Dry Wood, Fierce Fire
Director: Wilson Yip
Year: 2002
Rating: 7.0
By 2000 Hong Kong
comedy films were quickly shifting away from the crazy slapstick pun-infested
nonsense that had been the norm for years. To something more sophisticated,
less crude, more Western that was built on character and realistic plots
as opposed to jokes and comedy bits. This had begun a few years earlier with
the UFO films like He's a Woman, She's a Man or one offs such as The Chinese
Feast. Even Stephen Chow had evolved over time from his earlier films full
of puns and gags to The God of Cookery and the brilliant King of Comedy (though
Love on Delivery is still his funniest film). By 2000, Milkyway was making
clever comedies and two female stars were making their mark - Sammi Cheng
and Miriam Yeung. Miriam was fairly new to the business but had appeared
in the popular Love Undercover and Dummy Mommy Without a Baby. Sammi did
her better with Needing You, My Left Eye Sees Ghosts and Love on a Diet.
These two women brought a fresh modern feel to the comedies and characters
- independent, fast talking, vulnerable and lovable. It took me longer to
warm up to Miriam who seemed too much like Sammi, but she won me over - not
with a comedy but with the horror film, Dumplings. After that you could never
say she was a Sammi imitator again. She is great here and drags Louis Koo
along with her like charred pork.
Alice (Miriam) grows up in an herbal shop
run by her father (Lo Meng) and mole infected mother (Kingdom Yuen). They
both teach her their craft but the father also teaches her martial arts and
the mother teaches her kindness. She thinks glasses will make her prettier
and kinder and so stares up close at a TV to become nearsighted. She works
at a women's magazine and when they merge with a men's magazine she meets
Ryan (Koo) in a not cute way, by blowing blood from her nose all over him.
He has his own issues and faints all the time. All of her co-workers come
to her for medical advice and she is so good that she can even detect if
you have hemorrhoids by feeling your pulse. It is one of those films where
no one actually seems to work in the office. She is immediately attracted
to him, him not so much to her. Ya, give it time because she is as nutty
as a Baby Ruth bar and a live wire. With a big laugh. She sets off to Save
Private Ryan.
The film goes a little Cyrano on us - he
is in love with the owner (Flora Chan) and she becomes his confidant - picking
out a necklace, designing his home, giving him love advice. In a terrific
scene she is in his apartment when the owner unexpectedly shows up and she
hides and hides and hides like a ninja - finally in the freezer. Now we know
they are meant for each other but it is getting late in the film. As light
on its feet as a French pastry and just as tasty. Constantly amusing and
Miriam owns this film. Not many big laughs but a lot of grins and small chuckles.
Directed by Wilson Yip before he became the big action director he is best
known for - SPL, Flashpoint and four Ip Man films.
