Opening Day: 18 February 2010

Synopsis:

Princess Pearl of Flowerland is sent to Mainland at a young age to learn her ceremonials duties. Her mother, the Queen Mother misses her daughter very much that the King orders his sister, the princess, to return home. However, the princess has fallen in love with General Wing of the Mainland army and is reluctant to part from him. As their boat approaches the Flowerland border, Pearl & Wing save the life of a girl named Ying, who seeks to throw herself into sea after running away from an arranged marriage. Pearl, Wing and Ying are attacked by pirates and Pearl falls overboard in the ensuing chaos. On arrival in Flowerland, the King mistakes Ying for his sister, while Pearl is saved by Ying's father, Million.

Movie Review:

As much as we’d hoped Stephen Chow would return to the franchise he made popular, our hopes are dashed once again with this fifth (or second, depending on which way you look at it) instalment of the perennial Lunar New Year comedy “All’s Well Ends Well”. Rebooted last year by producer Raymond Wong after an 11-year hiatus, this second chapter of the revamp reunites the cast Wong brought together, along with some fresh new faces.

Back again to star in this in-name only sequel are Louis Koo, Sandra Ng, Ronald Cheng and of course, Raymond Wong himself, and let’s just say that it’s simply delightful to see thespians like Sandra Ng and Ronald Cheng ham it up unreservedly onscreen. Not only are they physically expressive (Ronald Cheng could very well be the next Stephen Chow), they also possess perfect comedic timing and it is a combination of both that make their scenes in the movie stand out.

Written by Raymond Wong’s son Edmond Wong (who also wrote Ip Man and its sequel), “All’s Well Ends Well Too 2010” continues the running theme of mistaken identity in the series. Here the mix-up is between Princess Pearl (Angelababy), sister of the King (Louis Koo) of Flowerland, and Ying (Lynn Xiong), the daughter of greedy schemer Million (Raymond Wong). What happens next is simply an excuse to throw in a whole bunch of jokes that are best described as hit and miss affairs.

Indeed, Edmond Wong’s script is surprisingly witty and the film’s funniest moments lie in the lively banter among the various characters- in particular, the war of words between Louis Koo and Sandra Ng about what’s legal and what’s not in the kingdom of Flowerland towards the end of the movie is a hoot. Just as hilarious is the bartering between Raymond Wong and Sandra Ng about how much one owes the other in the form of a rap. And audiences may rest easy, unlike the other CNY comedy “72 Tenants of Prosperity”, this movie survives its Mandarin dubbing in much better shape.

Unfortunately, “All’s Well Ends Well Too 2010” falters when it attempts to garner its share of laughs through slapstick or any form of physical comedy. Coming off less inspired than lame, the obligatory screwball antics suffer from a distinct lack of direction. Especially tedious is the martial arts competition that the King organises to choose a suitor for Princess Pearl, which is simply a pretext for inserting a dreary parody of Ip Man.

Ironic as it may sound, it does take skill to make nonsensical comedy. Alas, it appears that neither director (Raymond Wong and Herman Yau) has the finesse to pull it off- either that nor one of them doesn’t, for it does seem that the film can be divided into the parts that really work and the ones that just don’t. Luckily, the parts that do are genuinely funny. Yes, not all is well with this fifth chapter in the series, but the clever banter and the ensemble cast still manage to make this movie end well on a high note.

If you’re looking for some nice laughs, and are in a generous mood, you’ll find “All’s Well Ends Well Too 2010” quite the amusing and entertaining movie this CNY- though we are still secretly hopeful that one day, Stephen Chow will decide to return to such a distinct Hong Kong-flavoured screwball comedy.

Movie Rating:



(The definitive 'he sui pian' franchise returns yet again without Stephen Chow- but with enough life and laughs to keep you entertained)

Review by Gabriel Chong