Oi ching bak min bau

"Bakery Amour" is definitely up there with the list of good chick flicks to be seen when you are in the mood for some good acting from Francis Ng and William So. I must say that William So is not only a talented composer singer musician but now is showing some real skills in acting too. Yes, this is not the major lead for him. Yet his supporting role gives Francis Ng, the wit and reality checks he needs. All in all. This is a good love story with an ending that won't leave you depressed, but feeling good. Baking bread might just lead to love!

For a romantic comedy then this 2001 Hong Kong movie wasn't particularly impressive. And how much those words weigh in the rom-com genre, well, that I will leave up to you to decide. However, I just felt that "Bakery Amour" (aka "Oi ching bak min bau") was as predictable and generic as they come.

It should be said that the storyline was essentially good enough and it did have some potential, but director Stephen Lo Kit Sing just didn't fully manage to utilize the potential and turn the script into a great movie.

The story is about Tang Dai Chi (played by Francis Ng) who moves into a new apartment with his friend Tang Chang (played by William Wing Hong So). Tang Dai Chi finds 99 unopened letters with the stamps taken off in a small box, all addressed to Lok To (played by Michelle Reis), another tenant in the building. Tang Dai Chi reads the letters and decides to help Lok To to get reunited with her long lost lover Jia Lam (played by Conroy Chi-Chung Chan) and opens up a bakery shop and employs Lok To.

Sure, the story was sweet enough in itself. However, it just wasn't outstanding compared to so many other romantic comedies. And the predictability of the movie just didn't help to promote the entertainment value one bit.

Francis Ng is usually quite a good actor, but I must say that his performance in "Bakery Amour" wasn't particularly outstanding. He seemed to be running on autopilot. I suppose it was the limitation of the script and the director. I think this is the only movie that I have seen Michelle Reis in, or at least remember seeing her in. But I will say that she did perform quite alright.

All in all, then "Bakery Amour" is a very generic and mediocre romantic comedy, one that didn't particularly leave a lasting impression and it sort of faded in comparison to many other Hong Kong movies.