2004, B&S Limited/Star Company Limited
Director:
Chow Jan-Wing
Producers:
Debbie Cheung
Chow Jan-Wing
Writer:
Chow Jan-Wing
Cinematography:
Wong Bo-Man
Gordon Yeung
Cast:
Ronnie Cheung (Shek Siu-Lung)
Grace Ip (Grace)
Lee Lung-Kei (Mr. Shek)
Lee Lei (Mrs. Shek)
Lam Suet (Uncle Tung)
Oscar Lam (Ah San)
What is an apparent tribute to the 30th anniversary of Bruce Lee’s death is actually a cute romantic action-comedy that plays on one man’s dreams of both romance and fighting.
Shek Siu-Lung is a young man who helps his father run a successful business. However, rather than being their heir to the business, Lung wants to be a fighter. He trains with Uncle Tung in hopes to win an upcoming martial arts tournament. However, one night will change his life perhaps forever.
When his best friend invites him to a costume party, Lung dresses as Kato from ‘The Green Hornet’. After the party, Lung sees a young woman being mugged. Using the skills he had learned, Lung is able to defeat the robbers and save the woman. However, he soon learns that the young woman, Grace, was also set up to meet Lung by his parents. However, when Grace saw Lung, he was masked. What will happen when Grace learns that the man she is set up to date is also the one who saved her?
Written and directed by Chow Jan-Wing, the film was made around the 30th anniversary of Bruce Lee’s untimely death. Chow tended to incorporate elements of Bruce Lee into what is ultimately a romantic action-comedy. In terms of bringing the cuteness of the romantic comedy genre, Chow hired young actors Ronnie Cheung and Grace Ip as two Bruce Lee fans who have eyes for each other. Cheung, the brother of actress Cecilia Cheung, plays it off well as a rich boy who only cares to become a champion fighter while Ip plays his potential love interest, who admires Bruce Lee.
In the pivotal scene that elevates the genre, Cheung, as Siu-Lung (get it?), dresses up at Kato and saves Grace from the robbers. When she discovers his identity, she helps him keep it a secret from his nouveau riche parents, who only care about either shopping, traveling, or wanting Lung to marry and take over the business. Another Bruce Lee reference comes in the form of Lung’s training facility, a Jeet Kune Do academy run by the benevolent Uncle Tung, played by the always great to watch actor today, Lam Suet.
Handling the action sequences is veteran martial artist and stuntman James Ha. Ha, who has a role here as a worker for the Lung company, trained Cheung well in the action scenes and at times, does tend to overdose on wirework for a particular climactic scene involving Uncle Tung and his “flying kick”. However, Cheung does handle his action scenes well with a frenetic kickboxing style that works.
Despite being shot on video at a time when the B-movie in Hong Kong began to fade, My Romeo is a pretty decent romantic comedy filled with Bruce Lee references. It’s not exactly the best film, but enjoyable in its own way.
WFG RATING: C+
This DVD is available at YesAsia.com
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