Perfect Match
Reviewed by YTSL
Fans of Maggie Cheung should take note that
she looks lovely in this 1991 offering that is yet another of those whose
underlying plot premise is that opposites attract. Although not as
elegant looking as she is now, one of Hong Kong -- nay, world -- cinema's
most beautiful actresses had finally shed off the baby fat that she still
had on her in her early film appearances (e.g., "Police Story" and "Project
A II"), allowing her cheekbones to become more prominent and her overall
visage to approach its angled peak. Additionally, the sight of her
gloriously long, glossy and straight mane in this D&B production prompted
me to have hair envy (in much the same way that seeing Brigitte Lin's thick
eyebrows makes me wish that mine didn't look like they had been plucked
in the middle of the night by some mean person).
On a way less positive note: The above may
well be the only good thing(s) I can state about a movie that should only
be seen by Maggie completists. It did not help that THE PERFECT MATCH's
makers didn't make more use of the Magster's acting ability than they did.
For that matter, she was far from the only individual connected with this
thoroughly disappointing production whose talents seem wasted by producer-director
Stephen Shin and whoever else were responsible for this lame piece of work.
In all honesty, the overwhelming impression this disgruntled (re)viewer
got was that there were less demands made for such as effort and quality
on the part of the film's scriptwriter and cast as there were for tolerance
of such as often mean-spirited and juvenile idiocy passing for comedy from
the offering's audience.
A generous dollop of imagination -- and definitely
more than a leather jacket, jeans, a helmet and a big motorbike -- is required
as well to conceive of Maggie Cheung as a tough car mechanic. Ditto
re George Lam as a big name music conductor who happens to be as much an
expert at wielding a sword as a baton. Alternatively, it's not difficult
to guess who are supposed to turn out to be THE PERFECT MATCH in this wannabe
romantic movie (though if one were to judge matters on such as what passes
as chemistry between the top-billed duo, that conclusion would be a far
from logical one for people to reach).
I know that George Lam has his critics but I will
assert that he is hardly the weakest link of THE PERFECT MATCH. Instead,
that "honor" falls squarely on the shoulders of: Jacky Cheung, hamming
it up and playing infantile to the max in his role as Maggie Cheung's character's
delinquent nuisance of a kid brother (who effectively brings together his
sister and the celebrity he sought to blackmail); with a rather colorless
Vivian Chow -- playing his spoilt little rich girl sweetheart cum partner
in crime -- not being that far behind in the "most irritating" stakes.
And although veteran comedian Lydia Shum (playing Vivian Chow's character's
mother) and character actor Hui Sui-Hung (whose Chewing Gum character is
as ridiculously nicknamed as the main man's Chopsticks sobriquet) seem
to have honestly tried to be somewhat entertaining, their presence failed
to add much to the film. Still, their appearances did not seem as
stupid and superfluous as that of Yuen King Tan (once more playing a lustful
woman), Manfred Wong (making a cameo appearance as the horny blind friend
of George Lam's character) and Cynthia Khan (playing a cousin of Vivian
Chow's character who -- gasp! -- actually does not appear to possess a
lecherous nature).
How unfunny was THE PERFECT MATCH? The bottom
line is that this feature length film didn't succeed even once in making
me laugh out loud. Something else to consider is that it was only
around this ostensible romantic comedy's 30 minute mark that I finally
witnessed something that made me smile (The fact that it was someone's
calling Jacky Cheung "frog face" should be proof that it doesn't necessarily
take that much to tickle my funny bone). All in all, this dubious
piece of work qualifies as the worst movie with Maggie Cheung in it that
I've ever seen (This from someone who has now viewed 34 of them).
Here's expressing my sincere hope that there's not (m)any more skeletal
duds like it in her filmographic closet.
My rating for the film: 3.
DVD Information:
Distributed by Universe
The transfer is quite nice most of the time
- a bit dark in some of the indoor scenes.
Letterboxed
Cantonese and Mandarin language tracks.
8 Chapters
The subtitles are Chinese or English or Bahasa
(Malaysia).
There is a trailer for this film - and ones
for It's a Drink, it's a Bomb, Heart to Heart and Heart into Heart.