Give Love

Give Love (愛得起) is a 2009 Hong Kong romance film, with a smidge of comedy and a good bit of drama thrown into the mix. It stars Gigi Leung, Wilson Chen, and Shao Bing. The summary is as follows [taken from MySoju]:

Gigi Leung stars as Leslie Chan, a marketing manager who has your usual movie romantic problems. In the opening scene, she meets airline employee Yutong (Wilson Chen), who is immediately smitten, but he’s so bookish and shy that he can only privately vow to woo her if he ever sees into her again. His chance arrives one year later when she fortuitously comes to stay with him in his Hong Kong apartment. The problem: she’s newly-married to his brother Hilton (Mainland star Shao Bing), meaning she’s technically unavailable. However, a cutaway to China shows Hilton getting it on with his over-emotional secretary, meaning that Yutong should now have a chance with his houseguest, who’s becoming a distraction already because she likes to wander around the apartment in short shorts and high heels. She also acts in a girlish sitcom manner that would charm any fan of Meg Ryan movies. How can Yutong resist?

I decided I had been ignoring the Chinese entertainment industry for too long - not to mention I'm starting to forget all the Chinese I learned. Not good. Anyway, this movie sounded like an interesting romance that might entertain me for an hour or two. It turned out to be a chick flick of a sort - not saying it's bad. Chick flicks aren't quite my things but having a dose once in a (very long) while is nice. The main female acted way too much like a socialite who liked getting what she wanted and annoyed the heck out of me (hence why it's a chick flick). She also has her moments, though. On the other end of the spectrum is the guy who is rather mature and serious, believing in responsibility - a gentleman in all aspects, but perhaps more timid. He was sweet but I thought he should have been more aggressive, just a smidge. I believe that her feelings for him could have been more developed - it sort of appeared, then stayed.

All in all, I did enjoy it while I watched it, but thinking about it, it lacked some depth. It got the required reactions out of me (i.e. amusement, laughter) and had the ups and downs but I wasn't really moved within it. I do find, however, that I like how HK movies usually utilize both Cantonese as well as Mandarin - or at least that's how it seems in the movies I've watched. I also find the random sprinkling of English humorous and I wonder if that's really how people in Hong Kong talk. Anyway... I'd say if you had a couple of hours to waste, watch it. It's not bad, but not incredible either. In fact, I'd say it's just like another chick flick. No offense. :)

You can watch it here.