Mei nan zi

I had the opportunity to sit down here in 2022 and watch the 1987 Hong Kong comedy "Mei Nan Zi" (aka "Mr. Handsome") for the first time. Actually I had never even heard about this movie from writer Alex Law and director David Chiang prior to watching it. But of course it was a movie that I wanted to sit down and watch, given the fact that it was a Hong Kong movie that I hadn't already seen, and also because the cast ensemble was pretty good.

The storyline in "Mei Nan Zi" is pretty straight forward, if not actually generic for a late 1980s Hong Kong romantic comedy. But don't get me wrong here, because I am not saying that it is a bad movie, not at all. The movie was definitely watchable and enjoyable enough for what it turned out to be. However, it just wasn't a particularly outstanding movie.

The cast list in "Mei Nan Zi" includes the likes of Richard Ng, Carol Cheng, Bill Tung and Lydia Shum, so there are some very familiar faces on the cast list, not to mention some good talents as well. So it was definitely a treat for fans of the Hong Kong cinema with this cast ensemble.

"Mei Nan Zi" is a watchable movie, for sure, however, I doubt that I will ever return to watch director David Chiang's 1987 comedy a second time, simply because the storyline doesn't really have the contents to support more than a single viewing.

My rating of "Mei Nan Zi" lands on a five out of ten stars.

This is a pretty charming romantic comedy from Hong Kong, where a middle-aged man is married to two domineering and stubborn women. When he was told that he cannot immigrate to the United States with two wives, he seeks the help of his U.S. Citizen doctor friend by asking him to marry one of his wives and divorce her later when they all reach the states. Meanwhile, the doctor is trying to court his much-younger girlfriend, and does not realize that the nurse at his clinic has a crush on him.

There are lots of harmless adult humor that you will find entertaining, as well as some good-old-fashion action-related humor. The plot is well-paced and centers around the romantic circles our movie leads get entangled in, from Bill (Bill Tung) putting up with the bickering wives (Lydia Sum, Wan-Si Wong) to Richard (Richard Ng) trying to woo his girlfriend - not knowing his nurse (Carol 'Do Do' Cheng) is trying pull on his heart strings.

Plenty of silly innuendos and a little bit of drama to boot, it's a charming little comedy that is sure to delight an audience.

Grade B+