SOME LIKE IT HOT (HK 2008)

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Info

Title: Some Like It Hot

Country: Hong Kong

Year: 2008

Box Office: N/A

Director: Pierre Lam

Writer: Pierre Lam

Starring: Wylie Chiu, Brian Li Pak-Woon, Cheung Ka-Lun, Yip Wan-Keung, James Ho Chung-Hung, Hidy Yu Hui-Tung

Genre: Crime Drama

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Review

Wylie Chiu is officially as cute as Charlene…

Review by Neo: Indie flicks will always be indie flicks. It will always be a film that tries to go the route not taken; at times it will end up at film festivals and at most other times, simply ignored. They are usually far too personal for the general public to truly appreciate. Some like it Hot, directed by acclaimed film critic Pierre Lam, is a perfect example, with the exception that I am able to breeze through the film un-scarred is largely due to the sparkling screen debut from cute-eyed-faced Wylie Chiu. Without going over the top, it is safe to say that it is Wylie sheer cuteness that enables me to sit through this film. Without her, the film would not have worked and in fact even with her inclusion, the film is still a large question mark as to why it is even necessary or pointing to the larger than fact question of what exactly is the point of it.

The story is basically a tale of unacquainted love or perhaps miscommunication of the human species. Wylie is an utra-cute girl who thinks she is dating a guy who is a hair stylist by cutting and washing her hair on a weekly basis. The girl is hurt when she realise that the hair stylist also washes other girls’ hair. Then there is a guy played by (F4 Wannabe – Brian Li), who secretly likes Wylie and follows her around like a dog wagging her tail. Doesn’t make any sense, well it is not really suppose to be.

Wylie Chiu easily stole the spotlight in an effortless performance of cuteness, cuteness and more cuteness. Perhaps, director Pierre Lam is trying to indirectly make a parody of Charlene Choi’s on-screen characters. If that is really the case, then I will say, a job well done, but somehow I highly doubt that. With that being said, Chiu’s presence alone makes the film a pleasure experience and her little actions here and there, all adds to some degree of natural cuteness. Chiu is a raw acting talent, and as with many newcomers, they do best, when they are allowed to just play themselves. Chiu works well because, she seems to be like that and the result is a cute enough debut to justify a second chance at something juicier.

Like Oxide Pang’s Basic Love, the weak link is once again, the leading male actor. Brian Li is basically a F4 wanna-be without the looks and flare or coolness, except the hair factor. The lad has zero charisma on screen and next to zero chemistry with Wylie. Then again, it probably explains why he has to follow Wylie around like a glue stick and meeting her every demand. Not to be slack, but what is it with zero charisma or looks of guys pairing up with decent cute girls on screen these days. Is it really that bad in Hong Kong that there is no one after the Edison crusade? While, there is no doubt that Edison can’t act and is clearly a piece of wood, but at least he fulfils the minimal look criteria of modern youth romance.

All in all, film critic turned director Pierre Lam fails to deliver a truly entertaining piece. As the saying goes, sitting on the crouch and criticising like what I am doing right now is one thing and it is probably easy to do as well. However, the real difficulty is actually identifying how they can improve, rather than just saying I simply do not like it. While Some Like it Hot is not an entire failure, due largely to the credit of young Wylie's undeniably cute-eyed face, voice, movements and glowing screen presence. This pro is definitely offseted by the uncharismatic display from Brian Li. Pierre Lam does try to manoeuvre something new, but the attempt to disguise the simple story by playing with the sequences of situations. Still, Lam promises a lot and ended up saying very little. To say it is not a disappointment, it would be rather bias, but there are times when I actually enjoyed the flick. It is needless to say that the presence of Wylie Chiu ensured that some really will like it hot … (Neo 2009)

I rate it 5.5/10