounding words, all that's left is simply
the basics: good stars, fun times, and very little
actual annoying stuff. With those three tenets, Love
on the Rocks readily succeeds, and while it may
not amount to much more, proves to be an amusing enough
time.
What the film IS NOT, however,
is memorable. And this is even with an overdone climax
that requires Louis Koo to get so weepy that he seems
to be gunning for some form of sensitivity award.
Ultimately, Love on the Rocks does possess
enough popstar presence and decent situations that
it prevents inclusion in the "bad movie"
category, but it's also pretty much a forgettable
experience. My proof for this? Well , I saw the movie
a week ago, but when it came time to sit down and
write my feelings on the film, I simply could not
remember what had happened. Thank goodness for DVD
players and speed search, which made the second go-around
take only twenty minutes. Still, that story pretty
much spells it out: Love on the Rocks is as
memorable as a McChicken sandwich, and probably as
processed. However, my fading memory and personal
gut feeling is that when I first saw the film, I was
sufficiently amused.