Magic Kitchen
Rating(out of 5): * * ½
(Golden Screen Cinemas)
Starring: Sammi Cheng, Jerry Yan, Nicola Cheung, Maggi Q, Andy Lau, Michael Wong, Anthony Wong and Daniel Wu.
It is time again for Hong Kong filmmakers to whip up another one of their romantic comedies for the coming Lunar New Year, and they do not fail to deliver.
In this film directed by Lee Chi Ngai, Sammi Cheng takes the lead (again) as a woman who just can’t find true love.
GIRLS' NIGHT OUT...Yau (Cheng, centre) and her gal pals take a break from painting the town red.
This romantic thingytail has an ex-boyfriend, admirer, very *friendly* persontish girlfriends and a young ciku thrown into the mix. Too bad the main ingredient of a strong male lead is missing from this concoction. Jerry Yan, one-fourth of the popular but defunct boyband F4, makes a mediocre match for Cheng’s Yau.
However, the film is palatable enough for the audience, thanks to the chemistry between Cheng and Andy Lau who plays her ex.
With a liberal dose of narration throughout the film, Yau tells us about her past: her mother’s cooking skills, the family’s curse (all female descendants will become chefs and fail in love), how she eventually becomes a chef and her relationship with Chuen (Lau).
Currently, she owns a restaurant and is assisted by the quiet and stoned-looking Hall (Yan). Yau has been invited to take part in a cooking competition called “King Chef” in Japan, a TV programme similar to “Iron Chef” where two chefs are pitted against each other in a cooking competition. It’s a test of creativity and skill because competitors will have to create dishes with the day’s main ingredient, which will only be revealed at the start of the competition.
Yau isn’t confident in her culinary skills (she copies Mom’s recipes) and has second thoughts about the competition but Hall pushes her to reconsider.
LOVEBIRDS...Chuen (Lau, left) and May (Maggi Q) get cosy.
Things take a romantic turn when Yau bumps into her old flame Chuen, and gets all flustered, but she soon finds out that he’s seeing May (Maggi Q), who happens to be one of her close friends.
As she secretively pines for Yau, her girlfriends (including May) try to get her to meet men by frequenting bars and clubs. And all this while, her young assistant Hall admires her from afar.
It goes without saying that the film is a Cheng-Yan starrer. Unfortunately, the romance of an older woman-younger man does not work because the chemistry between them is non-existent. Even the melodramatic ending the film has does not help the lame romance. It’s actually more enjoyable to see the strained relationship between Yau and Chuen.
Singer-turned-actor Yan may be a dreamboat to his scores of adoring female fans but when it comes down to holding his own opposite Cheng, that brooding charm of his loses its appeal.
The boy lacks screen presence and that is painfully obvious when paired with a strong lead like Cheng. And if the filmmakers are banking on his good looks to carry the role, then they should have thought twice about wrapping his head with a white dishtowel (a more stylish chef hat?) in every other scene.
FASHION (NON)SENSE...'I grabbed this one off the nearest towel rack. Doesn't it look good on me?'
There are better leading man material in the film such as Michael Wong and Daniel Wu but they only appear in token roles. That’s sad because either one of these actors could have easily made a better contender for Yau’s affections.
Actually, all other relationships Yau has are more interesting than the main romance. Even the friendship she develops with an aspiring writer (played by Anthony Wong) fares better.
But all is not lost because Cheng shines in her role as the kind-hearted Yau. We can easily symphatise with her not only because she’s hapless in love but also because she’s sweet, vulnerable and obliging.
Also, the flick takes a welcome respite from the usual slapstick comedy and chooses to bank its humour on the dialogue instead.
The film addresses the idea that one’s true love is right under one’s nose. You can look far and wide for that special person but eventually you’ll find that the person has always been right in front of you.
It’s sad that everything in this film more or less works except for the core relationship. Magic Kitchen seems to have got its side elements right but is weakened by its main “dish”, a misfortune you don’t want to repeat, especially during the coming CNY reunion dinner.
Visuals copyright (c) 2004 Media Asia
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