Miriam Yeung plays Fong Lai Kuen, a fresh
graduate of the Hong Kong Police Academy. Because she did so bad at
her exams, she is being posted to the Lost Property Department: good
if you like nothing to do, bad if you want to advance your career.
As luck has it, she is picked for a undercover
job because she is fresh, and has no baggage (ie. no family, no
friends, no pets etc). All they want her to do is to pretend to
be a waitress and ensnare rich kid Hoi (Daniel Wu), who they suspect
is also a triad boss. To her astonishment, Hoi falls for her after
a couple of accidental incidents, and she soon finds that she is
also falling for this handsome, rich kid.
Her superiors are ordering her to continue the
relationship, but she is beginning to find it difficult doing her
job and maintaining a truthful relationship. To make matters worse,
Hoi has proposed marriage, but Fong's superiors have decided that
the operation has gotten out of hand, and are demanding she back
off. Just what can a girl do in such circumstances?
Miriam Yeung is becoming a favourite with local
people, not only because of her fame as a pop singer, but that she
can actually do comedy. Previous television drama series have proved
that she can act, and that her strengths lies in comedy. Film producers
obviously reckoned that they can cash in on her new-found talents,
and Love Undercover is another comedy film that Miriam has been
given the lead.
The plot is completely silly of course, but the
film is meant to be nothing but an all-out comedy. The best situations
are when Fong's superiors and colleagues all try to pretend that
they are her family in front of Hoi and his father. There are some
instances that you'd think their cover would be blown, but there's
always a funny scene to counter it.
However, the film's funniest scenes are when Fong,
under the instruction of her colleagues, do the opposite thing they
say, or do it under duress, and often poor Hoi will be on the receiving
end of Fong's outbursts. This is not something that'll have you
laughing all the way through, but there are enough genuine moments
to make it worthwhile.
Daniel Wu is a versatile actor, although his Cantonese
is still far from fluent, but he manages to convey a picture of
a lonely rich guy who only wants to find a girl he loves. It is
good to see that Daniel Wu likes to take on comedy roles instead
of the usual action type figures he is noted for. He should do more
drama roles as well.
Love Undercover is a silly film, but one that
is done deftly, and the pacing of the comedy is handled fine. There
are a few dud moments, but these doesn't detract from an overall
fine piece of comedy. Enjoyable affair.
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